Can Drugs Be Used to Enhance the Psychotherapeutic Process?
Lester Grinspoon, James B. Bakalar
American Journal of Psychotherapy July 1, 1986 DOI: 10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1986.40.3.393 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | MDMA |
| Keywords | Alliance Introspection Psychotherapist Perception Drugs of abuse |
| Citations | 189 |
| Key findings | MDMA may enhance the therapeutic alliance by promoting self-disclosure and trust, but research on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy should not be abandoned due to concerns about abuse. |
Abstract
Many preindustrial cultures traditionally use certain psychedelic plants to enhance a procedure that resembles psychotherapy--an idea that was also tested in Western psychiatry in the 1950s and 1960s. LSD and related drugs were used to facilitate the production of memories, fantasies and insights and to enhance the therapeutic alliance. The results were inconclusive, and research was largely abandoned after the drugs became difficult to obtain. It may now be possible to revive this research, using new drugs that do not have some of the disadvantages of the old ones. The drug now of most interest is MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) a relatively mild and short-acting substance that is said to give a heightened capacity for introspection and intimacy without the perceptual changes, emotional unpredictability, and occasional adverse reactions associated with LSD. Therapists who have used the drug claim that it can enhance the therapeutic alliance by inviting self-disclosure and promoting trust. Whether MDMA fulfills this promise or not, other drugs may eventually prove useful in psychotherapy. Research on their potential should not be curtailed because of fear that they will be subject to illicit abuse.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on MDMA, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human Pharmacology of MDMA | 2004 | Review | |
| Human psychopharmacology of Ecstasy (MDMA): a review of 15 years of empirical research | 2001 | Review | |
| 3,4‐Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “Ecstasy”): pharmacology and toxicology in animals and humans | 1994 | Review | |
| (±)3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (‘Ecstasy’)-Induced Serotonin Neurotoxicity: Studies in Animals | 2000 | Review | |
| Amphetamine toxicities | 2010 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 100
- Methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) and methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) cause selective ablation of serotonergic axon terminals in forebrain: immunocytochemical evidence for neurotoxicity Journal of Neuroscience August 1, 1988
- Recreational MDMA use in Sydney: a profile of ‘Ecstasy’ users and their experiences with the drug British Journal of Addiction August 1, 1992
- Hallucinogens in Mental Health: Preclinical and Clinical Studies on LSD, Psilocybin, MDMA, and Ketamine Journal of Neuroscience November 30, 2020
- Therapeutic Alliance and Rapport Modulate Responses to Psilocybin Assisted Therapy for Depression Frontiers in Pharmacology March 31, 2022
- MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy Using Low Doses in a Small Sample of Women with Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Journal of Psychoactive Drugs September 1, 2008
and 95 more in the library
Cites 9
- ADVERSE REACTIONS TO PSYCHEDELIC DRUGS. A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease October 1, 1984
- LSD-Assisted Psychotherapy in Patients with Terminal Cancer International Pharmacopsychiatry 1973
- The Psychedelic Mystical Experience in the Human Encounter with Death Harvard Theological Review 1969
- Peyote in the Treatment of Alcoholism Among American Indians American Journal of Psychiatry November 1, 1974
- Acute Adverse Reactions to Lsd in Clinical and Experimental use in the United Kingdom The British Journal of Psychiatry February 1, 1971
and 4 more in the library