Frontiers in Psychiatry
August 12, 2026
Anthony L. Back, Robert Bosnak
Psilocybin therapy in patients with cancer commonly produces vivid embodied and imaginal experiences that resist verbal description, yet most current integration approaches rely primarily on cognitive and verbal processing. We hypothesize that an approach to integration that directly engages this embodied register, without requiring translation into a verbal narrative, will enable patients to...
Frontiers in Public Health
April 14, 2026
Anthony L. Back, Bonnie A. Mcgregor, Leslie L. Thorn et al.
Introduction: Psilocybin therapy has demonstrated efficacy for cancer-related anxiety and depression, but resource-intensive individual treatment models raise important questions for psychedelic public health about equitable access and scalability. In our prior Phase 1/2 study of group retreat psilocybin therapy for patients with metastatic cancer, we observed partial responders who did not...
Psychedelic Medicine
January 18, 2026
Anthony L. Back, Bonnie A. Mcgregor, Leslie Lazar Thorn et al.
1 citation
Background: Psilocybin is a promising therapy for cancer-related distress, but existing individual treatment models are resource intensive. In this study, we designed and tested a group model of psilocybin therapy for people with metastatic cancer and cancer-related anxiety and depression. Method: Eligibility criteria included metastatic cancer, moderate-to-severe symptoms of anxiety or...
Psychedelic Medicine
December 23, 2025
Anthony L. Back, Bonnie A. Mcgregor, Lindsay Billingsley et al.
1 citation
Background: Psilocybin therapy is an emerging treatment for cancer-related anxiety, depression, and existential distress. Most clinical trials to date have studied individual models of psilocybin therapy, but group models may offer increased access and benefits of community. Purpose: This technical report describes a group facilitation model developed for an food and drug administration...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
2025
Alexa E Albert, Anthony L. Back
5 citations
Pathological narcissism (PN) is a complex, treatment-resistant disorder characterized by unstable self-esteem that fluctuates between grandiosity and vulnerability, complicating the formation of a stable self-image. With few empirically supported therapies, treatment has traditionally relied on long-term psychoanalytic approaches, but these often face high attrition. Recent research suggests a...
JAMA Network Open
December 5, 2024
Anthony L. Back, Timara K Freeman-Young, Ladybird Morgan et al.
37 citations
Importance The psychological morbidity experienced by physicians, advanced practice practitioners (APPs), and nurses from working during the COVID-19 pandemic includes burnout, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Objective To investigate whether psilocybin therapy could improve symptoms of depression, burnout, and PTSD in US clinicians who developed these symptoms from...
Psychedelic Medicine
May 8, 2024
Susanna Myers, John Guy, Anthony L. Back et al.
7 citations
For a new clinical trial testing a group retreat-based format of psilocybin-assisted therapy, our research team created an initial set of practice guidelines that aimed to describe facilitator use of touch in a way that is ethical, supportive, and minimizes harm. In our first three retreats, however, we had two unexpected experiences with touch that led us to iterate our initial guidelines into...
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...
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
August 21, 2009
Anthony L. Back, Susan Bauer-Wu, Cynda Hylton Rushton et al.
118 citations
In trying to improve clinician communication skills, we have often heard clinicians at every level admonished to "use silence," as if refraining from talking will improve dialogue. Yet we have also noticed that this "just do it," behavior-focused "use" of silence creates a new, different problem: the clinician looks uncomfortable using silence, and worse, generates a palpable atmosphere of...