Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT06888128

State-Funded Trial Assessing Recovery and Long-Term Impact of Guided Psilocybin for Healing Trauma

The principal investigator for this study plans to build upon the psilocybin-assisted therapy intervention used in prior completed trials to conduct an open-label trial of two psilocybin administration sessions combined with psychotherapy to investigate the safety, tolerability, and clinical efficacy of psilocybin-assisted therapy for the treatment of PTSD in US Veterans.

Recruiting

Interested in participating?

Request Info

Key information

Age range

21 year–64 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Phase 2

Primary location

Baylor College of Medicine

Houston, Texas, 77030, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Lynnette A. Averill, Ph.D.

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Marika Del Motte, M.Sc.

CONTACT

[email protected]

713-798-3212

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Be a United States Military Veteran
  • Have at least a high-school level of education or equivalent (e.g. GED).
  • Have a current DSM-5 diagnosis of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Have a CAPS-5 total severity score of ≥23 at baseline
  • SSRIs will be allowable so long as participants are on a stable regimen for a period of 3 months.
  • Concurrent psychotherapy is allowed if the type and frequency of the therapy has been stable for at least 2 months prior to screening and is expected to remain stable during participation in the study.
  • Be medically stable as determined by screening for medical problems via a personal interview, a medical questionnaire, a physical examination, an electrocardiogram (ECG), and routine medical blood and urinalysis laboratory tests
  • No use of hallucinogens in the past 3 months and no history of regular or frequent use of hallucinogens

Exclusion criteria

  • General medical exclusion criteria:
  • Individuals who are pregnant or nursing; individuals who are of child-bearing potential and sexually active who are not practicing a highly effective means of birth control
  • Individuals with partners of childbearing potential who are sexually active and not practicing a highly effective means of contraception
  • Cardiovascular conditions: coronary artery disease, stroke, angina, uncontrolled hypertension, a clinically significant ECG abnormality (e.g., atrial fibrilation), prolonged QTc interval (i.e., QTc > 450 msec), artificial heart valve, or TIA in the past year • Systolic blood pressure (SBP) > 139 mm HG; diastolic blood pressure (DBP) > 89 mm HG; heart rate (HR) > 90 bpm.
  • Epilepsy with history of seizures
  • Insulin-dependent diabetes; if taking oral hypoglycemic agent, then no history of symptoms of hypoglycemia
  • Psychiatric Exclusion Criteria:
  • Current or past history of meeting DSM-5 criteria for schizophrenia spectrum or other psychotic disorders (except substance/medication-induced or due to another medical condition), or Bipolar I or II Disorder
  • Current or history within six months of meeting DSM-5 criteria for a moderate or severe alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, or other drug use disorder; if a regular smoker, they must agree to use a nicotine patch on the day of dosing as smoking will not be allowed on these sessions
  • Have a first degree relative with schizophrenia spectrum or other psychotic disorders including substance/medication-induced or due to another medical condition
  • Risk for acute suicidality as determined by clinician judgment (C-SSRS)
  • Has a psychiatric condition which precludes the establishment of therapeutic rapport as evidenced by long-term patterns of unstable relationships, history of significant stress-related paranoia, and identity disturbances
  • History of a medically significant suicide attempt
  • Current MAOI antidepressant use

Treatment and study plan

Psilocybin 15mg

Drug

Each participant will have a low dose (15 mg) psilocybin session to establish basic skills with session format, psilocybin effects, and continue to build rapport with session facilitators. Given the potential intensity of the psilocybin and the reality of experiencing significant trauma memories, the purpose of the first psilocybin session is to familiarize participants with the drug effects that may be encountered at a higher dose of psilocybin. The first psilocybin session will also allow for assessment of both the suitability of each participant to the study procedures and drug effects, and the safety of administering a higher dose to each participant.

Psilocybin 25mg

Drug

The second psilocybin session will utilize a high dose (25mg) and take place approximately 2 weeks after the first psilocybin session.

Primary outcomes

  1. Safety of psilocybin-assisted therapy for PTSD

    Time frame: Baseline to 6-month follow up

    Safety as measured by Adverse Event Reporting

  2. Safety of psilocybin-assisted therapy for PTSD

    Time frame: Baseline to 6-month follow up

    Safety as measured by changes in suicidal ideation on the Columbia Suicide Safety Rating Scale (CSSRS). This section of the measure is assessed on a scale of 0 to 25, with higher scores indicating greater intensity of suicidal ideation.

  3. Efficacy of psilocybin-assisted therapy for PTSD

    Time frame: Baseline to 6-month follow up

    Change in Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) score. This measure is assessed on a scale of 0 to 80, with higher scores reflecting increased severity of PTSD symptoms.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Self-reported clinical efficacy of psilocybin-assisted therapy for PTSD symptoms

    Time frame: Baseline to 6-month follow up

    Change in self-reported PTSD Checklist 5 (PCL-5) scores. This measure is assessed on a scale of 0 to 80, with higher scores reflecting increased severity of PTSD symptoms.

  2. Self-reported clinical efficacy of psilocybin-assisted therapy for depressive symptoms

    Time frame: Baseline to 6-month follow up

    Changes in self-reported Quick Inventory of Depression Severity (QIDS) scores. This measure is assessed on a scale of 0 to 27, with higher scores reflecting increased severity of depressive symptoms.

  3. Self-reported clinical efficacy of psilocybin-assisted therapy for anxiety symptoms

    Time frame: Baseline to 6-month follow up

    Changes in self-reported Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scores. This measure is assessed on a scale of 0 to 21, with higher scores reflecting increased severity of anxiety symptoms.

Other outcomes

  1. Changes in Resting-State Functional Connectivity

    Time frame: Baseline to 6-month follow up

    The effect of psilocybin-assisted therapy on functional connectivity networks using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Lynnette A. Averill, Ph.D.

CONTACT

[email protected]

‪(832) 271-6615

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Baylor College of Medicine

Other

Collaborators

  • AIM Youth Mental Health
  • Texas Department of State Health Services
  • Usona Institute

Registry information

Official study title

The STARLIGHT Protocol: State-Funded Trial Assessing Recovery and Long-Term Impact of Guided Psilocybin for Healing Trauma

Acronym: STARLIGHT

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Mar 21, 2025
Registry last updated
Jan 22, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.