Facing Mortality Together: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Analysis of Group Psilocybin Therapy Among Older Long-Term AIDS Survivor Gay Men

Group psilocybin-assisted therapy may help older long-term AIDS survivor gay men accept death, dying, and impermanence, as well as their illness and complex emotions. This secondary qualitative analysis of interviews from six participants found three major themes: acceptance of death, acceptance of illness, and embracing complex emotions. The findings suggest that the therapy fosters death acceptance by helping participants accept their illness and engage with the full range of emotions that arise when facing mortality. Further studies are needed to validate these results, which highlight the importance of focusing on death acceptance in psychedelic research with seriously ill populations.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Background: Emotional distress is often comorbid with serious illness, especially in individuals facing social stigmas, such as patients with HIV. Death acceptance may serve as a protective factor against such distress. Standard psychopharmacologic interventions have shown insufficient results in alleviating distress associated with serious illness. Preliminary research shows psychedelic-assisted therapy to be well-tolerated and a promising novel treatment for various mental health disorders in this population, potentially facilitating death acceptance. However, limited research exists on the intersection of psychedelics, serious illness, and death acceptance, with patients with HIV+ often underrepresented in clinical trials. Objective: This study aims to explore how group psilocybin-assisted therapy may influence attitudes toward death in older long-term AIDS survivor gay men. Design: Transcripts of interviews from a completed parent study were analyzed in this secondary qualitative analysis using Constructivist Grounded Theory. Setting/Subjects: Transcripts from six older, long-term AIDS survivor gay male participants at a medical research institute in the United States were selected for analysis. Results: Three major themes emerged from the data: (1) acceptance of death, dying, or impermanence, (2) acceptance of illness, and (3) embracing complex emotions. The findings suggest group psilocybin therapy may aid participants in fostering death acceptance by accepting their illness and embracing a full spectrum of emotions arising from facing one’s mortality. Conclusion: While further studies are necessary to validate the findings, this secondary analysis contributes to the emerging intersection of psychedelic science and serious illness by incorporating participants’ perspectives, highlighting the importance of concentrating on outcomes related to death acceptance.