Autonomy and autoheteronomy in psychedelically assisted psychotherapy
November 30, 2022 DOI: 10.4324/9781003331780-8 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Psychedelic-assisted therapy |
| Keywords | Autonomy Psychotherapist Law |
| Citations | 8 |
| Key points | Argues that the concept of autonomy is inadequate for the psychedelic experience, proposing 'autoheteronomy' instead, and that PAP brings to crisis existing compromises around autonomy in psychotherapy. |
Abstract
Psychedelically assisted psychotherapy (PAP) looks set to become a common remedy for a range of serious mental health problems. The market for providing PAP, including a secondary market for the training, credentialising and monitoring of therapists, is expanding rapidly. Concerns have been raised recently by actors in that secondary market about the potential for abuse in PAP, which have been framed in terms of a failure to respect patient autonomy. Such concerns cannot be adequately addressed without a fundamental reconsideration of the role of autonomy in psychotherapy. Discussing what autonomy means in psychotherapy and thence especially in PAP is the aim of this chapter, which starts from practitioner-focused guidance, before reflecting on the history of autonomy in geopolitics and ethics and finally returning to consider its place in psychotherapy generally and PAP specifically. The conclusion reached is that while protecting autonomy is the primary concern of medical ethics today, autonomy is not equal to the phenomenology of the psychedelic experience, which is better characterised in terms of ‘autoheteronomy’. The chapter’s contribution to the emerging ‘psychedelic humanities’ is to show that PAP brings to crisis longstanding cultural compromises and uncertainties around the way in which psychotherapy has been thought to foster patient autonomy.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on psychedelic-assisted therapy, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theorizing that Psychedelic Assisted Therapy May Play a Role in the Treatment of Trauma-Induced Personality Disorders. | 2024 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Learning to Let Go: A Cognitive-Behavioral Model of How Psychedelic Therapy Promotes Acceptance | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Awe: a putative mechanism underlying the effects of classic psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy | 2018 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Ethical and legal issues in psychedelic harm reduction and integration therapy | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Towards psychedelic apprenticeship: Developing a gentle touch for the mediation and validation of psychedelic-induced insights and revelations. | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 8
- Psychedelic Therapy as Form of Life Neuroethics March 16, 2024
- Cognitive liberty and the psychedelic humanities. Frontiers in Psychology May 4, 2023
- What good are psychedelic humanities? Frontiers in Psychology 2023
- The Birth of the Psychedelic Industry: Capitalising on the Psychedelic Renaissance Future Humanities December 26, 2024
- Henri Michaux's program for the psychedelic humanities Frontiers in Psychology May 16, 2023
and 3 more in the library
Cites 9
- The Subjective Effects of Psychedelics Are Necessary for Their Enduring Therapeutic Effects. ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science December 10, 2020
- Ethics and ego dissolution: the case of psilocybin Journal of Medical Ethics May 27, 2020
- New Frontiers or a Bursting Bubble? Psychedelic Therapy Beyond the Dichotomy Frontiers in Psychiatry September 10, 2021
- The Role of Psychedelics and Counseling in Mental Health Treatment Journal of Mental Health Counseling October 1, 2020
- How Psychedelic-Assisted Treatment Works in the Bayesian Brain Frontiers in Psychiatry March 8, 2022
and 4 more in the library