Vetted study · Verified Jun 17, 2026

Guided Psilocybin for Healing Trauma (STARLIGHT)

● Recruiting nowPsilocybinPTSD

Open-label psilocybin-assisted therapy for veterans with PTSD, funded by the State of Texas.

This is an interventional study — the research team administers the treatment under a controlled, IRB-approved protocol. Participation never happens outside that protocol.

★ Featured study
Microdosing Vets
Are you a combat veteran who's microdosed?
An Ethics Approved CIIS study documenting veterans' microdosing experience. Combat veterans 21–50 with a PTSD diagnosis and prior microdosing experience are needed.
5-Min Screening →
Substance
Psilocybin
Status
Recruiting now
Conditions
PTSD
Who can join
Veterans only
Where
Houston, TX
Run by
Baylor College of Medicine
Registry ID
NCT06888128 ↗

How to join this study

Call or email the study team directly. You do not go through Psychedelic Vets — we just make the door easier to find.

Lynnette A. Averill, Ph.D.
‪(832) 271-6615emerging@bcm.edu
Marika Del Motte, M.Sc.
Baylor College of Medicine — Houston, Texas
713-798-3212marika.delmotte@bcm.edu

Contact details as published by the sponsor, last verified 2026-01. People move on — if this doesn't reach anyone, check ClinicalTrials.gov.

What taking part involves

Everyone receives the treatment.Single group, no placebo arm — there is no chance of being assigned to a dummy.
15 spotsEstimated enrollment for the whole study, across every site.
Ages 21–64 

Participants will enter a 5-week participation phase, which includes 3 preparatory sessions, 2 dosing days, and 4 integration sessions.

Who can join

Listed as the research team wrote them. This is not a decision about you — only the study team can say whether you are eligible, and the only way to find out is to ask them.

What the study is looking for

  • 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

What would rule you out

  • 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
  • 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

Read the consent form you would be signing (PDF) → — before you call, not after.

Go to the official study page on ClinicalTrials.gov →

You enroll directly with the research team through their own official page and IRB-approved consent process. Psychedelic Vets does not run this study or collect any of your health information.

Why this listing is here. Every study in our directory is hand-reviewed against a published set of standards — recruiting or clearly marked, registered or run by a known institution, open to U.S. veterans, and research-only (never facilitation of obtaining any substance). See how we vet →
If you're in crisis, the Veterans Crisis Line is free, confidential, and available 24/7 — you don't have to be enrolled in VA care. Dial 988, then press 1, or text 838255.

Study data is sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (U.S. National Library of Medicine) and verified university/nonprofit sources. This page is educational and is not medical advice or an endorsement. Details can change — always confirm on the official page above. ← Back to all studies

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