Not More But Different: Comparative Mechanisms of Psychedelic & SSRI Therapy

David Nutt, MD (Professor of Psychiatry & Psychopharmacology, Imperial College London)

Tuesday 13 January, 2026 8PM CET (7PM GMT, 2PM ET, 11:00AM PT)

Online via Zoom

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There is growing evidence that psychedelics such as psilocybin and DMT have therapeutic utility for people with depression, including those for whom conventional antidepressant treatments have not been effective. At the same time, SSRIs and other traditional antidepressants remain essential, evidence based, and often life saving treatments for many individuals. Psychedelics differ from these established therapies in their underpinning pharmacology and in the way therapeutic change can unfold, which in some studies appears to occur over a relatively short period of time, with only one or two doses required, following carefully supported dosing sessions.

But do both approaches ultimately produce the same changes in the brain and mind? This talk will explore how we have investigated this question and will present emerging evidence on similarities and differences in the neural and psychological mechanisms involved. Taken together, these findings suggest that psychedelics may offer a complementary and distinct therapeutic pathway alongside existing antidepressant treatments, rather than merely a faster or more intense version of them.

Your Key Insights and Takeaways

Clear distinctions in mechanisms of action between SSRIs and psychedelics, including differences in receptor targets, network effects, and psychological processes.
What comparative brain imaging and clinical data reveal about the unique potential of psychedelics for treatment-resistant depression.
Implications for clinical practice, including how to determine when psychedelic therapy may be an appropriate alternative or complement to standard antidepressant treatment.

Designed for Professionals Like You

This session is designed for those working with, researching, or preparing to work with people experiencing depression or undergoing psychedelic-assisted therapy, including:

Therapists, clinicians, and mental health practitioners who want a deeper understanding of the differing therapeutic mechanisms of SSRIs and psychedelics.
Researchers and academics exploring neurobiological and psychological models of depression and recovery.
Professionals in the psychedelic field seeking to ground their practice in evidence-based, mechanistic understanding of how these interventions differ from conventional pharmacotherapy.
Policy makers and programme developers interested in how emerging data on psychedelic mechanisms may shape future mental health care pathways.

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER

David Nutt is a psychiatrist and Edmond J. Safra Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London and the founder of the charity Drug Science. David has held many leadership positions, including the presidencies of the European Brain Council, the BAP, the BNA, and the ECNP. He has published 40 books, including his latest three on psychedelics, among them one for the general public, Psychedelics (Yellow Kite Books, 2023), which has been translated into several languages. David has published over 600 research papers containing many landmark contributions to psychopharmacology, especially in recent years on the neuroscience and clinical utility of psychedelics. In 2023, ScholarGPS ranked him the leading psychopharmacologist in the world.

His recent research into the neuroscience and clinical utility of psychedelics has been featured in films such as Magic Medicine (2018) on Netflix and The Psychedelic Drug Trial (2021) on the BBC, as well as in a play, All You Need Is LSD (2018) by Leo Butler. He broadcasts widely to the general public on pharmacology and psychiatric matters, has over 60k followers on Twitter, and hosts his own very popular podcast.

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