Journal of Palliative Medicine
June 24, 2026
Muhammad Hamza Habib, Laura Fontanesi, Zainab Yusufali Motiwala et al.
End-of-life dreams and visions (ELDVs) are vivid, often subjective experiences that occur during the dying process. Even though the patient and family experiences of ELDVs are well documented, there is limited knowledge regarding the perspectives, preparedness, and perceived needs of health care professionals. ELDVs also remain insufficiently addressed in clinical care. To describe how...
Journal of Palliative Medicine
March 1, 2026
Robert K Horowitz, William E Rosa, Ali John Zarrabi et al.
Psychospiritual distress (PSD) causes profound suffering in people with serious illness, yet treatment options are few and evidence of their efficacy is modest. Although high-level evidence is limited, decades of preliminary research suggest that psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP), including ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP), may alleviate the anxiety, depression, and existential...
Journal of Palliative Medicine
November 1, 2025
Kathryn Levy, Gina Schuster, Sheila Conboy et al.
Background: End-of-life dreams and visions (ELDVs) are common and meaningful experiences for individuals trending toward death. While research has shown the positive impact of ELDVs on some psychological processes, there is more to learn. Objective: This study aimed to explore the differences in perceived self-transcendence between hospice patients who experience ELDVs and hospice patients who...
Journal of Palliative Medicine
June 1, 2025
Sam Barta, Joanne Brooker, Clare O'Callaghan
1 citation
Background: Recent research indicates that psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) may be a safe and effective treatment for several psychiatric disorders, including those experienced by people with serious physical illness. Understanding health care workers' (HCWs') attitudes and knowledge about the clinical application of psychedelics for patients with serious illness is important in progressing...
Journal of Palliative Medicine
April 26, 2025
Alyssa A Gonzalez, Gladys Janice Jimenez-Torres, Bryan M Fellman et al.
Introduction: Palliative care professionals experience high levels stress and burnout. Meditation improves stress and well-being, with group interventions more promising than individual-level efforts. This study assessed participation, satisfaction, helpfulness, and integration of a five-minute group meditation during weekly educational rounds. Methods: Seventy clinicians were invited to...
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...
Journal of Palliative Medicine
2025
Mercy Tomy, William B Alexander, Sanjay Gupta et al.
4 citations
Background: The psychiatric needs of those with cancer and other advanced illnesses are becoming increasingly recognized. Ketamine is emerging as a promising treatment option for depressive disorders in psychiatric and palliative care. In the palliative care setting, its study has been hindered by lack of consistent administration routes and dosing. Intranasal (IN) esketamine (Spravato®) has...
Journal of Palliative Medicine
September 12, 2024
Jean-François Stephan, Sani Karam
2 citations
Introduction: Psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) has gained traction in palliative care as a treatment for existential distress in the last decade. Patients with brain cancer have been excluded from studies, yet they stand to benefit as much as other patients with cancer-related psychological distress. Case description: In this report, we discuss the case of a patient with end-of-life distress...
Journal of Palliative Medicine
April 30, 2024
Min Ji Kim, H. Walker, Matthew D Clark et al.
Background: Buprenorphine initiation in opioid-tolerant patients usually requires decreasing the total opioid intake per day due to its potential for precipitating withdrawal. However, this strategy may not be tolerated in patients who require higher amounts of opioids, such as those with cancer pain. Case Presentation: We utilized a buprenorphine microdosing strategy for a postoperative cancer...
Journal of Palliative Medicine
October 1, 2023
Noah D Gold, Austin J. Mallard, Jacob C Hermann et al.
5 citations
Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an aggressive, terminal neurodegenerative disease that causes death of motor neurons and has an average survival time of 3-4 years. ALS is the most common motor neuron degenerative disease and is increasing in prevalence. There is a pressing need for more effective ALS treatments as available pharmacotherapies do not reverse disease progression...
Journal of Palliative Medicine
August 17, 2023
Robert Gramling, Emily Bennett, Keith Curtis et al.
6 citations
Context: Measuring therapeutic connection during psilocybin-assisted therapy is essential to understand underlying mechanisms, inform training, and guide quality improvement. Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of directly observing indicators of therapeutic connection during psilocybin administration encounters. Methods: We evaluated audio and video data from a recent clinical trial for...
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 Palliative Medicine
December 20, 2021
Kyle Quirk, Maximillian H. Stevenson
Buprenorphine (BUP) can be a safe and effective alternative to traditional opioids for many patients with chronic pain. For patients on higher doses of opioids, rotation to BUP is complicated by the requirement of an opioid-free interval or withdrawal during the transition. Microdosing inductions, in which BUP is gradually titrated, while full agonist opioids are continued, are a viable...
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...
Journal of Palliative Medicine
January 22, 2018
Ira Byock
164 citations
Even with an expanding evidence base confirming safety and benefits, political, regulatory, and industry issues impose challenges to the legitimate use of psychedelics. The federal expanded access program and right-to-try laws in multiple states provide precendents for giving terminally ill patients access to medications that have not yet earned FDA approval. Given the prevalence of persistent...
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...
Journal of Palliative Medicine
October 1, 2005
Anna-Leila Williams, Peter A Selwyn, Lauren Liberti et al.
Certain meditation practices may effectively address spiritual needs near end-of-life, an often overlooked aspect of quality of life (QOL). Among people subject to physical isolation, meditation benefits may be blunted unless physical contact is also addressed. To evaluate independent and interactive effects of Metta meditation and massage on QOL in people with acquired immunodeficiency...