Psychedelic Medicine
May 8, 2024
Susanna Myers, John Guy, Anthony L. Back et al.
7 citations
A research team developing a group retreat-based psilocybin-assisted therapy trial created initial practice guidelines for ethical and supportive facilitator use of touch. After two unexpected touch-related experiences during the first three retreats, the guidelines were iterated. The revised guidelines specify acceptable practices to ensure participant safety and a supportive therapeutic experience. The primary goal is to create a haptic experience that reinforces participants' sense of safety and supports their own experience during the psilocybin session. A secondary goal is to help facilitators maintain therapeutic boundaries while responding to participant experiences with empathy and openness.
Psychedelic Medicine
January 18, 2026
Anthony L. Back, Bonnie A. Mcgregor, Leslie Lazar Thorn et al.
1 citation
A group retreat model of psilocybin therapy for people with metastatic cancer and anxiety or depression was safe and well tolerated. Fifty-two participants attended a 3-day retreat with 25 mg psilocybin, supported by virtual and in-person sessions. No episodes of unattended distress occurred during the psilocybin sessions. Anxiety and depression symptoms, measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, decreased by an average of 7.3 points from baseline to 28 days after the retreat, a statistically significant reduction. The findings suggest that a group configuration of eight participants with four core facilitators can be safe for future studies in people with serious medical illness.
Psychedelic Medicine
December 23, 2025
Anthony L. Back, Bonnie A. Mcgregor, Lindsay Billingsley et al.
1 citation
A group facilitation model for psilocybin therapy, developed for an FDA-approved Phase 1 to 2 clinical trial, draws on anthropological studies of ritual, specifically rites of passage, to structure a secular retreat for people with metastatic cancer experiencing anxiety or depression. The model uses three phases: separation (preparation), liminal (psilocybin dosing session), and reincorporation (integration). Ritual functions psychologically to support emotional regulation and meaning-making, and communally to embed individual experience in shared intention and care. This is the first FDA-approved clinical trial of a secular ritual-based group facilitation model for psychedelic therapy with empirically demonstrated safety and efficacy outcomes.
Journal of Palliative Medicine
November 9, 2018
Anthony L. Back
1 citation
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