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.
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.
PLoS One
January 1, 2025
Nicholas K. Canby, Elizabeth A Cosby, Roman Palitsky et al.
10 citations
Childhood trauma and PTSD symptoms are linked to worse depression outcomes and more meditation-related adverse effects in mindfulness-based programs. Across two clinical trials, total childhood trauma and childhood sexual abuse consistently predicted poorer depression outcomes. Childhood sexual abuse also predicted dropout in one study. Multiple forms of trauma and PTSD symptoms predicted meditation-related side effects, while total trauma, emotional abuse, and subclinical PTSD predicted lasting adverse effects. These findings suggest that trauma-sensitive modifications, safety monitoring, screening, and provider education are needed when implementing mindfulness programs for depression.
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.
The American journal of orthopsychiatry
March 24, 2025
Matthew J Lyons, Deanna M Kaplan, Sarah H Cross et al.
1 citation
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) show promise for improving health outcomes, but their effectiveness varies significantly across populations. In low-resource settings, focusing solely on individual change overlooks critical structural issues affecting health. With a call to action for community ownership and engagement, it’s essential to address inequities in power and incorporate cross-sector collaboration. By centering community-defined needs and integrating complementary interventions, MBIs can better serve vulnerable populations, potentially leading to significant positive social change and improved health outcomes for those most in need.
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.
JMIR Research Protocols
July 17, 2026
Lillian Ofori Ward, Cate Bailey, Prai Wattanatakulchat et al.
A protocol for a prospective longitudinal cohort study will follow 600 beginner meditators in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom over one year to investigate whether regular meditation practice improves quality of life and mental well-being. The study will compare effects between secular and spiritual practitioners, assess cost-effectiveness in terms of quality of life, and track the incidence and functional impact of any adverse effects. Participants report practice frequency and duration weekly via an app, with monthly sampling of quality of life, well-being, practice characteristics, costs, and adverse effects. Data collection began in October 2025; results are expected in January 2028.
Brain, behavior, and immunity
October 1, 2024
Itay Ricon-Becker, Taylor N West, Barbara L. Fredrickson et al.
Baseline activity of the CREB transcription factor pathway, inferred from gene expression profiles in blood samples, predicted psychological responses to compassion-based meditation but not to mindfulness meditation. In two randomized controlled trials, individuals with higher pre-intervention CREB activity showed greater reductions in loneliness and negative emotions, and greater increases in life satisfaction, after compassion meditation. CREB activity was unrelated to baseline psychometric measures, suggesting that gene expression profiles may capture non-conscious psychobiological states that could help personalize intervention selection.
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.