Psychedelic therapy as reality transformation: A phenomenological approach
Journal of Psychedelic Studies April 27, 2023 DOI: 10.1556/2054.2023.00231 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Psychedelic-assisted therapy |
| Citations | 10 |
| Key points | Argues that psychedelic therapy for depression transforms patients' sense of reality, not just the self, through a process of "immersive reflection" that addresses depression as a bodily detunement. |
Abstract
AbstractCoinciding with and responding to a growing crisis in the diagnostic, explanatory and treatment systems of psychiatry, the last couple of decades have seen a growing amount of evidence regarding the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs to treat a variety of mental health conditions. Broadly, this crisis can be construed as that of “indivi/dualist” approaches which aim to treat patients who are construed as separated from their social and material contexts, which are taken as given. The implicit premise: the self, but not the world, is the site of therapeutic intervention. By contrast, researchers insist that psychedelic therapy functions by on producing an experience of “connectedness” to self, world, and others, which is heavily influenced by context. However, by remaining in an indivi/dualist thoughtspace, neurological and psychological perspectives betray these recurring themes. In this essay, I approach psychedelic therapy for depression through the lens of phenomenological psychiatry to take these themes seriously–a task which passes by considering experience as embodied, and therefore embedded. Starting off from an analysis of depression as a bodily detunement (disconnection), I argue that, through a process of “immersive reflection”, psychedelic therapy transforms not only the self, but patients’ sense of reality. This will allow me to answer several questions pertaining to psychedelic therapy regarding its therapeutic mechanism, why it transforms reality and not only the self, why it transforms and not merely amplifies experience, why its effects last beyond the drugs’ psychoactive duration, and in what their paradigm-shifting potential for mental health consists of.
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 12
- Historicizing psychedelics: counterculture, renaissance, and the neoliberal matrix Frontiers in Sociology September 21, 2023
- Critical Doses: Nurturing Diversity in Psychedelic Studies Interdisciplinary Science Reviews 2023
- Existential feelings as a phenomenological framework for psychedelic therapy Philosophical Psychology October 9, 2024
- The Role of Psychedelics in Contemporary Psychological and Interdisciplinary Inquiry. Journal of Personalized Medicine September 28, 2025
- Psychedelics, embodiment, and intersubjectivity Journal of Psychedelic Studies August 14, 2023
and 7 more in the library
Cites 18
- REBUS and the Anarchic Brain: Toward a Unified Model of the Brain Action of Psychedelics Pharmacological Reviews June 20, 2019
- Mystical experiences occasioned by the hallucinogen psilocybin lead to increases in the personality domain of openness Journal of Psychopharmacology September 28, 2011
- Psychedelics and the essential importance of context. Journal of Psychopharmacology February 15, 2018
- Patients’ Accounts of Increased “Connectedness” and “Acceptance” After Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression Journal of Humanistic Psychology June 19, 2017
- Therapeutic effects of classic serotonergic psychedelics: A systematic review of modern‐era clinical studies Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica October 30, 2020
and 13 more in the library