Ethical Considerations at the Intersection Between Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy and Medical Assistance in Dying
AJOB Neuroscience April 3, 2023 Daniel Rosenbaum, Matthew Cho, Evan Schneider et al. 11 citations
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Sarah Hales
5 papers in the library · 22 citations · publishing 2023-2025
Papers
Commentary: Access to Psychedelics for Psychological Suffering at the End of Life - Prioritizing Our Priorities.
Healthcare policy = Politiques de sante May 1, 2023 Daniel Rosenbaum, Sarah Hales, Daniel Z Buchman 5 citations
Psychedelic therapies show promise for psychological suffering at the end of life, but focusing too much on them may exaggerate the current evidence and pull resources from proven programs. The more urgent policy priority is to fix inequities in access to early, high-quality palliative and psychosocial care. Any discussion of expanding psychedelic access must also center equity concerns.
Psilocybin in late-life mental health: Addressing depression, loneliness, and existential anxiety
General Hospital Psychiatry December 9, 2025 Gerasimos Konstantinou, Joshua D. Rosenblat, Sarah Hales et al. 4 citations
Psilocybin-assisted therapy shows promise for treating late-life mental health conditions such as depression, loneliness, and existential distress, where conventional medications often have limited effectiveness and poor tolerability in older adults. The review describes neurobiological mechanisms including serotonergic modulation, enhanced neuroplasticity, and disruption of maladaptive default mode network activity. Clinical trials in general adult populations report sustained improvements in depressive symptoms, existential anxiety, and social connectedness following psilocybin administration. However, older adults are underrepresented in psychedelic research, creating gaps in knowledge about dosing, safety, and long-term outcomes. Age-specific protocols are needed to address pharmacokinetic complexities, cardiovascular risks, drug interactions, and ethical challenges around informed consent in cognitively impaired patients.
Psilocybin-assisted Existential, Attachment and RelationaL (PEARL) therapy for patients with advanced cancer: protocol for a multi-method feasibility trial
Pilot and Feasibility Studies October 28, 2025 Candice Richardson, Cindy Chan, Emily Macgregor et al. 1 citation
A new therapy combining psilocybin with evidence-based psychotherapies for people with advanced cancer, called PEARL therapy, will be tested in an open-label trial with 15 participants. The study will assess whether the therapy is acceptable, feasible, and safe by tracking recruitment, retention, adherence, and serious adverse events, and by collecting self-report questionnaires and qualitative interviews. This research aims to inform policy, training, and clinical guidelines for psychedelic-assisted therapies, which may improve quality of life for those with advanced disease.
The Use of Psychedelics for Grief Following Death due to Advanced Illness: A Scoping Review.
Omega July 10, 2025 Daniel Rosenbaum, Celina Carter, Brandon A Cirella et al. 1 citation
A scoping review of 18 reports found little high-quality evidence on using psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for grief following death due to advanced illness. Across seven empirical studies, positive outcomes such as reduced grief symptom severity were generally reported, with few adverse events. The literature is informed by differing conceptualizations of grief, adding complexity. The review concludes there is not a strong evidence base to guide clinical recommendations at this time and suggests future work should explicitly situate researchers' positions and integrate grief theory.