Understanding psychedelic 'mystical experience'—A case example

Abstract

In recent psychedelic therapy research, the concept of 'mystical experience' has been highlighted, as in several studies it has been identified as a significant predictor of improved outcome. Many studies mentioning the concept, for example, reports of randomized clinical trials, typically do not provide detailed examples of such experiences, however. In order to make the concept easily understandable, this case study aims at exemplifying what kinds of unexplainable or 'mystical' phenomena may emerge in the process of psychedelic therapy, how these experiences are related to treatment outcomes, and what kinds of attitudes clinicians might want to adopt when facing such situations. The present case concerns a man in his forties with family trauma that happened before his birth. The trauma continually affected his life, leading to alienation from his parents after his teenage years. After more than two decades, interest in psychedelic therapy led him to attend a psilocybin session, in which he relived the family trauma. As a result, he rebuilt his relationship with his parents, as well as the relationship between his parents and his children. Another psilocybin session a year later led to an improved relationship with his wife. A third session with MDMA released embodied, job-related stress. Inspired by his experiences of such therapy, also his father attended a psilocybin session. Information was acquired from semi-structured retrospective interviews.