Top Ten Tips Palliative Care Clinicians Should Know About Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in the Context of Serious Illness

William E. Rosa, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA.
Zachary Sager, Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Megan Miller, School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Ilan Bernstein, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.
Alden Doerner Rinaldi, Care Dimensions Hospice, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA.
Katie Addicott, Department of Palliative Medicine, Maine Medical Center, Portland, Maine, USA.
Michael Ljuslin, Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Chris Adrian, Children's Hospital, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Anthony L. Back, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Jamie Beachy, Center for Contemplative Chaplaincy, Naropa University, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
Anthony P. Bossis, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
William S. Breitbart, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA.
Mary P. Cosimano, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Stacy M. Fischer, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
Jeffrey Guss, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
Emma Knighton, American Psychedelic Practitioners Association, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Janis Phelps, Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, California, USA.
Brian D. Richards, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
William A. Richards, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
James A. Tulsky, Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Monnica T. Williams, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Yvan Beaussant, Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-14-2022

Journal Title

Journal of palliative medicine

Abstract

Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is a burgeoning treatment with growing interest across a variety of settings and disciplines. Empirical evidence supports PAT as a novel therapeutic approach that provides safe and effective treatment for people suffering from a variety of diagnoses, including treatment-resistant depression, substance use disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Within the palliative care (PC) field, one-time PAT dosing may lead to sustained reductions in anxiety, depression, and demoralization-symptoms that diminish the quality of life in both seriously ill patients and those at end of life. Despite a well-noted psychedelic renaissance in scholarship and a renewed public interest in the utilization of these medicines, serious illness-specific content to guide PAT applications in hospice and PC clinical settings has been limited. This article offers 10 evidence-informed tips for PC clinicians synthesized through consultation with interdisciplinary and international leading experts in the field with aims to: (1) familiarize PC clinicians and teams with PAT; (2) identify the unique challenges pertaining to this intervention given the current legalities and logistical barriers; (3) discuss therapeutic competencies and considerations for current and future PAT use in PC; and (4) highlight critical approaches to optimize the safety and potential benefits of PAT among patients with serious illness and their caregivers.

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS