A new survey has revealed that over 79% of Canadians support psychedelic-assisted therapy for existential distress at the end of life.
People facing a terminal diagnosis often experience significant distress. Depression, anxiety, existential distress and loss of meaning or purpose can make this type of diagnosis difficult to deal with.
Current treatments consist of counselling of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), but these are not always effective for everyone, creating a need for innovative new approaches to end-of-life care.
Increasing research is now showing that psychedelic therapy may be beneficial for treating existential distress in patients diagnosed with incurable diseases.
For example, a review published in 2018 in Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry found that patients with life-threatening diseases associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety benefitted from the anti-anxiety and anti-depressant properties of psychedelics.
The studies reviewed anecdotally reported that patients experienced quality of life improvements along with a reduced fear of death.
A randomized double-blind trial carried out by John Hopkins University also revealed that high-dose psilocybin produced significant decreases in depression, anxiety and death anxiety, and improvements in quality of life, life meaning, and optimism.
A further clinical trial from New York University found that 60% to 80% of participants experienced anti-anxiety and anti-depressive effects from the treatment, along with benefits for existential distress, quality of life, and attitudes towards death, noting that “the psilocybin-induced mystical experience mediated the therapeutic effect of psilocybin on anxiety and depression.”
Supporting psychedelics for end-of-life care
In light of psychedelic therapy’s inclusion in Canada’s Special Access Programme in 2022, which enables authorised patients to receive access to these therapies if other treatments have been unsuccessful, a team of researchers set out to understand the public’s opinion on the potential easing of rules surrounding the medical use of psilocybin.
The survey, published in Palliative Medicine and carried out by Michel Dorval and Louis Plourde at Université Laval’s Faculty of Pharmacy and researchers from McGill University, Université de Montréal and UQAR, revealed that nearly four out of five Canadians support the use of psilocybin as a treatment for end of life existential distress.
In a statement, Dorval commented: “Studies have already shown that psilocybin, combined with psychotherapy, produces rapid, robust and lasting anxiolytic and antidepressant effects in patients suffering from advanced cancer.
“This substance can bring about a profound awareness that leads the patient to view existence from a different perspective. Treatment with psilocybin, combined with psychotherapy, can produce relief for up to six months.
“Our results seem to indicate that the social acceptability of this intervention is high in the Canadian population. If we consider only Québec respondents, the acceptability rate is similar to the national average.”
The findings also revealed that public support for psilocybin is higher among respondents who have already been exposed to palliative care, as well as higher in respondents who have already used psilocybin.
“Having been close to loved ones at the end of life, or having witnessed their distress, could explain this openness to new approaches designed to help people at this stage of their life,” added Dorval.
“There are still many prejudices against psychedelic substances. Familiarity with these substances probably helps to better understand their true effects as well as their therapeutic potential.”
The authors write: “The social acceptability of psilocybin-assisted therapy for existential distress at the end of life is rather high in Canada. These findings may contribute to efforts to mobilise resources and improve access to this emerging therapy in palliative and end-of-life care settings.”
