Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
August 1, 2026
Daniel A. Schaefer, Manish Agrawal, Emanuele Mazzola et al.
CONTEXT Psilocybin-assisted therapy has demonstrated rapid antidepressant effects in patients with cancer, but most trials have excluded individuals receiving active systemic anticancer treatment, limiting safety data in this population. OBJECTIVES To compare the efficacy and safety of psilocybin-assisted therapy in patients receiving versus not receiving concurrent systemic anticancer...
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
March 1, 2026
Yvan Beaussant, Candace Oglesby, Kim Roddy et al.
Abstract Background and aims Psychedelic-assisted therapies (PAT) have emerged as promising treatments for mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and trauma-related disorders. However, the underrepresentation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in PAT research and clinical practice limits equitable access and the generalizability of outcomes. This study explored the...
BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care
November 3, 2025
Yvan Beaussant, Zachary Sager, Caitlin W. Brennan et al.
1 citation
Objectives To assess the feasibility, safety and preliminary efficacy of psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) for demoralisation in terminally ill patients receiving home hospice care. Methods In this open-label pilot trial, 4607 home hospice patients at a large community hospice were screened over 22 months; 66 were approached, 15 enrolled and 10 received psilocybin. Participants completed two...
Psychedelic Medicine
October 8, 2025
Elise C. Tarbi, Skye A. Miner, Kabir Nigam et al.
1 citation
Background: Cancer poses an existential threat for patients and caregivers. Psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) has emerged as a potential tool to meet these existential needs, yet little is known about how patients describe this element of their cancer journey, and how it might be affected by PAT, especially in the group therapy context. Purpose: To explore how patients with cancer and...
May 1, 2025
Jessi Humphreys, Lou Lukas, Yvan Beaussant et al.
Abstract Psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychoactive compound found in more than 200 mushroom species, has an enduring history of use in sacred rituals of Indigenous healers worldwide. With selective serotonin receptor binding, activation of the serotonergic neurological system enables psilocybin to potentiate neuroplasticity, enabling individuals to engage in meaning-making from psychedelic...
Journal of Palliative Medicine
January 22, 2025
Roxanne Sholevar, William Kromka, Yvan Beaussant
10 citations
Context: Psychiatric and existential distress are common and difficult-to-treat symptoms that are frequently encountered in the palliative care setting; current treatment options are limited in efficacy and tolerability. Psychedelic-assisted therapies (PAT) have gained public and scientific interest in their potential to induce rapid and effective reductions in psychiatric and existential...
Psychedelic Intersections
January 17, 2025
Candace Oglesby, Yvan Beaussant
This paper presents insights from the Psychedelic Therapists Diversity (PTD) study, a qualitative study conducted to understand how BIPOC therapists perceive psychedelic therapy and research. The inciting incident for this research occurred during our collaboration on a clinical trial of psilocybin-assisted therapy for depression in cancer patients.1 Candace Oglesby was the only therapist of...
General Hospital Psychiatry
2025
Yvan Beaussant, Elise C. Tarbi, Kabir Nigam et al.
3 citations
Psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) shows promise for cancer-related depression, yet little research has examined how therapeutic context shapes patient experiences. While set (mindset) and setting (environment) are considered central to psychedelic treatment, empirical evidence on their role in PAT acceptability remains limited. This study explores factors influencing the acceptability of PAT...
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
September 11, 2024
Sivan Schipper, Kabir Nigam, Yasmin Schmid et al.
34 citations
Implications for practice Psychedelic-assisted therapy with classical psychedelics (psilocybin, LSD) may be effective for treating anxiety, depression, and possibly existential distress, in people facing a life-threatening disease. Psychedelic-assisted therapy seemed to be well tolerated, with no treatment-emergent serious adverse events reported in the studies included in this review. However,...
European Psychiatry
April 1, 2024
N. Kabir, B. Anderson, Lisa Bouchet et al.
1 citation
Introduction Growing clinical interest in psychedelic-assisted therapies has led to a second wave of research involving psilocybin, LSD, MDMA and other substances. Data suggests that these compounds have the potential to treat mental health conditions that are especially prevalent in older adults such as depression, anxiety, existential distress and post-traumatic stress disorder. Objectives...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
2024
Lisa Bouchet, Zachary Sager, Antoine Yrondi et al.
22 citations
Background: Growing clinical interest in psychedelic-assisted therapies has led to a second wave of research involving psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and other substances. Data suggests that these compounds have the potential to treat mental health conditions that are especially prevalent in older adults such as depression, anxiety,...
Cancer
December 18, 2023
Manish Agrawal, Yvan Beaussant, Sarah Shnayder et al.
73 citations
Abstract Background Depression is common in patients with cancer and is associated with lower treatment adherence and reduced quality of life. Antidepressants and psychotherapy have limited success in improving depression among patients with cancer. This study explored the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of psilocybin‐assisted therapy in patients with cancer and major depressive disorder....
Cancer
December 18, 2023
Yvan Beaussant, Kabir Nigam, Zachary Sager et al.
22 citations
Abstract Background The present study explored the acceptability of psilocybin‐assisted group therapy from the perspective of patients with cancer and depression who participated in a clinical trial assessing the safety and efficacy of this novel intervention. Methods Guided by the conceptual framework of acceptability, the authors conducted semi‐structured interviews with participants of the...
Palliative & Supportive Care
December 1, 2023
Roxanne Sholevar, John Peteet, Justin J. Sanders et al.
9 citations
Psychedelic-assisted therapies (PAT) are emerging as a promising treatment for psycho-existential distress in patients with serious illness. A recent qualitative analysis of perspectives of 17 experts in serious illness care and/or PAT research identified divergent views on the therapeutic potential and safety of PAT in patients with serious illness. This paper further analyzes the factors that...
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
September 1, 2023
Megan Miller, William E Rosa, Alden Doerner Rinaldi et al.
9 citations
Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) has re-emerged as a promising intervention for addressing mental health conditions and existential concerns. Despite growing enthusiasm, PAT may be difficult to integrate into mainstream health systems. The rich sacramental traditions of psychedelics, their centering of the human experience, proposed substrates of action, context-dependent outcomes, and highly...
Clinics in geriatric medicine
August 1, 2023
Kabir Nigam, Kimberly A Curseen, Yvan Beaussant
3 citations
Psychological distress at the end of life is a common experience that lacks effective treatments. This is in part due to the multidimensional nature of psychological distress at the end of life, encompassing an interplay between psychosocial and existential distress as well as physical symptom burden. Research shows that psychedelic-assisted therapy is an effective treatment of end of life...
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
November 21, 2022
Sivan Schipper, Kabir Nigam, Vanessa Piechotta et al.
4 citations
This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the benefits and harms of psychedelic/entactogen‐assisted therapy compared to placebo or active comparators (e.g. antidepressants) for treatment of anxiety, depression, and existential distress in adult palliative care.
Psychiatric Annals
September 1, 2022
Michael Ljuslin, Kabir Nigam, Roxanne Sholevar et al.
4 citations
In addition to physical symptoms and treatment burden, people affected by serious illness experience psychological, social, and spiritual distress. Medical professionals who care for them, including psychiatrists and other mental health clinicians, attend to these multiple dimensions of suffering with the hope and promise of improving patients' quality of life. Yet anxiety, depression,...
Journal of Palliative Medicine
August 1, 2022
William E Rosa, Zachary Sager, Megan Miller et al.
49 citations
Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is a burgeoning treatment with growing interest across a variety of settings and disciplines. Empirical evidence supports PAT as a novel therapeutic approach that provides safe and effective treatment for people suffering from a variety of diagnoses, including treatment-resistant depression, substance use disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Within...
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
February 11, 2022
Lucas Oliveira Maia, Yvan Beaussant, Ana Cláudia Mesquita Garcia
59 citations
ContextPeople affected by serious illness usually experience suffering in its various dimensions, not only in the physical but also in the psychosocial and spiritual aspects. The interest in psychedelic-assisted therapies as a potential new therapeutic modality has increased since evidence suggests a significant impact of their use on the outcomes of patients with serious illness.ObjectivesTo...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
August 19, 2021
Brian S. Barnett, Yvan Beaussant, Franklin King et al.
64 citations
Despite resurgent interest in psychedelic-assisted therapy, our insights into psychiatrists' knowledge and opinions about medicinal psychedelic applications are surprisingly narrow. Therefore, we anonymously surveyed psychiatrists attending psychedelic didactic presentations at two national meetings about these issues using a 26-item questionnaire. Response rate was 40.20% (106/264)....
J Palliat Med
April 13, 2021
Yvan Beaussant, James A. Tulsky, Benjamin Guérin et al.
34 citations
Background: With support from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, we convened researchers representing palliative care, psychosocial oncology, spiritual care, oncology, and psychedelic-assisted therapies. We aimed to define priorities and envision an agenda for future research on psychedelic-assisted therapies in patients with serious illness. Over two days in...
J Palliat Med
April 13, 2021
Yvan Beaussant, James A. Tulsky, Benjamin Guérin et al.
34 citations
Background: With support from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, we convened researchers representing palliative care, psychosocial oncology, spiritual care, oncology, and psychedelic-assisted therapies. We aimed to define priorities and envision an agenda for future research on psychedelic-assisted therapies in patients with serious illness. Over two days in...
Journal of Palliative Medicine
April 1, 2020
Yvan Beaussant, Justin J. Sanders, Zachary Sager et al.
39 citations
Background: Recent and preprohibition studies show that patients with serious illness might benefit from psychedelic-assisted therapies for a range of symptoms, physical, psychosocial, and existential. Objective: To explore the potential roles and research priorities of these therapies in patients with serious illness. Design, Setting, and Participants: Qualitative study based on semistructured...
Figshare
2020
Brian S. Barnett, Yvan Beaussant, Franklin King et al.
3 citations
A survey instrument used to gauge knowledge and opinions of psychiatrists attending national professional conferences about psychedelics and psychedelic assisted psychotherapies.