Twelve participants living with HIV showed lower shame scores after a six-week intervention, with the reduction still present at three months.
What they studied
Researchers tested a six-week psilocybin-assisted group therapy intervention with 12 people living with HIV. They measured changes in HIV-related shame and other forms of shame before and after the intervention.
What the research found
HIV-related shame scores declined after the intervention and remained lower at the three-month follow-up.
The median change from baseline to three months was 5.5 points lower on the study’s HIV-related shame measure.
What this helps us understand
The pilot treats HIV-related shame as an outcome worth measuring directly rather than only as part of a broader mental-health picture. For researchers and care teams, it offers an early example of how stigma-related experiences can be examined more specifically in psychedelic-assisted therapy research.
This was a 12-person pilot. Psilocybin was delivered as part of group therapy, so the study cannot separate the effects of each part of the intervention.
