Psychedelics, spirituality, and existential distress in patients at the end of life

Abstract

Psychedelic-assisted therapy clinical trials conducted over the past decade have prompted increased interest in the use of psychedelics to treat nonphysical suffering, which can include signifi cant spiritual and existential distress at the end of life. The authors explore the role of psychedelics in helping to address patients’ spiritual and existential suffering from a medical, ethical, and legal perspective, with the aim of stimulating discussion and research on this timely and clinically promising topic.