PSYCHEDELIC THERAPY AS AFFECTIVE TRANSFORMATION
Adam Bradley
Transformation and the History of Philosophy 2023 DOI: 10.4324/9781003056409-28 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Psychedelic-assisted therapy |
| Key points | Argues that psychedelic therapy works by generating an "affective shift," a transformative experience in which a subject's affective attitudes change to alleviate their psychological problem, and that this affective transformation is plausibly the key causal variable in psychedelic therapy. |
Abstract
Since their introduction to mainstream culture and medicine in the middle of the 20th century, psychedelic substances have been investigated for their therapeutic potential. Research on psychedelic therapy, or the use of moderate-to-large doses of psychedelics in the context of therapy, indicates that psychedelics have great potential to treat disorders such as depression, addiction, and anxiety. But how does psychedelic therapy work? In this chapter, I develop an account of the psychological mechanism of psychedelic therapy. I argue that psychedelic therapy works by generating a distinctive type of transformative experience in subjects (Paul 2014), or what I call an affective shift. In an affective shift, a subject's affective attitudes change in a way that alleviates their psychological problem. I then compare this account with other proposed psychological mechanisms, arguing that an affective transformation is plausibly the key causal variable in psychedelic therapy.
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 |