ArticleJournal of affective disorders2023
Psilocybin-assisted therapy improves psycho-social-spiritual well-being in cancer patients.
Article in Journal of affective disorders, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
19 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 64 citations in OpenAlex.
- Music Playlist Use in Clinical Trials of Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical psychology · 2026Pooled it
- The effects of psilocybin on psychological distress in cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies for Psychosocial Symptoms in Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2025Pooled it
- Evaluating the effectiveness of psilocybin in alleviating distress among cancer patients: A systematic review.Palliative & supportive care · 2025Pooled it
- Psilocybin for major depressive disorder: a systematic review of randomized controlled studies.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Spiritual wellbeing in psychedelic-assisted therapy with palliative care populations: An analysis of outcome measures.Palliative & supportive care · 2026Review
- Association between lifetime co-use of classic psychedelics and cannabis and prostate cancer diagnosis among US adults 50 years and older.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Home-based psilocybin-assisted therapy for a patient with advanced cancer: A case report.Palliative & supportive care · 2025Article
- Interventions to support spirituality among adults with cancer: a scoping review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- 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
- Psychedelics for Cancer Pain and Associated Psychological Distress: A Narrative Review of a Potential Strategy.Cancer medicine · 2025Review
- Development of the National Institute of Health Healing Experience of All Life Stressors Short Form (NIH-HEALS-SF).PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- Psilocybin: From Psychiatric Pariah to Perceived Panacea.The American journal of psychiatry · 2025Review
- Top Ten Tips Palliative Care Clinicians Should Know About Attending to the Existential Experience.Journal of palliative medicine · 2024Article
- The role of spirituality in pain experiences among adults with cancer: an explanatory sequential mixed methods study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Article
- 5-HTInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- A Systematic Review of Reporting Practices in Psychedelic Clinical Trials: Psychological Support, Therapy, and Psychosocial Interventions.Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.) · 2023Review
- Psychedelic Use Among Psychiatric Medication Prescribers: Effects on Well-Being, Depression, Anxiety, and Associations with Patterns of Use, Reported Harms, and Transformative Mental States.Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.) · 2023Article
- Are psychedelic medicines the reset for chronic pain? Preliminary findings and research needs.Neuropharmacology · 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
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWhile psychedelics have been shown to improve psycho-spiritual well-being, the underlying elements of this change are not well-characterized. The NIH-HEALS posits that psycho-social-spiritual change occurs through the factors of Connection, Reflection & Introspection, and Trust & Acceptance. This study aimed to evaluate the changes in NIH-HEALS scores in a cancer population with major depressive disorder undergoing psilocybin-assisted therapy.
methodsIn this Phase II, single-center, open label trial, 30 cancer patients with major depressive disorder received a fixed dose of 25 mg of psilocybin. Participants underwent group preparation sessions, simultaneous psilocybin treatment administered in adjacent rooms, and group integration sessions, along with individual care. The NIH-HEALS, a self-administered, 35-item measure of psycho-social spiritual healing was completed at baseline and post-treatment at day 1, week 1, week 3, and week 8 following psilocybin therapy.
resultsNIH-HEALS scores, representing psycho-social-spiritual wellbeing, improved in response to psilocybin treatment (p < 0.001). All three factors of the NIH-HEALS (Connection, Reflection & Introspection, and Trust & Acceptance) demonstrated positive change by 12.7 %, 7.7 %, and 22.4 %, respectively. These effects were apparent at all study time points and were sustained up to the last study interval at 8 weeks (p < 0.001). LIMITATIONS: The study lacks a control group, relies on a self-report measure, and uses a relatively small sample size with limited diversity that restricts generalizability.
conclusionsFindings suggest that psilocybin-assisted therapy facilitates psycho-social-spiritual growth as measured by the NIH-HEALS and its three factors. This supports the factors of Connection, Reflection & Introspection, and Trust & Acceptance as underlying elements for psycho-social-spiritual healing in cancer patients, and validates the use of the NIH-HEALS within psychedelic research.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.