Clinical Utility of Mystical Experiences: An Overview and Conceptual Framework.
Cameron T Alldredge, Meredith Vagner, Chris E. Corlett, Gary R Elkins
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis July 21, 2025 DOI: 10.1080/00207144.2025.2526351 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mystical experience |
| Keywords | Integration Noesis Psychedelics |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Proposes that mystical experiences in therapeutic contexts require three pre-state factors (invitation, context, individual aptitude) and subsequent integration to produce beneficial change. |
Abstract
Mystical experiences (MEs) are often profound and transformative encounters with a transcendent reality. Reported across many cultures and religions, these experiences are commonly characterized by a sense of unity, transcendence of time and space, positive mood, ineffability, and a noetic quality. Theoretical models have emphasized psychological, neurological, and sociocultural explanations to account for their positive effects on individuals, and psychometric tools have been developed to offer standardized methods to assess experience intensity and impact. MEs indicate significant potential in clinical psychology and have demonstrated psychotherapeutic benefit in the treatment of various conditions. We propose a novel conceptual framework to guide future use of MEs in therapeutic contexts, as interest in the mystical realm exponentially grows. The framework centers around the ME itself highlighting a requisite non-ordinary state of consciousness to foster intensely felt experiences occasioning profound psychological impact. The framework posits that MEs require three pre-state factors: invitation, context, and individual aptitude. After experiencing an ME, a necessary mediating factor in experiencing beneficial change is the process of integration.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mystical experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Psychedelic Mystical Experience in the Human Encounter with Death | 1969 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Vectorial Cerebral Hemisphericity as Differential Sources for the Sensed Presence, Mystical Experiences and Religious Conversions | 1993 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The epistemic innocence of psychedelic states. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mystical Experience and Religious Doctrine | 1982 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
Cites 60
- Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial Journal of Psychopharmacology November 30, 2016
- Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer: a randomized controlled trial Journal of Psychopharmacology November 30, 2016
- Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance Psychopharmacology July 7, 2006
- Human hallucinogen research: guidelines for safety. Journal of Psychopharmacology July 1, 2008
- REBUS and the Anarchic Brain: Toward a Unified Model of the Brain Action of Psychedelics Pharmacological Reviews June 20, 2019
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