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Psychedelic Therapy as Form of Life

Nicolas Langlitz, Alex K. Gearin

Neuroethics March 16, 2024 DOI: 10.1007/s12152-024-09550-9 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Qualitative study Peer reviewed
Sample size 7
Population Psychedelic therapists working in clinical trials in the United States, Germany, Switzerland, and Australia
Topics Psychedelic-assisted therapy
Keywords Neuropsychology Psychotherapist
Citations 26
Key findings The ethics of psychedelic therapy concerns how the therapies shape and are shaped by different values, norms, and metaphysical commitments, not just how psychotherapies differ when paired with psychedelic drugs.

Abstract

Abstract In the historical context of a crisis in biological psychiatry, psychedelic drugs paired with psychotherapy are globally re-emerging in research clinics as a potential transdiagnostic therapy for treating mood disorders, addictions, and other forms of psychological distress. The treatments are poised to soon shift from clinical trials to widespread service delivery in places like Australia, North America, and Europe, which has prompted ethical questions by social scientists and bioethicists. Taking a broader view, we argue that the ethics of psychedelic therapy concerns not simply how psychotherapies are different when paired with psychedelic drugs, but how psychedelic therapies shape and are shaped by different values, norms, and metaphysical commitments. Drawing from the published literature and interviews with seven psychedelic therapists working in clinical trials in the United States, Germany, Switzerland, and Australia, this article opens the black box of the treatments to consider the values and informal debates currently animating the therapies. Considering questions of patient autonomy, mechanisms of therapeutic action, and which therapies are best suited to pair with psychedelic substances, we examine the ethics of psychedelic therapy as an emergent form of life. To bring this form of life out in fuller relief, we conclude by comparing and contrasting it with ayahuasca use in Amazonian shamanism.

Comparable studies

Other qualitative studies on psychedelic-assisted therapy, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Patients’ Accounts of Increased “Connectedness” and “Acceptance” After Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression Patients with treatment-resistant depression enrolled in an open-label trial of psilocybin 2017 Qualitative study n = 20
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
Patient Experiences of Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Adults aged 22 to 69 with clinically elevated anxiety associated with a cancer diagnosis 2017 Qualitative study n = 13
Psychedelic therapy for smoking cessation: Qualitative analysis of participant accounts Participants who completed a psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation pilot study 2018 Qualitative follow-up study using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis n = 12
The hidden therapist: evidence for a central role of music in psychedelic therapy Patients undergoing psychedelic therapy with psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression 2018 Qualitative study n = 19

Citations in the library

Cited by 21

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Psychedelic-assisted therapy Addiction Ayahuasca Shamanism