Psychedelic crossings: American mental health and LSD in the 1970s.
Lucas Richert, Erika Dyck
Med Humanit June 23, 2019 DOI: 10.1136/medhum-2018-011593 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Psychedelic-assisted therapy LSD |
| Keywords | LSD Therapy Hallucinogen treatment Psychedelic medicine Consciousness expansion therapy Mind-altering therapy Mental healthcare history Psychiatry history Medical history 1970s mental health Historical psychiatry Therapeutic history Forgotten chapter Therapeutic breakthroughs Psychological insights Patient outcomes Treatment advancements Healing discoveries Profound understanding Positive outcomes |
| Citations | 17 |
| Key points | Argues that LSD in the 1970s bridged biomedical understandings of health and cure with subjective individual needs, creating cross-disciplinary intersections in mental healthcare. |
Abstract
This article places a spotlight on lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and American mental health in the 1970s, an era in which psychedelic science was far from settled and researchers continued to push the limits of regulation, resist change and attempt to revolutionise the mental health market-place. The following pages reveal some of the connections between mental health, LSD and the wider setting, avoiding both ascension and declension narratives. We offer a renewed approach to a substance, LSD, which bridged the gap between biomedical understandings of 'health' and 'cure' and the subjective needs of the individual. Garnering much attention, much like today, LSD created a cross-over point that brought together the humanities and arts, social sciences, health policy, medical education, patient experience and the public at large. It also divided opinion. This study draws on archival materials, medical literature and popular culture to understand the dynamics of psychedelic crossings as a means of engendering a fresh approach to cultural and countercultural-based healthcare during the 1970s.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on LSD and psychedelic-assisted therapy, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychedelics and Psychotherapy: Cognitive-Behavioral Approaches as Default | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Flashback: psychiatric experimentation with LSD in historical perspective. | 2005 | Historical analysis | |
| LSD therapy in Dutch psychiatry: changing socio-political settings and medical sets. | 2002 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Psychedelics and psychotherapy in Canada: Humphry Osmond and Aldous Huxley. | 2018 | Historical analysis | |
| Research into Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy for Anorexia Nervosa Should be Funded. | 2023 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |