Research suggests that the clinical and therapeutic effects of psychedelics are related to their ability to induce a mystical-type experience. One particularly interesting feature of the psychedelic mystical experience is the entity encounter - people who take psychedelics sometimes describe meetings with seemingly autonomous entities which appear to possess intelligence and agency. While there has been little empirical research into psychedelic entity phenomena, qualitative studies and anecdotal reports suggest that entity encounters can have profound and lasting positive after-effects. Based on the existing data, this article argues that there is value in exploring the therapeutic potential of psychedelic entity encounters. Specifically, it proposes three possible ways that entity encounters might mediate the therapeutic effect of the psychedelic mystical experience.
{"title":"Entity encounters and the therapeutic effect of the psychedelic mystical experience","authors":"Anna Lutkajtis","doi":"10.1556/2054.2020.00143","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.2020.00143","url":null,"abstract":"Research suggests that the clinical and therapeutic effects of psychedelics are related to their ability to induce a mystical-type experience. One particularly interesting feature of the psychedelic mystical experience is the entity encounter - people who take psychedelics sometimes describe meetings with seemingly autonomous entities which appear to possess intelligence and agency. While there has been little empirical research into psychedelic entity phenomena, qualitative studies and anecdotal reports suggest that entity encounters can have profound and lasting positive after-effects. Based on the existing data, this article argues that there is value in exploring the therapeutic potential of psychedelic entity encounters. Specifically, it proposes three possible ways that entity encounters might mediate the therapeutic effect of the psychedelic mystical experience.","PeriodicalId":34732,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Psychedelic Studies","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2020-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41607126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Similar to much of the mental health field, psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has failed to center the needs of people of color. Monnica Williams and colleagues demonstrate the harm faced by Black women and other people of color when working with psychedelic-assisted psychotherapists that are unaware of and ill-equipped to address sensitive topics related to race. Here I discuss the benefits and limitations of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy training for therapists that have not engaged in deep and reflective processes to understand their personal engagement in racism, privilege, and oppression. I call on leaders in the field of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to adhere to a new standard of intersectional cultural humility for anyone preparing to provide these services. Finally, I highlight the need to significantly increase the number of therapists of color trained to offer psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to begin to address racial disparities to access to these radical treatments for trauma.
{"title":"Ensuring the psychedelic renaissance and radical healing reach the Black community: Commentary on Culture and Psychedelic Psychotherapy","authors":"Nicole T. Buchanan","doi":"10.1556/2054.2020.00145","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.2020.00145","url":null,"abstract":"Similar to much of the mental health field, psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has failed to center the needs of people of color. Monnica Williams and colleagues demonstrate the harm faced by Black women and other people of color when working with psychedelic-assisted psychotherapists that are unaware of and ill-equipped to address sensitive topics related to race. Here I discuss the benefits and limitations of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy training for therapists that have not engaged in deep and reflective processes to understand their personal engagement in racism, privilege, and oppression. I call on leaders in the field of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to adhere to a new standard of intersectional cultural humility for anyone preparing to provide these services. Finally, I highlight the need to significantly increase the number of therapists of color trained to offer psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to begin to address racial disparities to access to these radical treatments for trauma.","PeriodicalId":34732,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Psychedelic Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2020-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44582117","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Psychedelic medicine is an emerging field of research and practice that examines the psychotherapeutic effects of substances classified as hallucinogens on the human mind, body, and spirit. Current research explores the safety and efficacy of these substances for mental health disorders including anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although current studies explore psychotherapeutic effects from a biomedical perspective, gaps in awareness around cultural issues in the therapeutic process are prominent. African Americans have been absent from psychedelic research as both participants and researchers, and little attention has been paid to the potential of psychedelics to address traumas caused by racialization. This paper examines cultural themes and clinical applications from the one-time use of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) as part of an US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved clinical trial and training exercise for three African American female therapists. The primary themes that emerged across the varied experiences centered on strength, safety, connection, and managing oppression/racialization. The participants' experiences were found to be personally meaningful and instructive for how Western models of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy could be more effective and accessible to the Black community. Included is a discussion of the importance of facilitator training to make best use of emerging material when it includes cultural, racial, and spiritual themes. A lack of knowledge and epistemic humility can create barriers to treatment for underserved populations. Implications for future research and practice for marginalized cultural groups are also discussed, including consideration of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) as an adjunct to the psychedelic-therapy approaches currently advanced. As women of color are among the most stigmatized groups of people, it is essential to incorporate their perspectives into the literature to expand conversations about health equity.
{"title":"Culture and psychedelic psychotherapy: Ethnic and racial themes from three Black women therapists","authors":"Monnica T. Williams, S. Reed, Jamilah R. George","doi":"10.1556/2054.2020.00137","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.2020.00137","url":null,"abstract":"Psychedelic medicine is an emerging field of research and practice that examines the psychotherapeutic effects of substances classified as hallucinogens on the human mind, body, and spirit. Current research explores the safety and efficacy of these substances for mental health disorders including anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although current studies explore psychotherapeutic effects from a biomedical perspective, gaps in awareness around cultural issues in the therapeutic process are prominent. African Americans have been absent from psychedelic research as both participants and researchers, and little attention has been paid to the potential of psychedelics to address traumas caused by racialization. This paper examines cultural themes and clinical applications from the one-time use of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) as part of an US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved clinical trial and training exercise for three African American female therapists. The primary themes that emerged across the varied experiences centered on strength, safety, connection, and managing oppression/racialization. The participants' experiences were found to be personally meaningful and instructive for how Western models of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy could be more effective and accessible to the Black community. Included is a discussion of the importance of facilitator training to make best use of emerging material when it includes cultural, racial, and spiritual themes. A lack of knowledge and epistemic humility can create barriers to treatment for underserved populations. Implications for future research and practice for marginalized cultural groups are also discussed, including consideration of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) as an adjunct to the psychedelic-therapy approaches currently advanced. As women of color are among the most stigmatized groups of people, it is essential to incorporate their perspectives into the literature to expand conversations about health equity.","PeriodicalId":34732,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Psychedelic Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2020-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46644886","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
There is increasing evidence that psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is effective for a range of psychological conditions. There are likely numerous mechanisms of action that contribute to these clinical effects. One such mechanism of action might involve psychedelics increasing levels of empathic functioning. This paper synthesises research concerning the relationship between psychedelics and empathy, emphasising neuroscientific and clinical contexts. We conclude that neuropsychological and clinical evidence imply psychedelics could lead to increased empathic functioning. The effects of psychedelics on the 5-HT system, default mode network, neural connectivity and ego dissolution are implicated in these changes. Changes in empathic functioning also likely relate to increases in the personality trait of openness associated with psychedelic drug use, which is well documented. Increased empathic function likely has clinical implications, leading to increased social connectedness as well as prosocial attitudes and behaviours more broadly.
{"title":"Tripping over the other: Could psychedelics increase empathy?","authors":"E. Blatchford, S. Bright, Liam B. Engel","doi":"10.1556/2054.2020.00136","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.2020.00136","url":null,"abstract":"There is increasing evidence that psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is effective for a range of psychological conditions. There are likely numerous mechanisms of action that contribute to these clinical effects. One such mechanism of action might involve psychedelics increasing levels of empathic functioning. This paper synthesises research concerning the relationship between psychedelics and empathy, emphasising neuroscientific and clinical contexts. We conclude that neuropsychological and clinical evidence imply psychedelics could lead to increased empathic functioning. The effects of psychedelics on the 5-HT system, default mode network, neural connectivity and ego dissolution are implicated in these changes. Changes in empathic functioning also likely relate to increases in the personality trait of openness associated with psychedelic drug use, which is well documented. Increased empathic function likely has clinical implications, leading to increased social connectedness as well as prosocial attitudes and behaviours more broadly.","PeriodicalId":34732,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Psychedelic Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2020-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42713794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ibogaine is a naturally occurring psychedelic medicine with anti-addictive properties. While research on ibogaine is limited, several observational studies have shown ibogaine can mitigate opioid withdrawal, as seen with reductions in clinical and subjective opioid withdrawal scores and reduced drug use severity (Noller, Frampton, & Yazar-Klosinski, 2018; Brown & Alper 2018). Furthermore, the psychoactive experience may help individuals to realign their values, purpose and sense of connection, as seen with post treatment reductions in depression scores (Noller et al., 2018; Mash et al., 2000).This case series describes two cases of individuals accessing ibogaine through private unregulated clinics in the Vancouver area to treat their opioid use disorder.In case 1, the client achieved total abstinence from all opioids within 5–6 days of starting ibogaine treatment, did not experience any opioid withdrawal symptoms after ibogaine treatment and maintained abstinence from opioids for 3 years. In case 2, the patient took ibogaine/iboga in multiple treatments over a short period of time (<4 months). The patient stopped all non-medical opioids after the first iboga treatment and then used ibogaine to aid with further dose reductions of her opioid agonist therapy (OAT) and has maintained abstinence from opioids for 2 years. Ibogaine offers a unique and novel therapeutic approach to treating opioid use disorder. Further studies are needed to establish the safety, risks and potential role for ibogaine as a mainstream, evidence-based addiction treatment.
{"title":"Novel treatment of opioid use disorder using ibogaine and iboga in two adults","authors":"Claire A. Wilson, T. Millar, Zak Matieschyn","doi":"10.1556/2054.2020.00133","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.2020.00133","url":null,"abstract":"Ibogaine is a naturally occurring psychedelic medicine with anti-addictive properties. While research on ibogaine is limited, several observational studies have shown ibogaine can mitigate opioid withdrawal, as seen with reductions in clinical and subjective opioid withdrawal scores and reduced drug use severity (Noller, Frampton, & Yazar-Klosinski, 2018; Brown & Alper 2018). Furthermore, the psychoactive experience may help individuals to realign their values, purpose and sense of connection, as seen with post treatment reductions in depression scores (Noller et al., 2018; Mash et al., 2000).This case series describes two cases of individuals accessing ibogaine through private unregulated clinics in the Vancouver area to treat their opioid use disorder.In case 1, the client achieved total abstinence from all opioids within 5–6 days of starting ibogaine treatment, did not experience any opioid withdrawal symptoms after ibogaine treatment and maintained abstinence from opioids for 3 years. In case 2, the patient took ibogaine/iboga in multiple treatments over a short period of time (<4 months). The patient stopped all non-medical opioids after the first iboga treatment and then used ibogaine to aid with further dose reductions of her opioid agonist therapy (OAT) and has maintained abstinence from opioids for 2 years. Ibogaine offers a unique and novel therapeutic approach to treating opioid use disorder. Further studies are needed to establish the safety, risks and potential role for ibogaine as a mainstream, evidence-based addiction treatment.","PeriodicalId":34732,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Psychedelic Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2020-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41764263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper demonstrates that cannabis can evoke “peak-experiences”—the name psychologist Abraham Maslow gave to fleeting moments of expanded perception indicative of self-transcendence—when used alongside more traditional religious practices such as meditation, fasting, contemplative prayer, and sacramental ritual. For that reason, religious seekers around the globe have deployed cannabis as a deliberate psychoactive to trigger the peak-experiences that stir feelings of ecstasy, wonder, and awe and resolve the “dichotomies, polarities, and conflicts of life.” As such, peak-experiences exemplify a form of spiritual revelation that has played a pivotal role in the history of religion, and because of its ability to elicit unitive consciousness at the heart of mystical insight, cannabis has been utilized as a mild entheogen across culture and tradition for millennia.
{"title":"Peak-experience and the entheogenic use of cannabis in world religions","authors":"M. Ferrara","doi":"10.1556/2054.2020.00122","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.2020.00122","url":null,"abstract":"This paper demonstrates that cannabis can evoke “peak-experiences”—the name psychologist Abraham Maslow gave to fleeting moments of expanded perception indicative of self-transcendence—when used alongside more traditional religious practices such as meditation, fasting, contemplative prayer, and sacramental ritual. For that reason, religious seekers around the globe have deployed cannabis as a deliberate psychoactive to trigger the peak-experiences that stir feelings of ecstasy, wonder, and awe and resolve the “dichotomies, polarities, and conflicts of life.” As such, peak-experiences exemplify a form of spiritual revelation that has played a pivotal role in the history of religion, and because of its ability to elicit unitive consciousness at the heart of mystical insight, cannabis has been utilized as a mild entheogen across culture and tradition for millennia.","PeriodicalId":34732,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Psychedelic Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2020-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44701953","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
These two volumes bring together two very different eras of psychedelic studies, its early florescence in the 1960s and a current wave reflecting cumulative developments fifty years later. Both are based on conferences sharing the same title given to the book, an open exploration of the potential for modern science and medicine to engage with the pharmacological abundance provided by nature and embodied in the remnants of shamanic entheogenic traditions. The first volume covers an international conference including researchers from diverse fields – psychiatry, medicine, botany, pharmacology, chemistry and anthropology – that came together in San Francisco in 1967 for three days under what might have been seen as auspicious circumstances – a conference sponsored by agencies of the US government, the National Institute of Mental Health and US Public Health Service. The second volume is the compilation of 21 papers presented 50 years later in 2017 when an even more diverse group of scholars came together to share some of the new findings that emerged since the first conference, reflecting the psychedelics renaissance that emerged in the 21st century during a stifling decades long War on Drugs funded by the same government that sponsored the first conference 50 years ago. As the second volume shows, in spite of such draconian repression, the field of ethnopharmacological psychedelic studies has progressed to the point that we are now able to discuss the numerous discoveries of the therapeutic potential of these diverse substances in spite of their continued stigmatization. The first conference included a who’s who of 20th century psychedelic research with such famous stalwarts as Richard Evans Schultes, Gordon Wasson, Claudio Naranjo, Alexander Shulgin, and Daniel Freedman, but the majority of the participants are probably but historical footnotes to their 21st century intellectual descendants. Their presentations at this conference, however, are immortalized in this publication, first released in 1967 as Public Health Service Publication No. 1645 by the US Government Printing Office under the editorship of Daniel Efron, Bo Holmstedt and Nathan Kline. While the conference was dominated by US researchers, the international scope of the participants was reflected in researchers from Russia, Argentina, Mexico, Switzerland, Germany and Sweden. Efron’s preface alludes to issues still important and unresolved in the study of psychedelics such as the origins of humans’ psychotropic plant use and the identity of the psychoactive plants referred to in the Bible. Efron’s naivety is evident however, where he wonders if this Biblical drug use “brought happiness and comfort, or new problems, aggravations, and unhappiness” (p. ix). Apparently Efron’s memory of Sunday school teachings had faded as Genesis clearly tells us that the gods were definitely displeased with humans taking the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, and fearing that humans would
{"title":"Ethnopharmacologic search for psychoactive drugs","authors":"M. Winkelman","doi":"10.1556/2054.2020.00141","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.2020.00141","url":null,"abstract":"These two volumes bring together two very different eras of psychedelic studies, its early florescence in the 1960s and a current wave reflecting cumulative developments fifty years later. Both are based on conferences sharing the same title given to the book, an open exploration of the potential for modern science and medicine to engage with the pharmacological abundance provided by nature and embodied in the remnants of shamanic entheogenic traditions. The first volume covers an international conference including researchers from diverse fields – psychiatry, medicine, botany, pharmacology, chemistry and anthropology – that came together in San Francisco in 1967 for three days under what might have been seen as auspicious circumstances – a conference sponsored by agencies of the US government, the National Institute of Mental Health and US Public Health Service. The second volume is the compilation of 21 papers presented 50 years later in 2017 when an even more diverse group of scholars came together to share some of the new findings that emerged since the first conference, reflecting the psychedelics renaissance that emerged in the 21st century during a stifling decades long War on Drugs funded by the same government that sponsored the first conference 50 years ago. As the second volume shows, in spite of such draconian repression, the field of ethnopharmacological psychedelic studies has progressed to the point that we are now able to discuss the numerous discoveries of the therapeutic potential of these diverse substances in spite of their continued stigmatization. The first conference included a who’s who of 20th century psychedelic research with such famous stalwarts as Richard Evans Schultes, Gordon Wasson, Claudio Naranjo, Alexander Shulgin, and Daniel Freedman, but the majority of the participants are probably but historical footnotes to their 21st century intellectual descendants. Their presentations at this conference, however, are immortalized in this publication, first released in 1967 as Public Health Service Publication No. 1645 by the US Government Printing Office under the editorship of Daniel Efron, Bo Holmstedt and Nathan Kline. While the conference was dominated by US researchers, the international scope of the participants was reflected in researchers from Russia, Argentina, Mexico, Switzerland, Germany and Sweden. Efron’s preface alludes to issues still important and unresolved in the study of psychedelics such as the origins of humans’ psychotropic plant use and the identity of the psychoactive plants referred to in the Bible. Efron’s naivety is evident however, where he wonders if this Biblical drug use “brought happiness and comfort, or new problems, aggravations, and unhappiness” (p. ix). Apparently Efron’s memory of Sunday school teachings had faded as Genesis clearly tells us that the gods were definitely displeased with humans taking the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, and fearing that humans would ","PeriodicalId":34732,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Psychedelic Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2020-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45687009","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The recent revivification of interest in the therapeutic use of psychedelics has had a particular focus on mood disorders and addiction, although there is reason to think these drugs may be effective more widely. After outlining pertinent aspects of psilocybin and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the current review summarizes the evidence indicating that there may be a role for psilocybin in the treatment of OCD, as well as highlighting a range of potential therapeutic mechanisms that reflect the action of psilocybin on brain function. Although the current evidence is limited, that multiple signals point in directions consistent with treatment potential, alongside the psychological and physiological safety of clinically administered psilocybin, support the expansion of research, both in animal models and in further randomized controlled trials, to properly investigate this potential.
{"title":"A potential role for psilocybin in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder","authors":"E. Jacobs","doi":"10.1556/2054.2020.00128","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.2020.00128","url":null,"abstract":"The recent revivification of interest in the therapeutic use of psychedelics has had a particular focus on mood disorders and addiction, although there is reason to think these drugs may be effective more widely. After outlining pertinent aspects of psilocybin and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the current review summarizes the evidence indicating that there may be a role for psilocybin in the treatment of OCD, as well as highlighting a range of potential therapeutic mechanisms that reflect the action of psilocybin on brain function. Although the current evidence is limited, that multiple signals point in directions consistent with treatment potential, alongside the psychological and physiological safety of clinically administered psilocybin, support the expansion of research, both in animal models and in further randomized controlled trials, to properly investigate this potential.","PeriodicalId":34732,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Psychedelic Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2020-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46046347","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Despite the popular support for psychedelics as aids for depression, academics and the public frequently overestimate the efficacy of available medications and psychotherapies. Metaanalyses reveal that antidepressant medications alone help only one in four patients and rarely surpass credible placebos. Their effects, though statistically significant, might not impress depressed patients themselves. Psychotherapies create better outcomes than antidepressant drugs alone; combining the two provides measurable advantages. Nevertheless, the best combinations help only 65% of the clients who complete treatment. The drugs create side-effects and withdrawal surprisingly more severe than professional guidelines imply, too. Psychedelics appear to improve depression through some of the same mechanisms as psychotherapy, as well as some novel ones, suggesting that the combination could work very well. In addition, subjective experiences during the psychedelic sessions covary with improvement. Guiding clients to focus on these targeted thoughts and feelings could improve outcome. These data underscore the serious need for clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted, empirically supported treatment for depression with guided experiences during the psychedelic session. These trials would require important components to maximize their impact, including meaningful preparatory sessions designed to enhance motivation and explain empirically supported approaches, guided administration sessions that focus on oceanic boundlessness, integration sessions that support progress, and follow-up sessions consistent with established research. This combination involves markedly more than a simple pairing of medication and talk therapy, but proper application could have an unparalleled impact on public health.
{"title":"Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for depression: How dire is the need? How could we do it?","authors":"M. Earleywine, J. D. De Leo","doi":"10.1556/2054.2020.00134","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.2020.00134","url":null,"abstract":"Despite the popular support for psychedelics as aids for depression, academics and the public frequently overestimate the efficacy of available medications and psychotherapies. Metaanalyses reveal that antidepressant medications alone help only one in four patients and rarely surpass credible placebos. Their effects, though statistically significant, might not impress depressed patients themselves. Psychotherapies create better outcomes than antidepressant drugs alone; combining the two provides measurable advantages. Nevertheless, the best combinations help only 65% of the clients who complete treatment. The drugs create side-effects and withdrawal surprisingly more severe than professional guidelines imply, too. Psychedelics appear to improve depression through some of the same mechanisms as psychotherapy, as well as some novel ones, suggesting that the combination could work very well. In addition, subjective experiences during the psychedelic sessions covary with improvement. Guiding clients to focus on these targeted thoughts and feelings could improve outcome. These data underscore the serious need for clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted, empirically supported treatment for depression with guided experiences during the psychedelic session. These trials would require important components to maximize their impact, including meaningful preparatory sessions designed to enhance motivation and explain empirically supported approaches, guided administration sessions that focus on oceanic boundlessness, integration sessions that support progress, and follow-up sessions consistent with established research. This combination involves markedly more than a simple pairing of medication and talk therapy, but proper application could have an unparalleled impact on public health.","PeriodicalId":34732,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Psychedelic Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2020-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48279099","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. V. Uthaug, R. Lancelotta, A. M. Ortiz Bernal, A. K. Davis, J. Ramaekers
Previous research suggests a therapeutic potential of 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT). However, online anecdotal reports have described a phenomenon following cessation of the acute effects of 5-MeO-DMT use which has been termed reactivation (i.e., re-experiencing [“flashback”]). To date, no research has investigated whether different routes of administration may confer different reactivation rates, effects and experiences.We aimed to assess whether intramuscular injection (IM) and vaporization of 5-MeO-DMT conferred different reactivation rates, changes in satisfaction with life as well as ratings of the experience with ego dissolution and the mystical.Using internet-based advertisements, 27 respondents (Mage = 32. SE = 1.43; males = 18; North America = 19) completed an online-based survey.Of the 14 participants in the IM group, 3 (21%) reported reactivations; in contrast, of the 13 participants in the vaporization group, 9 (69%) reported reactivations. Redosing (more than 1 dose) occurred more frequently in the vaporization group (N = 8) (1–6 times with 3–35 mg of 5-MeO-DMT), relative to the IM group (N = 2) (1–5 times with 5–10 mg of 5-MeO-DMT). All participants in the IM group experienced release of physical tension, compared to 8 participants in the vaporization group. Participants in the IM group reported longer time of onset of acute effects (between 1 and 3 [N = 6] and 4–6 min [N = 6]), relative to the vaporization group where the majority (N = 11) reported a rapid onset of 1–50 s.Findings suggest that compared to vaporization, the IM route of administering 5-MeO-DMT is associated with lower and less doses, lower frequencies of reporting reactivation, a higher frequency of physical tension release, and a slower onset of acute effects.
{"title":"A comparison of reactivation experiences following vaporization and intramuscular injection (IM) of synthetic 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) in a naturalistic setting","authors":"M. V. Uthaug, R. Lancelotta, A. M. Ortiz Bernal, A. K. Davis, J. Ramaekers","doi":"10.1556/2054.2020.00123","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.2020.00123","url":null,"abstract":"Previous research suggests a therapeutic potential of 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT). However, online anecdotal reports have described a phenomenon following cessation of the acute effects of 5-MeO-DMT use which has been termed reactivation (i.e., re-experiencing [“flashback”]). To date, no research has investigated whether different routes of administration may confer different reactivation rates, effects and experiences.We aimed to assess whether intramuscular injection (IM) and vaporization of 5-MeO-DMT conferred different reactivation rates, changes in satisfaction with life as well as ratings of the experience with ego dissolution and the mystical.Using internet-based advertisements, 27 respondents (Mage = 32. SE = 1.43; males = 18; North America = 19) completed an online-based survey.Of the 14 participants in the IM group, 3 (21%) reported reactivations; in contrast, of the 13 participants in the vaporization group, 9 (69%) reported reactivations. Redosing (more than 1 dose) occurred more frequently in the vaporization group (N = 8) (1–6 times with 3–35 mg of 5-MeO-DMT), relative to the IM group (N = 2) (1–5 times with 5–10 mg of 5-MeO-DMT). All participants in the IM group experienced release of physical tension, compared to 8 participants in the vaporization group. Participants in the IM group reported longer time of onset of acute effects (between 1 and 3 [N = 6] and 4–6 min [N = 6]), relative to the vaporization group where the majority (N = 11) reported a rapid onset of 1–50 s.Findings suggest that compared to vaporization, the IM route of administering 5-MeO-DMT is associated with lower and less doses, lower frequencies of reporting reactivation, a higher frequency of physical tension release, and a slower onset of acute effects.","PeriodicalId":34732,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Psychedelic Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2020-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44547085","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：