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LSD-Assisted Psychotherapy in Patients with Terminal Cancer

Stanislav Grof, Louis E. Goodman, William A. Richards, Albert A. Kurland

International Pharmacopsychiatry 1973 DOI: 10.1159/000467984 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Experimental study Peer reviewed
Sample size 60
Population Cancer patients
Interventions LSD dipropyltryptamine (DPT)
Dose LSD 200-500 µg per os; DPT 60-105 mg i.m.
Topics LSD Psychedelic-assisted therapy
Keywords Terminal cancer Terminal telecommunication Psychotherapist Terminal care
Citations 212
Key findings The psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy led to significant improvement in emotional and physical distress for most patients, with 29% showing dramatic improvement and 41.9% moderate improvement.

Abstract

The paper describes the results of a clinical study exploring the potential of a complex psychotherapeutic program utilizing psychedelic compounds to alleviate the emotional and physical suffering of cancer patients. A total of 60 cancer patients participated in this experimental study. In 44 of these patients, LSD (200-500 p%per os) was administered as an adjunct to psychotherapy; in 19 patients, a new psychedelic compound, dipropyltryptamine (DPT) was administered (60-105 mg i.m.). Three of these patients received both LSD and DPT administered on different sessions. The therapeutic results were assessed by means of a rating scale reflecting the degree of the patients’ depression, psychological isolation, anxiety, difficulty in management, fear of death, and pain. The ratings were done by attending physicians, nurses, family members, LSD therapists and cotherapists, and independent raters. In addition, the amount of narcotics required in the management of the patient was measured before and after the psychedelic sessions. Systematic rating was carried out in a group of 31 cancer patients treated by LSD. The comparison of the means of individual ratings from pre- to posttreatment showed significant improvement in all the measured parameters for most of the raters. There was a definite reduction of the narcotic medication; it did not, however, reach the level of statistical significance. The pre- to post-treatment comparison of the global indexes used as gross indicators of the degree of emotional and physical distress, indicated that approximately 29 % of the patients showed dramatic improvement, and another 41.9 % moderate improvement, with 22.6 % essentially unchanged. In 6.4 % of the patients, global indexes showed a decrement in the posttherapy ratings.

In the evidence

This study is part of the evidence base for a synthesis in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.

  • State of the evidence: LSD and psychedelic-assisted therapy Supports

    Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy with LSD or DPT was rated as significantly improving depression, anxiety, fear of death, and pain for most patients, with a non-significant reduction in narcotic use.

    Synthesized

Comparable studies

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Neural correlates of the LSD experience revealed by multimodal neuroimaging. Human participants 2016 Experimental study
Crystal structure of an LSD-bound human serotonin receptor 2017 Experimental study with structural biology and molecular dynamics simulations
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide: Sensitive Neuronal Units in the Midbrain Raphe Midbrain neurons containing serotonin 1968 Experimental study
Connectome-harmonic decomposition of human brain activity reveals dynamical repertoire re-organization under LSD. Human brain 2017 Experimental study
Alterations of consciousness and mystical-type experiences after acute LSD in humans Participants in a study on acute LSD effects 2016 Experimental study

Citations in the library

Cited by 163

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