Soigner au seuil de la mort : l’expérience mystique d’un patient avec la thérapie assistée par la psilocybine
Cahiers francophones de soins palliatifs February 14, 2024 DOI: 10.7202/1109567ar (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | A patient with a terminal illness, given the fictitious name Martin, in Quebec, Canada |
| Intervention | Psilocybin-assisted therapy |
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Key findings | The report follows a patient with a terminal illness from diagnosis through psilocybin-assisted therapy to his deathbed, describing his treatment as the first psilocybin treatment in Quebec under Canada's Special Access Program and his later choice of medical assistance in dying, both provided through publicly funded homecare. The authors argue that psilocybin-assisted therapy can be a safe and effective therapeutic tool for existential and psychospiritual distress in such patients. |
Abstract
Patients with serious illnesses like advanced cancer often experience existential and psychospiritual distress. Alleviating this form of pain and suffering has proven to be very challenging using conventional treatments. Psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) employs the psychoactive effects of psilocybin as a catalyst for a psychotherapeutic process grounded in indigenous traditions and within the context of a therapeutic mindset and environment (“set and setting”). This carefully curated experience of an altered state of consciousness can promote healing and psychospiritual growth independently of the disease trajectory. Current research supports the use of this form of therapy as a safe and effective therapeutic tool for such patients. This narrative case report, based upon and written from the perspective of the treating physician, describes the therapeutic journey of a patient with the fictitious name Martin, as he receives his diagnosis of a terminal illness, engages in PAT, and on to his deathbed. Martin was the first patient in Quebec to receive psilocybin treatment through Canada’s Special Access Program (SAP) and chose to end his life with medical assistance in dying (MAID), both done in the context of homecare and paid for in its entirety by the public healthcare system of Quebec.
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on psilocybin, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psilocybin Mushroom (Psilocybe semilanceata) Intoxication with Myocardial Infarction 18-year-old man | 1998 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Relief from intractable phantom pain by combining psilocybin and mirror visual-feedback (MVF) Person with leg amputation and phantom-limb pain | 2018 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder after psilocybin consumption: a case study 18-year-old man with HPPD after mixed psilocybin and cannabis intoxication | 2005 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Microdosing psilocybin for chronic pain: a case series Individuals with chronic neuropathic pain | 2022 | Case series | n = 3 |
| Psilocybin and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Individual with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder | 2014 | Case study | n = 1 |