Researchers from Harvard Medical School, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and McGill University found that psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) can be safely and feasibly integrated into hospice care for terminally ill patients.
The findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care.
In this open-label pilot trial, 4,607 home hospice patients at a large community hospice were screened over 22 months. Of those, 66 were approached, 15 enrolled, and 10 ultimately received psilocybin. Participants completed two home-based preparation sessions, a single 25-milligram oral psilocybin session at an inpatient hospice facility, and two follow-up integration sessions.
The therapy was well tolerated, with no serious adverse events linked to psilocybin. At week three, demoralization scores fell by an average of 8.8 points (p=0.0196), even as participants’ physical health continued to decline. During psilocybin sessions, patients commonly reported themes related to grief and peace.
Six participants rated the overall experience favorably, while three expressed neutral reactions on some measures, suggesting that the emotional demands of the therapy could influence its acceptability.
The authors conclude that psilocybin-assisted therapy shows early promise as a supportive treatment in end-of-life care and recommend further research to refine its use in hospice settings.
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