Anthony Bossis

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.  Since 2006, he has been conducting FDA-approved mystical experience clinical research with the psychedelic compound psilocybin. His primary research interests in the study of psychedelics are for the treatment of end-of-life existential distress in palliative care and to advance our understanding of consciousness, thanatology, 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. Subjective features of a mystical experience include unity, sacredness, transcendence, and a greater connection to deeply felt emotions including that of love. Dr. Bossis is a training supervisor of psychotherapy at NYU-Bellevue Hospital, co-founder and former co-director of the Bellevue Hospital Palliative Care Service, and 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 (with Charles Grob, M.D.) for the journal’s Special Series on Psychedelics. He has published numerous book chapters and peer-reviewed publications on psychedelics and palliative care, spirituality, and end-of-life existential distress.  He has a long-standing interest in comparative religion and mystical experience and the interface of psychology and spirituality.  He maintains a private psychotherapy and consulting practice in NYC.