An encounter with the self: A thematic and content analysis of the DMT experience from a naturalistic field study.
Pascal Michael, David Luke, Oliver Robinson
Frontiers in Psychology 2023 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1083356 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Naturalistic field study with qualitative thematic and content analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 36 |
| Population | Screened, healthy, anonymized, experienced DMT users (mostly Caucasian, 83% men, mean age 37) |
| Intervention | DMT |
| Dose | 40-75-mg inhaled |
| Topics | DMT |
| Keywords | Content analysis Disconnected consciousness Field study Self Thematic analysis Psychedelics hallucinogens Entheogens Psychoactive substances Awareness studies Mind exploration Naturalistic studies In-situ research |
| Citations | 16 |
| Key findings | The DMT breakthrough experience encompasses five major domains—onset, bodily, sensorial, psychological, and emotional effects—with rich subthemes that resonate with other extraordinary experiences. |
Abstract
N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is an endogenous serotonergic psychedelic capable of producing radical shifts in an experience that have significant implications for consciousness and its neural correlates, especially given the "disconnected consciousness" suggested by the "breakthrough" DMT state. Its increasing usage and clinical trial indicate the growing importance of a thorough elucidation of the experience's qualitative content, over and above the phenomenological structure. This is particularly in light of the intensely pervasive effects of DMT occasions in all dimensions of the self, which are often ontologically challenging yet potentially transformative. This is the second report on the first naturalistic field study of DMT use exploring its qualitative analysis. Screened, healthy, anonymized, and experienced DMT users were observed during their non-clinical use of the drug at home (40-75-mg inhaled). In-depth semi-structured interviews, inspired by the micro-phenomenological technique, were employed immediately after their experience. This study reports on the thematic and content analysis of one major domain of the breakthrough experiences elicited, the "self"; where analyses of the "other" were previously reported. A total of 36 post-DMT experience interviews with mostly Caucasian (83%) men (eight women) of a mean of 37 years were predominantly inductively coded. Invariably, profound and highly intense experiences occurred. The first overarching category comprised the onset of effects, encompassing super-ordinate themes including sensory, emotion and body, and space-time shifts; the second category comprised bodily effects, encompassing themes including pleasurable, neutral/both, and uncomfortable; the third category comprised the sensorial effects, encompassing open-eye, visual, and cross-modal and other; the fourth comprised the psychological effects, encompassing memory and language, awareness and sense of self, and time distortions; and the fifth comprised the emotional effects, encompassing positive, neither/both, and challenging experiences. Many further subthemes also illuminate the rich content of the DMT experience. The present study provides a systematic and nuanced analysis of the content of the breakthrough DMT state pertaining to one's personal and self-referential experiences of the body, senses, psychology, and emotions. The resonances both with previous DMT studies and other types of extraordinary experiences, such as the alien abduction, shamanic and near-death experiences, are also elaborated upon. Putative neural mechanisms and their promise as a psychotherapeutic agent, especially owing to deep emotional impact, are discussed.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on DMT, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Making "bad trips" good: How users of psychedelics narratively transform challenging trips into valuable experiences. Norwegian users of psychedelics | 2021 | Qualitative study | n = 50 |
| Phenomenology and content of the inhaled N, N-dimethyltryptamine (N, N-DMT) experience. Naturalistic inhaled N,N-DMT experiences posted to the r/DMT Reddit community | 2022 | Qualitative analysis | n = 3,778 |
| The content of complex psychedelic experiences resulting from inhalation of N,N-dimethyltryptamine People who smoked N,N-dimethyltryptamine and posted narrative accounts online | 2023 | Qualitative study | |
| DMT micro-phenomenology Healthy participants who received DMT during fMRI scanning | 2024 | Qualitative study using micro-phenomenological interviews | n = 23 |
| An encounter with death: a comparative thematic and content analysis of naturalistic DMT experiences and the near-death experience. Participants in a naturalistic field study of DMT (36 interviews) and individuals with... | 2025 | Thematic and content analysis of qualitative interviews and written narratives | n = 70 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 15
- Ayahuasca: A review of historical, pharmacological, and therapeutic aspects. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences Reports December 1, 2023
- This is your brain on death: a comparative analysis of a near-death experience and subsequent 5-Methoxy-DMT experience. Frontiers in Psychology 2023
- Why N,N-dimethyltryptamine matters: unique features and therapeutic potential beyond classical psychedelics. Frontiers in Psychiatry November 6, 2024
- Considering distinct positive emotions in psychedelic science. International Review of Psychiatry December 1, 2024
- Therapeutic benefit versus epistemic risk: Need for empirical research in psychedelic epistemology. Journal of Psychiatric Research August 1, 2025
and 10 more in the library
Cites 72
- The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014
- Human hallucinogen research: guidelines for safety. Journal of Psychopharmacology July 1, 2008
- REBUS and the Anarchic Brain: Toward a Unified Model of the Brain Action of Psychedelics Pharmacological Reviews June 20, 2019
- Quality of Acute Psychedelic Experience Predicts Therapeutic Efficacy of Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression Frontiers in Pharmacology January 17, 2018
- Out‐of‐body experience and autoscopy of neurological origin Brain January 15, 2004
and 67 more in the library