Spiritual wellbeing in psychedelic-assisted therapy with palliative care populations: An analysis of outcome measures

People with serious illnesses often experience spiritual and emotional pain, manifesting in conditions such as depression, anxiety, and demoralization. Emerging research in psychedelic-assisted therapy has shown efficacy in treating these conditions. Despite evidence that psychedelics frequently occasion mystical/spiritual experiences in participants, there has been little research on support for spiritual, existential, religious, and theological needs, including the use of chaplains on therapeutic teams. Spiritual wellbeing outcomes have been inconsistently used and reported on in current psychedelics studies. The aims of this article are to identify and review patient-centered outcome measures focused on spiritual wellbeing for use in psychedelic research.

A literature review of instruments was conducted, with 286 articles included, identifying spiritual wellbeing measures within the palliative care population.

Three measures were selected for inclusion: Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being 12- Item Scale (FACIT-Sp-12), European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Spiritual Well-being Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-SWB-32), and the National Institutes of Health Healing Experience of All Life Stressors (NIH-HEALS). Instrument development, psychometric properties, and use in research for each are discussed.

Suitability in the context of psychedelic-assisted therapy with the palliative care population includes strong reliability and validity, and they should be accessible to people with various spiritual traditions, practices, and sources of connection. They should be patient-centered in their development, involve multiple stakeholders, and be appropriate for use with palliative care populations. According to these criteria and its orientation toward identifying spiritual change in the context of serious illness, the NIH-HEALS is recommended for wider use in psychedelic-assisted therapy.