The Canadian Network for Psychedelic-Assisted Cancer Therapy

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The Canadian Network for Psychedelic-Assisted Cancer Therapy Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from The Canadian Network for Psychedelic-Assisted Cancer Therapy, Medical and health, Calgary, AB.

CAN-PACT, which stands for the Canadian Network for Psychedelic-Assisted Cancer Therapy, is a national initiative funded by the Canadian Cancer Society, Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), and Brain Canada.

Could meditation play a role in preparing for psychedelic experiences? 🧠👉️ This is part of what we are testing in the up...
10/21/2026

Could meditation play a role in preparing for psychedelic experiences? 🧠

👉️ This is part of what we are testing in the upcoming CAN PACT pilot trial.

A 2026 study surveyed 123 people with experience in both meditation and psychedelics to explore which meditation practices they perceived as most helpful for psychedelic preparation.

Participants rated four approaches on a scale of 0–10:
🧡 Loving-kindness meditation: 8.07/10
🧡 Open monitoring: 7.29/10
🧡 Self-transcendence: 6.96/10
🧡 Focused attention: 5.28/10

Loving-kindness meditation received significantly higher ratings than the other three approaches, suggesting that cultivating compassion and positive emotions may be especially relevant to preparation.

Participants also emphasized emotional acceptance, mindful awareness, and the ability to navigate challenging emotions.

What does this mean for research? These findings offer insight into how meditation-based preparation might be developed and studied alongside psychedelic-assisted therapy, exactly what we are doing in CAN PACT right now. However, the results reflect participants’ perceptions—not demonstrated clinical effectiveness.

📚️ SOURCE:
McAlpine, R. G., Utanğaç, M., Kuc, J., Pankhurst, H., Sellers, A., Kraft, D., Litchy, A., Gupta, N. E., Timmermann, C., Kamboj, S. K., & Sacchet, M. D. (2026). Perspectives on meditation-based preparation for psychedelic experiences: Insights from practitioners with combined meditation and psychedelic experience. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-026-02957-w

🍄 Preparing for a psychedelic-assisted therapy dosing day can include a few practical details that help you feel comfort...
10/19/2026

🍄 Preparing for a psychedelic-assisted therapy dosing day can include a few practical details that help you feel comfortable and ready for the day ahead.

🧸 Consider bringing comfortable layers, a familiar or meaningful comfort item (or a symbolic object or talisman), and a water bottle. Eye masks and headphones are commonly used during psychedelic dosing sessions to help support an inward-focused experience, but these may already be provided by your study or clinic.

Just as important is your plan for getting home and the evening afterwards. Psychedelic dosing sessions can last several hours, and participants should not drive afterward, so make sure your transportation and post-session support are arranged ahead of time.

👉️ What you need may vary depending on the study or clinical setting, so always follow the instructions provided by your care or research team.

🍄 A psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) dosing session involves more than the time spent with the psychedelic itself. Wha...
10/12/2026

🍄 A psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) dosing session involves more than the time spent with the psychedelic itself. What happens before and after the session is essential to support preparation, safety, and the therapeutic process.

👉️ Before a dosing session:
Participants may review medications, receive guidance about eating and drinking, discuss intentions or concerns, and learn what to expect during the experience.

👉️ After a dosing session:
Time is typically provided to recover before leaving. Participants may be encouraged to rest and rehydrate, have a safe way to get home, and later reflect on their experience through integration sessions.

Specific instructions can vary depending on the psychedelic, treatment approach, clinical setting, or research protocol. Participants should always follow the guidance provided by their healthcare or research team.

📩 Want to learn more about psychedelic-assisted cancer therapy? Subscribe to the CAN-PACT newsletter for research updates, educational resources, and news from the network.

How can psychedelic-assisted therapy move from promising research to something that could realistically be delivered wit...
10/05/2026

How can psychedelic-assisted therapy move from promising research to something that could realistically be delivered within Canadian cancer care?

A new CAN-PACT publication explores a proposed model of Mindfulness-Based Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy (MB-PAT) for people with cancer experiencing demoralization.

Traditional psychedelic-assisted therapy can be resource-intensive. In this Viewpoint, CAN-PACT researchers make the case for combining psilocybin, mindfulness and group-based care in a hybrid model designed for scalability and accessibility.

Cancer-related demoralization can involve loss of meaning, identity and belonging, alongside social isolation. Group-based care may offer connection, shared meaning-making and peer support—while mindfulness provides skills to support preparation, dosing and integration. In Calgary, we have been offering group-based mindfulness programs for almost 30 years, and already know this model is effective.

Importantly, this paper presents an evidence-informed model to be tested—not an established treatment model—and is one of the first times an evidence-based mindfulness intervention will be adapted to incorporate psychedelic-assisted therapy. CAN-PACT’s research will examine psilocybin dose, structured mindfulness-based support, and the feasibility, safety and acceptability of group-based hybrid delivery for people with advanced cancer experiencing demoralization.

The bigger question is not only whether psychedelic-assisted therapy can be effective, but how it could be delivered safely, equitably and at a scale that works within publicly funded cancer care.

📡 Enjoying our Research Radar selections? Subscribe to the CAN-PACT newsletter for more research highlights, emerging evidence, and network news.

📚️ SOURCE:
Albertyn CP, Richard J, Shore R, Carlson LE. Mindfulness-Based Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy (MB-PAT) for cancer-related demoralization in Canada: The case for a hybrid group-based delivery model. Psychedelics. 2026;4:100032.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyche.2026.100032

10/02/2026

🍄 Building new supportive care options for cancer isn’t about rushing innovation — it’s about doing it responsibly.

This multi-phase roadmap outlines how the CAnadian Network for Psychedelic-Assisted Cancer Therapy (CAN-PACT) is developing the research, training, clinical trial infrastructure, and policy engagement needed to evaluate psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) in advanced cancer care.

From identifying unmet needs like demoralization and existential distress, to national collaboration, clinician training, pilot testing, and a multi-site clinical trial — every step is designed to ensure safety, scientific rigor, and patient partnership.

👉️ Access should follow evidence.

📖 Full publication:
Carlson, L. E., Richardson, H., Shore, R., Albertyn, C. P., Balneaves, L. G., Bates, A., Burnell, M., Chochinov, H. M., Clements, D., Deleemans, J., Horlock, H., Mathews, J., McKenzie, M., Savard, C., Soares, C. N., Tu, W., & Williams, M. (2025). The CAnadian Network for Psychedelic-Assisted Cancer Therapy (CAN-PACT): A Multi-Phase Program Overview. Current Oncology, 33, 7.
https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol33010007

🤔 Could psychedelics change how the brain experiences chronic pain? Chronic pain is more than a physical signal. Over ti...
09/30/2026

🤔 Could psychedelics change how the brain experiences chronic pain?

Chronic pain is more than a physical signal. Over time, it can involve changes in the nervous system, inflammation, brain networks, and the thoughts and emotions that influence how pain is experienced.

A recent 2026 review explored how classic psychedelics may interact with several of these processes at once.

Emerging research suggests several possible pathways:
🧠 Neuroplasticity: Psychedelics may promote structural and functional changes in neural pathways involved in chronic pain.

🔥 Inflammation: Preclinical research suggests psychedelics may influence inflammatory and immune processes that can contribute to persistent pain.

🔄 Brain networks: Psychedelics may alter rigid patterns of brain connectivity associated with chronic pain, including networks involved in expectations and the interpretation of pain.

💭 Thoughts & emotions: Because pain is shaped by factors such as fear, catastrophizing, anxiety, expectations and previous experiences, researchers are also investigating whether psychedelic experiences may change some of the psychological patterns that reinforce chronic pain.

There are some particularly interesting connections to cancer care. Preclinical studies have investigated psilocybin in models of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, but this has not been tested yet in people.

This does not mean psychedelics are an established treatment for chronic pain. Clinical evidence remains limited, and challenges such as small studies, inconsistent findings, expectancy effects and difficulty maintaining blinding still need to be addressed.

What the research does offer is a different way of thinking about pain: not only as a signal to suppress, but as a complex experience involving interconnected biological and psychological processes that may provide multiple targets for future treatment.

📖 Source:
Chen H, Ke B, Jiang R. Classic Psychedelics for Treating Chronic Pain: Mechanism and Clinical Translation. Molecules. 2026;31:2611. https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/31/15/2611

🍄 Preparation is an important part of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT)—and it begins well before dosing day. Preparati...
09/21/2026

🍄 Preparation is an important part of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT)—and it begins well before dosing day.

Preparation sessions give participants and their therapy team time to build trust, discuss what to expect, explore intentions, and talk openly about concerns or fears. They also provide an opportunity to consider each person’s individual needs and establish a supportive foundation for the dosing session.

While preparation can’t predict exactly what someone will experience, it can help people enter a psychedelic session with greater understanding of the process, intentions for the session and a therapeutic relationship already in place.

👉️ In PAT, the experience isn’t only about what happens on dosing day. The preparation that comes before—and the integration that follows—are important parts of the therapeutic process.

👉️ Follow us for more pocket guides on Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy!

Demoralization and death anxiety can both arise when someone is facing a serious or life-limiting illness, but they desc...
09/16/2026

Demoralization and death anxiety can both arise when someone is facing a serious or life-limiting illness, but they describe different forms of distress.

Demoralization is often characterized by feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, difficulty coping, and a loss of meaning or purpose. Someone experiencing demoralization may feel unable to see a way forward or struggle to find meaning within their circumstances.

Death anxiety centres more specifically on distress related to mortality. This can include fear of death or the dying process, uncertainty about what comes after death, concern about leaving loved ones, or distress about the time one has remaining.

These experiences can overlap, and one person may experience both. Understanding the distinction can help researchers and healthcare providers better recognize the different dimensions of distress that may accompany advanced cancer.

This is particularly relevant to CAN-PACT’s research into psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT), where addressing existential and psychological distress is an important area of investigation.

📩 Want to learn more about psychedelic-assisted cancer therapy and the research happening in Canada? Subscribe to the CAN-PACT newsletter for research updates, educational resources, and news from the network.

👉 The experience doesn’t end when the medicine session is over.Integration is the process of reflecting on the experienc...
09/09/2026

👉 The experience doesn’t end when the medicine session is over.

Integration is the process of reflecting on the experience with the support of a therapist and exploring how any insights, emotions, or perspectives can be meaningfully applied to daily life. It’s where experiences are processed, understood, and connected to lasting personal growth.

Psychedelic-assisted therapy isn’t defined by a single session—it’s a therapeutic process that includes preparation, the medicine session, and integration, with each stage playing an important role.

📽️ Watch the full video on YouTube to see how all three stages come together in psychedelic-assisted therapy: https://youtu.be/TF6232BCMrQ?si=mG_7K91uAFeZYg6R
Link in bio! ☝️

✨ If you found this helpful, consider sharing it to help others better understand the PAT process. ✨

🎵 Music is more than background in psychedelic therapy. Music is widely used during psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, ...
09/07/2026

🎵 Music is more than background in psychedelic therapy.

Music is widely used during psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, but what role does it actually play in the experience?

This qualitative study explored the music-related experiences of 31 participants taking part in a trial of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety and depression associated with life-threatening illness, similar to CAN PACT. Participants described feeling more intensely connected to music during psilocybin sessions compared with control sessions.

Their experiences suggest music can play several roles:
🎧 GUIDE — Music interacted with participants’ emotions and inner experiences, sometimes helping shape how the psychedelic experience unfolded.
🧠 CONNECT — Music became intertwined with memories, mental imagery, emotions and physical sensations, creating deeply multisensory experiences.
💡 REVEAL — Through these experiences, participants described personal realizations and new ways of understanding themselves and their lives.
🔄 RECONNECT — The role of music didn’t necessarily end when the dosing session did. Encountering the same music afterward could bring back sensations or experiences associated with the psychedelic session and prompt continued reflection and processing.

The findings also highlight an important nuance: music wasn’t always experienced as pleasant or comforting. It could accompany experiences that were revelatory, challenging, fragmenting—or a combination of these. This underscores the importance of thoughtful music selection and therapists who can respond to what is unfolding during the session.

Rather than simply providing a soundtrack, music may be an active component of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy—one that can play a role across preparation, dosing and integration.

📖 Source:
O’Callaghan C, Kallianis V, Ross M. Participants’ Music Experiences Associated With Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy for Depression and Anxiety Related to Life-Threatening Illness. Journal of Music Therapy. 2026;63(2):1–35. https://academic.oup.com/jmt/article/63/2/thag015/8743985?login=false

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