END-OF-LIFE EXISTENTIAL DISTRESS AND PSYCHEDELIC MYSTICAL
EXPERIENCE AS AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT
Facilitated by: Anthony Bossis, Ph.D
Date: Monday, March 18, 2024 | 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm ET
Price: $150.00
During this event, we will present the findings from the 2016 landmark NYU School of Medicine clinical trial on psychedelic research aimed at relieving the psychological and existential suffering associated with a life-threatening illness or the end of life. The trial demonstrated the efficacy of a single psilocybin-generated mystical experience in helping individuals with cancer cultivate meaning, enhance existential and psycho-spiritual well-being, and foster a greater acceptance of the dying process with less anxiety.
The scientific findings of reduction in depression, anxiety, hopelessness, and demoralization will be presented along with implications for the future of palliative and hospice care and the study of thanatology and consciousness. Psilocybin is a psychoactive compound found in specific species of mushrooms. Features of a mystical experience include unity, sacredness, transcendence, ineffability, and an enhanced awareness of positive emotions, including that of love. Mystical experiences offer a novel therapeutic approach to promote an openness to the mystery of death and to a deeper understanding of the study of meaning and spirituality.
Facilitator
ANTHONY P. BOSSIS, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at NYU School of Medicine, an Adjunct Professor of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa, and an Investigator at The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at UCLA. Since 2006, he has conducted FDA-approved clinical research with the psychedelic compound psilocybin. His primary psychedelic research interests are the treatment of end-of-life existential distress and to advance our understanding of consciousness, meaning, and spirituality. Dr. Bossis was director of palliative care research and co-principal investigator on the landmark 2016 clinical trial demonstrating a significant reduction in emotional distress from a single psilocybin session in persons with cancer, specifically, a rapid decrease in depression, anxiety, hopelessness, and demoralization along with improvements in spiritual well-being and quality of life. He is the study director and lead therapist on an FDA-approved clinical trial investigating a psilocybin-generated mystical experience upon religious leaders. Dr. Bossis is a training supervisor of psychotherapy at NYU-Bellevue Hospital Center and co-founder and former co-director of the Bellevue Hospital Palliative Care Service. He is a faculty member at The Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research at the California Institute of Integral Studies. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology and a guest editor for the journal’s Special Series on Psychedelics. Dr. Bossis has a long-standing interest in comparative religion, mystical experience, and the interface of psychology and spirituality. He maintains a private psychotherapy and consulting practice in NYC.