Psilocybin, spirituality, and palliative care: Research and implications.

This is a free full-text interview with Anthony Bossis, a key researcher into the use of psychedelics for severe end of life distress. The article starts with the introduction: "Anthony P. Bossis, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at NYU School of Medicine conducting Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved clinical research with the psychedelic compound psilocybin since 2009. Dr. Bossis was director of palliative care research and coprincipal investigator on the 2016 clinical trial demonstrating a significant reduction in emotional distress from a single psilocybin session in persons with cancer. Dr. Bossis is study director on an FDA-approved clinical trial evaluating psilocybin generated mystical experience with religious leaders. He is a training supervisor of psychotherapy at NYU-Bellevue Hospital Center and cofounder and former codirector of the Bellevue Hospital Palliative Care Service. He is a guest editor (with Charles Grob, MD) on a special series on psychedelics for the Journal of Humanistic Psychology and has a long-standing interest in comparative religion and on the interface of psychology and spirituality. He maintains a private psychotherapy and consulting practice in New York City. Here, Dr. Bossis discusses FDA-approved clinical research with the psychedelic compound psilocybin in palliative care and implications for clinical practice."