Most psilocybin therapy trials use a one-on-one format: one patient, one or two therapists, one session. A [new Phase 1 trial at the University of New Mexico (NCT07506395)](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07506395) is testing whether that model is necessary — or whether group-format psilocybin-assisted therapy can work for PTSD.
The study is open-label with 36 participants and a primary completion date of May 2027. Not yet recruiting; enrollment is expected to begin in May 2026. Primary objectives are safety and feasibility — is the group format safe, does it work logistically, and does it show any preliminary signal on PTSD severity measures.
## Why this matters
The group format question is fundamentally a scalability question. Individual psilocybin therapy is expensive: it requires trained therapists, extended session time (typically 6–8 hours), and a controlled physical environment. Delivering that at any meaningful scale — especially in a VA or public health context — is a significant operational problem.
If group delivery is comparably safe and effective, the cost-per-patient economics change substantially. A single session with two therapists and six patients is very different from six sessions with two therapists and one patient each. The answer isn't obvious — there are reasonable clinical arguments that the individual therapeutic relationship is part of what makes these sessions work. This study is an attempt to get data on that question rather than debate it theoretically.
The trial is community-informed, which means the design was developed with input from the target population. That's become standard practice in psychedelic research.