D. Brenner

Expansion without Erasure: A Psychoanalytic Response to Peoples and Rundel

Psychoanalytic Dialogues November 2, 2025 D. Brenner

Peoples and Rundel argue that oceanic experiences in psychedelic-assisted treatment need not indicate regression but may reflect expansions of consciousness. I respond by examining how the self enables survival yet contributes to suffering, distinguishing expanded states from perspective, and proposing perspective as the hinge that transforms transient ego-dissolution into lasting growth. I...