American Journal of Psychotherapy
July 1, 1986
Lester Grinspoon, James B. Bakalar
189 citations
Many preindustrial cultures used psychedelic plants to enhance practices resembling psychotherapy, an idea tested in Western psychiatry during the 1950s and 1960s. LSD and similar drugs were employed to facilitate memories, fantasies, and insights and to strengthen the therapeutic alliance, but results were inconclusive, and research largely ended when the drugs became hard to obtain. Revival of such research may now be possible with newer drugs that avoid some drawbacks of older ones. MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is currently of most interest; it is relatively mild and short-acting, reportedly enhancing introspection and intimacy without the perceptual changes, emotional unpredictability, or adverse reactions linked to LSD.
American Journal of Psychotherapy
July 23, 2021
David M. Horton, Blaise Morrison, Judy A. Schmidt
92 citations
A systematized review of clinical trials on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) published over the past 25 years found important commonalities among the studies but also revealed key differences in how psychotherapy was incorporated into PAP. The authors conclude that additional research is needed to identify the unique effect of psychotherapy in PAP.
American Journal of Psychotherapy
January 1, 1976
D Goleman
70 citations
Abhidhamma, a classical Asian phenomenology of consciousness, describes how meditation fosters healthy mental properties that inhibit unhealthy ones. Drawing on this framework and empirical findings, meditation is proposed as a way to cultivate an optimal mode of responsiveness to environmental demands and as a complementary adjunct to psychotherapy.
American Journal of Psychotherapy
July 1, 1991
J D Atwood, L Maltin
26 citations
Modern physics has shifted from seeking fundamental building blocks of nature to viewing the universe as a dynamic web of interrelated events with no fundamental laws, equations, or principles. This idea of interconnectedness and self-consistency aligns with Eastern mysticism and systems theory in psychology, where the properties of any part are determined by all other parts. Society faces a crossroads between survival and destruction, requiring a higher form of consciousness and a new stage of psychological development that embraces global awareness. The paper argues for expanding Western psychotherapy to include this final integrative stage, long explored by Eastern philosophers.
American Journal of Psychotherapy
May 6, 2025
David A Bender, Sandeep M. Nayak, Joshua S. Siegel et al.
7 citations
Practitioners of psychedelic therapy largely view physical touch as an important component of treatment, but they also emphasize strict professional boundaries and the necessity of patient consent. In a survey of 40 practitioners who had overseen an average of 41.4 psychedelic sessions, 70% agreed that therapeutic touch is crucial. However, most deemed specific forms of touch inappropriate: 63% considered bodywork inappropriate, and 98% considered full-body contact inappropriate. Free-response analysis showed 96% supported touching the patient's hand and 58% supported touching the shoulder. Unprompted, 63% of respondents stressed the importance of consent. These views may inform future practice.
American Journal of Psychotherapy
January 1, 2004
Joseph Meyerson, Marc Gelkopf
An out-of-body experience (OBE) is a dissociative event where a person feels separated from their body, often occurring spontaneously in stressful or hypnogogic situations. Such experiences can shift a person's self-perspective and worldview, potentially influencing behavior. Despite its therapeutic promise in hypnotherapy, OBE application is rarely discussed. This article describes three individuals with different issues—symbiotic involvement, somatization, and therapy cessation—whose spontaneous OBEs during hypnotherapy significantly advanced their therapeutic processes. OBEs tended to appear in dissociative, highly suggestible subjects and helped them cope with anxiety-loaded issues by promoting complex separational processes through body-self detachment. The authors propose spontaneous OBE as an effective therapeutic resource in hypnotherapy.
American Journal of Psychotherapy
January 1, 2000
R F Thomson
Zen meditation (zazen) from the Soto Zen tradition fosters psychological and spiritual development by encouraging awareness of distorted, overly individualistic views of human experience. As a spiritual practice, it increases tolerance and appreciation of Wholeness, or Emptiness. Psychologically, it helps therapists be more flexibly and intimately present with patients. Effective therapy often contains elements of zazen's meditative process, and failing to incorporate this can hinder understanding and helping patients.
American Journal of Psychotherapy
January 1, 1999
R Meares
Traumatic memories are qualitatively different from nontraumatic memories because trauma uncouples consciousness, diminishing the subject-object distinction. This leads to a present-focused state, nonepisodic unconscious memory recording, a fused representation of the traumatized-traumatizer dyad as a monad rather than two persons, and unstable sequestration causing rapid reversals in relatedness. The interpretation of the traumatic event's meaning is impaired and determined by affect.
American Journal of Psychotherapy
January 1, 1985
M H Spero
Psychotherapists should respect religious patients' unique relationships with religious objects, which extend beyond standard interpersonal models. Therapists can expect patients to examine the psychodynamic bases of their religious material, but cannot arbitrate moral claims or claim a single true understanding of religious experience. Therapists can invite patients to explore the moral implications of psychological experiences and the psychological impact of religious experiences. While therapists can use knowledge of human nature to influence useful changes, they must humbly anticipate qualities of human nature and relationship whose ultimate meanings may defy conventions and paradigms.
American Journal of Psychotherapy
January 1, 1980
R A Clark
Religious delusions are not limited to Christians; a review of cases at Friends Hospital found they are equally common among Jews. Five cases are presented, four showing psychotic reactions to stress and one illustrating that a religious experience does not necessarily lead to psychosis. Delusional content may draw from the Old or New Testament. The Messiah delusion is examined in detail, including a historical 17th-century example. The authors argue that persecution and social stress can foster fantasies of a savior, making Jewish people particularly vulnerable to Messianic delusions.
American Journal of Psychotherapy
October 1, 1978
E G Solomon, A K Bumpus
Combining slow, long-distance running with Transcendental Meditation, sometimes with hypnosis, can enhance a peak experience or altered state of consciousness. The technique has indications and contraindications for various psychiatric, psychosomatic, and somatic syndromes, and can serve as an adjunct to formal individual and group psychotherapy.