ArticleFrontiers in psychiatry2022
Facing death, returning to life: A qualitative analysis of MDMA-assisted therapy for anxiety associated with life-threatening illness.
Article in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Confronting mortality: A meta-analysis and systematic review of psychedelic experiences and death anxiety.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Mapping the phenomenology of intranasal 5-MeO-DMT in psychedelic-naïve healthy adults.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Well-being as a primary endpoint in clinical trials: a call for consensus.Npj mental health research · 2026Review
- Systematic Review of the Effect of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy on Attitudes Toward Death, Life, and Spirituality on Symptoms of Distress, Depression, and/or Anxiety in Patients with Life-Threatening Illness.Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.) · 2025Review
- Exploring the subjective experience of rave party participants in Israel who consume psychedelic drugs: a qualitative inquiry.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- Therapeutic role of psilocybin and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine in trauma: A literature review.World journal of psychiatry · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Anxiety associated with life-threatening illness (LTI) is a pervasive mental health issue with a wide impact. A spectrum of traditional pharmacotherapies and psychotherapies are available, but offer varying success in reducing symptoms and improving quality of life. We explore a novel therapy for this condition by assessing prominent thematic elements from participant narrative accounts of a pilot phase 2 clinical trial of 3,4 Methylenedioxymethamphetamine-Assisted Therapy (MDMA-AT) for treating anxiety associated with LTI. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with a subset of adult participants 3 months following completion of this trial. This qualitative analysis sought to complement, clarify, and expand upon the quantitative findings obtained from the clinical trial to further understand the process and outcomes of the treatment. Interviews were coded and analyzed using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) methodological framework. Participants described in detail their experiences from before, during and after the trial, which were analyzed and categorized into thematic clusters. Specifically, participants explored what they felt were important elements of the therapeutic process including processing trauma and grief, exploring mystical and existential experiences, engaging with the present moment with reduced physiological activation, and facing illness and existential fears. Outcomes of the treatment included increased ability to cope with LTI, reduced psychological symptoms, improved vitality and quality of life, and feeling more resourced. Participant narratives also showed a reconnection to life and greater emotional resilience in response to trauma and medical relapse. These findings are compared to similar treatments for the same indication. Limitations and challenges encountered in conducting this study are discussed along with implications for theory and clinical treatment.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.