• William E Rosa, Zachary Sager, Megan Miller, Ilan Bernstein, Alden Doerner Rinaldi, Katie Addicott, Michael Ljuslin, Chris Adrian, Anthony L Back, Jamie Beachy, Anthony P Bossis, William S Breitbart, Mary P Cosimano, Stacy M Fischer, Jeffrey Guss, Emma Knighton, Janis Phelps, Brian D Richards, William A Richards, James A Tulsky, Monnica T Williams, and Yvan Beaussant.
• Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA.
• J Palliat Med. 2022 Aug 1; 25 (8): 127312811273-1281.

AbstractPsychedelic-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.

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