Stepping back into life: How Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy transforms the way of life of the terminally ill

Justin Dwyer; Robert B. Johnston; Clare O'Callaghan; Margaret Ross

doi:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2025.12.002

Stepping back into life: How Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy transforms the way of life of the terminally ill

Justin Dwyer, Robert B. Johnston, Clare O'Callaghan, Margaret Ross

General Hospital Psychiatry December 10, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2025.12.002 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract

Characteristics	Qualitative study using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) nested within a randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed
Population	Terminally ill subjects with extreme death anxiety
Interventions	Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy psilocybin
Topics	Psychedelic-assisted therapy
Citations	3
Key findings	Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy can enable terminally ill people with extreme death anxiety to fully inhabit their life in a more abundant and joyful present, even in the face of death, and the psilocybin component is necessary but not sufficient for this outcome.

Abstract

This qualitative study of how successful Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy (PAP) transforms the way of life of terminally ill subjects provides new knowledge for researchers and clinicians contemplating its use. Using an interpretive phenomenological approach (IPA) and interviews with subjects before and after PAP from a recent randomised control trial, we find that participants with extreme death anxiety have become displaced from their own life, afraid and alone in an all-encompassing present. PAP can enable them to fully inhabit their life in a more abundant and joyful present, even in the face of death. The psilocybin component is found to be necessary but not sufficient for this achieving this outcome. These novel findings expand our conceptualisation of death anxiety and of the personal transformation that constitutes successful PAP. Clinical trial details Australian New Zealand Clinician Trials Registry. https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=378101&isReview=true registration: ACTRN12619001225101.

Comparable studies

Other randomized controlled trials on psychedelic-assisted therapy, most cited first.

Study	Year	Design	Participants
Psilocybin occasioned mystical-type experiences: immediate and persisting dose-related effects. Healthy adults, mostly hallucinogen-naïve	2011	Randomized controlled trial	n = 18
Safety and Efficacy of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide-Assisted Psychotherapy for Anxiety Associated With Life-threatening Diseases Patients with anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases	2014	Randomized controlled trial	n = 12
The safety and efficacy of {+/-}3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted psychotherapy in subjects with chronic, treatment-resistant posttraumatic stress disorder: the first randomized controlled pilot study. Patients with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder refractory to both psychotherapy...	2010	Randomized controlled trial	n = 20
Percentage of Heavy Drinking Days Following Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy vs Placebo in the Treatment of Adult Patients With Alcohol Use Disorder Adults aged 25–65 with DSM-IV alcohol dependence and at least 4 heavy drinking days in...	2022	Randomized controlled trial	n = 95
3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder in military veterans, firefighters, and police officers: a randomised, double-blind, dose-response, phase 2 clinical trial. Military veterans and first responders aged 18 or older with chronic PTSD lasting 6...	2018	Randomized, double-blind, dose-response, phase 2 clinical trial	n = 26

Citations in the library

Cited by 4

Cites 27

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