Existential feelings as a phenomenological framework for psychedelic therapy
Floris Benjamin Tijhuis, Sabrina Coninx, Leon De Bruin
Philosophical Psychology October 9, 2024 DOI: 10.1080/09515089.2024.2412195 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Psychedelic-assisted therapy |
| Keywords | Existentialism Feeling Psychotherapist Epistemology Phenomenology philosophy Cognitive science Psychoanalysis Cognitive psychology |
| Citations | 7 |
| Key points | Argues that a phenomenological account of existential feelings, particularly oceanic feelings, can explain how psychedelic therapy produces lasting relief from mental suffering by reorienting a person's fundamental sense of self and world. |
Abstract
This article provides a phenomenological account of the role of existential feelings in the acute and lasting effects of psychedelic therapy and attempts to elucidate phenomenologically why certain psychedelic experiences in specific contexts have the potential of providing long-term relief from mental suffering. First, we explain Matthew Ratcliffe’s theory of existential feelings and use it to highlight shared phenomenological characteristics between various mental disorders. Next, we discuss the phenomenology of oceanic feelings to specify the kind of existential feeling that is involved in acute psychedelic experiences and connect this to the existential reorientation that may occur after the use of psychedelics. Following this, we show how this framework of existential feelings allows us to (1) characterize the phenomenological process that takes during therapeutic use of psychedelics, and (2) describe various conditions required for a successful therapeutic psychedelic experience.