Self-Experimentations with Psychedelics Among Mental Health Professionals: LSD in the Former Czechoslovakia
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 2014 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2013.873158 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 22 |
| Population | Mental health professionals who experimented with LSD in former Czechoslovakia |
| Topics | LSD |
| Keywords | Mental health Clinical psychology |
| Citations | 36 |
| Key findings | None of the 22 respondents reported long-term negative effects and all but two reported enrichment in self-awareness or understanding of mental disorders. |
Abstract
This article enquires into auto-experiments with psychedelics. It is focused on the experiences and current attitudes of mental health professionals who experimented with LSD in the era of legal research of this substance in the former Czechoslovakia. The objective of the follow-up study presented was to assess respondents' long-term views on their LSD experience(s). A secondary objective was to capture the attitude of the respondents toward the use of psychedelics within the mental health field. A total of 22 individuals participated in structured interviews. None of the respondents reported any long-term negative effect and all of them except two recorded enrichment in the sphere of self-awareness and/or understanding to those with mental disorder(s). Although there were controversies with regard to the ability of preventing possible negative consequences, respondents were supportive towards self-experiments with LSD in mental health sciences. This article is the first systematic examination of the self-experimentation with psychedelics that took place east of the Iron Curtain.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on LSD, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| LSD-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety associated with a life-threatening disease: A qualitative study of acute and sustained subjective effects Patients with anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases | 2014 | Prospective follow-up with qualitative content analysis | n = 10 |
| Response of cluster headache to psilocybin and LSD Cluster headache patients who used psilocybin or LSD | 2006 | Qualitative study | n = 53 |
| Making "bad trips" good: How users of psychedelics narratively transform challenging trips into valuable experiences. Norwegian users of psychedelics | 2021 | Qualitative study | n = 50 |
| Psychedelic microdosing benefits and challenges: an empirical codebook Active microdosing community | 2019 | Mixed-methods study | |
| Psychoactive substances as a last resort—a qualitative study of self-treatment of migraine and cluster headaches Users of online forums discussing cluster headache and migraine treatments | 2017 | Qualitative thematic analysis |
Citations in the library
Cited by 18
- The influence of therapists’ first-hand experience with psychedelics on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy research and therapist training Journal of Psychedelic Studies October 5, 2018
- Extensive Collection of Psychotropic Mushrooms with Determination of Their Tryptamine Alkaloids International Journal of Molecular Sciences November 15, 2022
- Ayahuasca, Psychedelic Studies and Health Sciences: The Politics of Knowledge and Inquiry into an Amazonian Plant Brew Current Drug Abuse Reviews January 9, 2015
- Counselors’ attitudes toward psychedelics and their use in therapy Journal of Counseling & Development March 19, 2022
- Motives for the use of serotonergic psychedelics: A systematic review. Drug and Alcohol Review September 1, 2022
and 13 more in the library
Cites 23
- Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance Psychopharmacology July 7, 2006
- Pilot Study of Psilocybin Treatment for Anxiety in Patients With Advanced-Stage Cancer Archives of General Psychiatry September 7, 2010
- Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 23, 2012
- Human hallucinogen research: guidelines for safety. Journal of Psychopharmacology July 1, 2008
- Mystical experiences occasioned by the hallucinogen psilocybin lead to increases in the personality domain of openness Journal of Psychopharmacology September 28, 2011
and 18 more in the library