HealthcareJanuary 21, 2026Emily Santos Montarroyos, Sara Lima, Raimundo Barreto et al.
Background/Objectives: Cancer is a disabling, challenging, and growing global disease. Although early diagnosis and adequate treatment of cancer are developing rapidly, a large part of the population remains without access to specialized services and routinely progresses to uncontrolled pain, poorer quality of life, and suffering. Complementary therapies for pain management and the well-being...
Psychological and spiritual distress are highly prevalent in patients with advanced cancer, yet conventional interventions often fail to address their interconnected nature. While mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are widely used in oncology, their integration with spiritual or meaning-centered components remains insufficiently synthesized in high-level evidence. This review aimed to...
OBJECTIVES: People with serious illnesses often experience spiritual and emotional pain, manifesting in conditions such as depression, anxiety, and demoralization. Emerging research in psychedelic-assisted therapy has shown efficacy in treating these conditions. Despite evidence that psychedelics frequently occasion mystical/spiritual experiences in participants, there has been little research...
Medicina (Ribeirão Preto)December 31, 2025Juliano Teixeira Moraes, Michele Mileib de Vasconcelos, Tauãna Terra Cordeiro de Oliveira et al.
Introduction: Mindfulness-based interventions have significant contributions to individuals affected by illness or facing challenging situations such as caring for a loved one with a life-threatening illness. Objective: To identify and synthesize scientific evidence on the contributions of mindfulness-based practices in improving the quality of life of caregivers and family members of people...
Patients with life-limiting illnesses often experience profound emotional and spiritual challenges that conventional palliative care treatments may not fully alleviate. Psychedelics, with their potential to facilitate deep psychological insight, offer a promising approach to enhancing end-of-life care. Despite growing interest and emerging psychiatric applications, their use in palliative...
Palliative MedicineDecember 18, 2025Rita S. Matos, A. C. Silva, Licínio Rego et al.1 citation
Background: Palliative Care is concerned with relieving suffering and improving the quality of life of patients and their families. Currently, questions arise about how to provide patients with good end-of-life care. There has been increasing interest in the beneficial effects of using psilocybin-assisted therapy in patients with severe chronic illnesses near the end of their lives and who...
Background/Objectives: Patients in palliative care often experience multifaceted forms of suffering that extend beyond physical symptoms, including existential distress, loss of meaning, and emotional pain. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) has emerged as a promising intervention for alleviating such complex forms of suffering, yet models specifically tailored to palliative populations...
Background: Evidence is growing that psychedelic substances have positive effects in the setting of Palliative Care (PC), focusing on special needs in this patient population. After a scoping review of the literature, no published expert recommendations guiding best practice for psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) towards the end of life were identified. Objective: To draw conclusions from...
Background/Objectives: Given the limitations of traditional approaches to treating existential distress in seriously ill patients, psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) has emerged as a promising treatment option. However, weighing up the potential risks and benefits of this approach can be challenging for both healthcare professionals and patients. Decision aids can play a key role in supporting...
Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) has shown promising results in alleviating psychological and existential suffering among individuals with serious illnesses. In parallel, nursing offers a robust theoretical framework to guide therapeutic communication in this context. This article explores the application of Peplau's Theory of Interpersonal Relations (PTIR) as a foundation for holistic...