JAMA Psychiatry
July 1, 2023
Roman Palitsky, Deanna M Kaplan, Caroline Peacock et al.
86 citations
Spiritual, existential, religious, and theological components are important in psychedelic-assisted therapy, but they have not been systematically integrated into clinical practice. Research shows that spiritually integrated psychotherapies are effective and produce additional benefits on spiritually relevant outcomes, which are particularly relevant to psychedelic therapy. Established standards in spiritually integrated psychotherapy can be applied to psychedelic-assisted therapy. Integrating these topics is needed for culturally competent, evidence-based treatment aligned with high clinical standards, and neglecting them may undermine treatment success and increase risks for patients.
Journal of Psychopharmacology
July 31, 2024
Roman Palitsky, Deanna M Kaplan, John Perna et al.
32 citations
A multidisciplinary working group identified 54 potential adverse events that warrant systematic assessment in psychedelic-assisted therapies, finding that existing measurement tools substantially fail to cover these constructs. The group developed recommendations for when and how to assess these adverse events across preparation, dosing, integration, and follow-up phases, and demonstrated a preliminary assessment protocol. The framework addresses the need to capture post-acute dosing adverse events, accounting for both the pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy components of psychedelic-assisted therapy, as well as documented impacts on worldviews and spirituality.
PLoS One
January 2, 2024
Caroline Peacock, Erin Brauer, Ali John Zarrabi et al.
27 citations
Spiritual health practitioners bring unique expertise to psychedelic-assisted therapy based on their training and professional experience. Interviews with 15 such practitioners revealed seven themes in two domains: unique contributions (competency with spiritual material, awareness of power dynamics, familiarity with non-ordinary states, holding space, counterbalancing biomedical perspectives) and general contributions (using general therapeutic skills and supporting interdisciplinary collaboration). Their skills complement other clinical team members, and psychedelic-assisted therapy teams may benefit from including them. Further work is needed to define roles, qualifications, and training for these clinicians.
Psychotherapy
January 13, 2025
Roman Palitsky, Jessica L Maples-Keller, Caroline Peacock et al.
13 citations
In an open-label trial of psilocybin-assisted therapy for cancer-related demoralization and chronic pain, patients, facilitators, and caregivers identified key components and improvements for the treatment protocol. Using the Enhanced Critical Incident Technique, interviews revealed critical incidents, wish list items, and contributing factors related to therapy aspects like intention-setting and overall protocol transitions. The findings emphasize tailoring treatment to individual medical history, supporting common therapeutic factors, and ensuring collaborative care. Nine topic areas for protocol improvement emerged from the data.
International review of psychiatry (Abingdon, England)
December 1, 2024
Roman Palitsky, Nicholas K. Canby, Nicholas T. van Dam et al.
6 citations
Research on adverse effects (AEs) of psychedelics has been limited, leading to underspecified profiles and potential undercounting. This article argues that meditation-related AE research, which shares phenomenological and contextual features with psychedelic AEs, offers valuable insights. An integrative review of both fields is presented, recommending that meditation AEs serve as a comparator condition. The authors propose adopting detailed, comprehensive, user-informed, impact-based, standardized, unbiased, and representative measures of AEs, along with examining factors that influence their impacts and trajectories, to advance psychedelic AE research.
March 5, 2024
Roman Palitsky, Deanna M Kaplan, John Perna et al.
4 citations
preprint
A multidisciplinary working group identified 53 potential adverse events (AEs) specific to psychedelic-assisted therapies (PATs) that current assessment tools miss. Existing measures cover only a fraction of these constructs. The group recommends new assessment methods—including patient, clinician, and informant reports—and specifies when to measure AEs across preparation, dosing, integration, and follow-up phases. The framework addresses gaps in capturing post-acute dosing effects, including changes in worldview and spirituality, which distinguish PAT from other treatments.
Psychotherapy (Chicago, Ill.)
June 1, 2026
Roman Palitsky, Laura E Captari, Jessica L Maples-Keller et al.
3 citations
The relational spirituality model (RSM) provides a framework for developing spiritual and religious competence in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies. Psychedelic-assisted therapies can provoke personally meaningful spiritual or existential experiences linked to improved outcomes. The RSM's inclusive spiritual, existential, religious, and theological approach offers a pluralistic way to engage diverse traditions in therapy. The article describes the RSM and introduces pragmatic training methods—deliberate practice, experiential components, SERT groups, and assessment training—that can be integrated into existing mental health or psychedelic therapy training programs. It also discusses how the RSM can inform interdisciplinary collaborations across disciplines and healing communities.
Psychedelics
April 29, 2025
Ishan Pasricha, Caroline Peacock, Roman Palitsky et al.
3 citations
Spiritual health practitioners (healthcare chaplains) increasingly facilitate psychedelic-assisted therapy. A qualitative study of 15 such practitioners (60% female, average age 46.57) found two main themes: initial motivations and ongoing sources of meaning. Personal psychedelic experiences were a key initial motivator. Ongoing fulfillment came from witnessing healing in others and positive personal impacts of facilitating care. Personal experiences provide valuable firsthand knowledge of psychedelic phenomenology but may introduce bias. Training guidelines from the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, emphasizing self-literacy and reflection, may help address these risks. The authors introduce a reflective learning exercise based on these findings.
Am J Bioeth
January 13, 2025
Keenan Davis, Roman Palitsky, Boadie W Dunlop et al.
3 citations
Cohen and Marks (2025) argue for a middle path between two extreme views on psychedelic medicine: the exceptionalism that overstates its unique therapeutic potential and the skepticism that dismisses it as no different from other treatments. They contend that psychedelics do possess distinctive features—such as their capacity to induce profound altered states and facilitate enduring psychological change—but that these features do not warrant special regulatory or ethical exemptions. The authors advocate for integrating psychedelic therapies into existing medical frameworks while acknowledging their specific risks and benefits, aiming to balance innovation with responsible oversight.
Psychedelic Medicine
November 27, 2025
Roman Palitsky, George H. Grant
1 citation
No Summary
Psychedelics.
December 17, 2024
Zachary Bosshardt, Jessica L Maples-Keller, Deanna M Kaplan et al.
Attendees at a conference on psychedelics and spiritual care generally agreed that microdosing may have benefits and expressed modest concern about potential harm from therapeutic psychedelic use. Among 178 survey respondents, 40.2% agreed or strongly agreed that psychedelics could be harmful therapeutically, while 30.7% were unsure. A subset of 32 psychedelic care facilitators reported using psychedelics to treat a wide range of diagnoses with diverse psychotherapy approaches and endorsed a need for cultural adaptations in psychedelic treatments.
Frontiers in Psychology
January 1, 2022
Jennifer S Mascaro, Marianne P Florian, Marcia J Ash et al.
Christian healthcare chaplains who completed an intensive course in Cognitively-Based Compassion Training (CBCT) reported increased belief that compassion can be developed. The mixed-method study of 40 chaplains in a 1-year Clinical Pastoral Education residency found high variability in how individuals practiced compassion meditation and perceived its impact. Interviews revealed diverse subjective experiences of learning and practicing compassion meditation. The findings suggest that individual differences in practice and beliefs play a role in how compassion meditation is learned and enacted, offering insights into contemplative learning processes.
Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy
January 1, 2021
Marcia J Ash, Elizabeth Reisinger Walker, Ralph J DiClemente et al.
Incorporating compassion meditation training into clinical pastoral education reduces burnout and anxiety among hospital chaplain residents, but the benefits may not last without ongoing practice. In a small study, 15 chaplain residents were assigned either to Cognitively-Based Compassion Training (CBCT) or a waitlist. Those who received CBCT reported significant decreases in burnout and anxiety compared to the waitlist group, though these effects were not maintained at a 4-month follow-up. Compassion satisfaction did not differ significantly but trended in the expected direction. The findings suggest that extending CBCT throughout residency could help sustain wellbeing improvements.