July 15, 2026
Ron Joseph Shore
preprint
Psychedelic-assisted interventions involve complex interactions between drugs, psychology, relationships, environment, and culture. Trials show promising but mixed results across psychiatric and existential conditions, with challenges including expectancy effects, incomplete reporting, and facilitator training. Neuroscience indicates psychedelics disrupt brain dynamics and may temporarily enhance plasticity and learning, but this is not inherently therapeutic. The article introduces ANCHOR, a framework for psychedelic preparation, support, and integration with six domains: Approach, Non-imposition, Context, Holism, Openness, and Relationality. ANCHOR conceptualizes support as shaping safe, ethical boundaries around a destabilized system. It is not a standalone therapy but offers educational and methodological language for facilitator stance, competencies, and research reporting.
Christopher P. Albertyn, Jeremie Richard, Ron Joseph Shore et al.
preprint
Demoralization syndrome affects about one in five Canadians with advanced cancer, marked by helplessness, hopelessness, and loss of meaning, and is linked to a greater desire for hastened death and worse outcomes, but it is underrecognized and undertreated. Pharmacological treatments fail to address its existential roots, and psychosocial therapies are underfunded and not universally effective. Mindfulness-Based Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy (MB-PAT) combines mindfulness training with psilocybin's neuroplastic effects, but its traditional one-on-one delivery limits scalability. The authors argue that group-based MB-PAT could bridge this gap by leveraging existing group therapy infrastructure and therapist familiarity with mindfulness, offering a scalable, equity-focused model for publicly funded Canadian oncology. The Canadian Network for Psychedelic-Assisted Cancer Therapy (CAN-PACT) is highlighted as a key initiative to generate evidence and capacity.