International review of neurobiology
2025
Stephan Tap, Tijmen Bostoen, Joost J. Breeksema et al.
4 citations
Patients with a life-threatening disease (LTD) sometimes suffer from end-of-life distress (EOLD) which refers to the physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual suffering related to chronic illness and the possibility of death. Palliative care interventions seek to improve the quality of life of patients with EOLD and their significant others. Currently, a range of psychological and...
Palliative & Supportive Care
October 1, 2024
Marianne Masse-Grenier, Sue-Ling Chang, Ariane Bélanger et al.
4 citations
Promising studies show that psilocybin-assisted therapy relieves existential distress in patients with serious illnesses, a difficult condition to treat with current treatment options. There is growing interest in this therapy in palliative care. Canada recently amended its laws to allow physicians to request psilocybin for end-of-life distress. However, barriers to access remain. Since...
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...
Annals of Palliative Medicine
August 22, 2024
Arum Kim, Barley Halton, Akash Shah et al.
11 citations
Existential distress is commonly experienced by patients diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. This condition has been shown to adversely impact quality of life and is correlated with increased suicidal ideation and requests for hastened death. While palliative care teams are experienced in treating depression and anxiety, existential distress is a distinct clinical condition for which...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
April 18, 2024
Gina Micciche, Andrew McMillan, Emily Coughlin et al.
4 citations
Introduction Patients with incurable illnesses often experience existential distress, profoundly impacting their well-being. Current medical approaches have limitations in addressing these burdens. Psilocybin, a promising psychedelic compound, may offer therapeutic benefits. This pilot survey study aimed to investigate the attitudes and openness toward psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAT)...
Palliative Medicine
January 22, 2024
Louis Plourde, Sue-Ling Chang, Houman Farzin et al.
22 citations
Background: Internationally, there is a growing interest in the potential benefits of psilocybin-assisted therapy to treat existential distress at the end of life. However, the social acceptability of this therapy is not yet well known. Aim: This study assesses the social acceptability of the medical use of psilocybin to treat existential distress at the end of life. Design: An online survey...
Psychedelic Medicine
September 1, 2023
Megan Miller, William E Rosa, Alden Doerner Rinaldi et al.
9 citations
Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) has re-emerged as a promising intervention for addressing mental health conditions and existential concerns. Despite growing enthusiasm, PAT may be difficult to integrate into mainstream health systems. The rich sacramental traditions of psychedelics, their centering of the human experience, proposed substrates of action, context-dependent outcomes, and highly...
Neuropharmacology
April 2, 2023
Farah Z Zia, Michael H. Baumann, Sean J Belouin et al.
28 citations
Chronic pain is a leading cause of disability, reduced productivity, healthcare seeking behavior, and a contributor to opioid overdose in the United States. For many people, pain can be satisfactorily managed by existing medicines and comprehensive psychosocial treatments. For others, available treatments are either ineffective or not acceptable, due to side effects and concerns about risks....
Current geriatrics reports
2023
Emily Whinkin, Moira Opalka, Conor Watters et al.
26 citations
This review article summarizes clinically and socially relevant developments over the past five years in the therapeutic use of the classical tryptamine psychedelic substance psilocybin, with respect to the common challenges faced by palliative care patients and their care teams. Psilocybin is available in whole fungal and isolated forms but is not yet approved for therapeutic use in the United...
Oxford University Press eBooks
December 1, 2022
Stephen Ross, Anthony P. Bossis
Abstract Following a decades-long hiatus and building on an innovative research model first developed from the 1960s to 1970s utilizing psychedelic therapeutics to alleviate the marked psychic distress in end-of-life cancer patients, major academic centers are resuming contemporary clinical research into the safety and efficacy of psilocybin and other serotonergic psychedelics delivered in...