Therapeutic dissociation: From non-ordinary states to psychological transformation
Joshua Clingo
January 12, 2024 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/ypr7w (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Altered states of consciousness |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Proposes that a simplified underlying structure and experimental approach could yield effective treatment for pathologically dissociative mental health issues without complicated pharmacological interventions. |
Abstract
Common mental health pathologies such as depression, anxiety, addiction, and PTSD have recently seen treatment inroads. These issues share a phenomenological core—a dissociative quality that involves the disintegration of self and other. Interestingly, some of the most effective treatments of these pathologies are themselvesacutely dissociative. For example, psychedelic therapy has been effective at treating these pathologies and involves highly dissociative altered states. This pattern holds across other dissociative methods such as hypnosis, CBT, and meditation, leading some to hypothesize that there is a common pathway from acutely altered states to long-term treatment of conditions that involve pathological dissociation. Among the proposed mechanisms are pivotal mental states, the entropic brain, REBUS, and pattern breaking. In this paper, I highlight the methods and mechanisms behind the observed clinical efficacy in treating pathologically dissociative mental health issues. I also propose a simplified underlying structure and an experimental approach that could result in effective treatment without complicated pharmacological interventions.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on altered states of consciousness, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Altered States of Consciousness | 1966 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Functional neuroanatomy of altered states of consciousness: The transient hypofrontality hypothesis | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Psychedelic Mystical Experience in the Human Encounter with Death | 1969 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| A neurophenomenological approach to non-ordinary states of consciousness: hypnosis, meditation, and psychedelics | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Hypnotic phenomena and altered states of consciousness: a multilevel framework of description and explanation | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 99
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- Interoceptive inference, emotion, and the embodied self Trends in Cognitive Sciences October 12, 2013
- Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance Psychopharmacology July 7, 2006
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
and 94 more in the library