Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for the treatment of major depression: a synthesis of phenomenological explanations.
Riccardo Miceli Mcmillan, Christopher Jordens
Medicine, Health Care, and Philosophy June 1, 2022 DOI: 10.1007/s11019-022-10070-7 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Depression Philosophy of mind Psilocybin Psychedelic-assisted therapy |
| Keywords | Psychedelics |
| Citations | 15 |
| Key points | Argues that psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy ameliorates the suffering of major depressive disorder by inducing a state of broadened pre-intentional possibility that changes embodiment, self-narratives, and social experience. |
Abstract
Psychedelic-assisted Psychotherapy (PAP) combines the use of psychedelic compounds, such as psilocybin, with psychotherapy. PAP has shown some promise as a novel treatment for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and empirical research suggests that its efficacy turns on the altered states induced by psychedelic compounds. In this paper we draw on the literature of phenomenology to explain the therapeutic potential of psychedelic experiences. Svenaeus characterises mental illness as a form of suffering that entails three distinct but related experiences of alienation or "unhomelike being-in-the-world": (1) illness suffering, which relates to embodiment; (2) existential suffering, which relates to self-narratives, and (3) political suffering, which relates to social relationships. Ratcliffe further characterises the experience of MDD in phenomenological terms as a loss of pre-intentional possibility that manifests as excessive noematic feeling in the experience of embodiment, restrictive narratives in the construction of self, and disconnectedness in experience of the social world. We contend that PAP ameliorates the suffering associated with MDD by inducing and consolidating a state of broadened pre-intentional possibility-one that entails sudden, profound and enduring changes in embodiment, self-narratives, and social experience. We argue further that this phenomenological account is consistent with a bio-psycho-social model of mental health and illness, and we frame it as an argument supporting the plausibility of recent claims about treatment success. This helps to justify ongoing future empirical research in this setting.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on psilocybin and 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 | |
| Towards psychedelic apprenticeship: Developing a gentle touch for the mediation and validation of psychedelic-induced insights and revelations. | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Psychedelics and Psychotherapy: Cognitive-Behavioral Approaches as Default | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The influence of therapists’ first-hand experience with psychedelics on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy research and therapist training | 2018 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Yale Manual for Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy of Depression (using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a Therapeutic Frame) | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 14
- Models of Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy: A Contemporary Assessment and an Introduction to EMBARK, a Transdiagnostic, Trans-Drug Model Frontiers in Psychology June 2, 2022
- Understanding subjective experience in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: The need for phenomenology Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry November 17, 2022
- The Role of Music in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy: A Comparative Analysis of Neuroscientific Research, Indigenous Entheogenic Ritual, and Contemporary Care Models. Psychedelic Medicine December 2, 2024
- Autonomy and autoheteronomy in psychedelically assisted psychotherapy November 30, 2022
- Existential feelings as a phenomenological framework for psychedelic therapy Philosophical Psychology October 9, 2024
and 9 more in the library
Cites 26
- Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 23, 2012
- Quality of Acute Psychedelic Experience Predicts Therapeutic Efficacy of Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression Frontiers in Pharmacology January 17, 2018
- Global Street Food: la cocina de la calle Diseño interior 2009
- Patients’ Accounts of Increased “Connectedness” and “Acceptance” After Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression Journal of Humanistic Psychology June 19, 2017
- Emotional breakthrough and psychedelics: Validation of the Emotional Breakthrough Inventory. Journal of Psychopharmacology July 11, 2019
and 21 more in the library