Psilocybin therapy for adult females with anorexia nervosa: pilot study in The British Journal of Psychiatry assessing feasibility, safety and early clinical signals

Psilocybin therapy is being tested as a potential treatment for adult women with anorexia nervosa in a pilot clinical study focused on feasibility, safety, tolerability, and preliminary therapeutic effects. The work sits at the intersection of eating disorder treatment and psychedelic-assisted therapy, where current options often produce limited recovery for severe and persistent illness. Adult female participants with anorexia nervosa receive a structured therapeutic intervention involving psilocybin, with outcomes centered on adverse events, acceptability, and early changes in eating disorder symptoms and related psychological measures. Pilot data in this setting matter because anorexia nervosa carries high psychiatric burden and mortality, while altered cognitive rigidity, mood disturbance, and entrenched self-perception may be targets for psilocybin-assisted treatment. The study mainly establishes whether this approach can be delivered safely in a vulnerable clinical population and whether larger controlled trials are justified. Any positive signal would have broader implications for how psychedelic therapy might address conditions marked by compulsive patterns, emotional distress, and resistance to existing care.