Looking Up at the Stars from the Middle of the Lake: Dare We Speak of Spirit? A Model of Psychedelic Consciousness for Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalytic Dialogues November 2, 2025 DOI: 10.1080/10481885.2025.2574584 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Ketamine-assisted psychoanalysis |
| Keywords | Consciousness Stars The imaginary Psychoanalytic theory Psychoanalysis |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Proposes that the intra-collective serves as a transpersonal holding environment for expanded states of consciousness in psychedelic medicine, requiring a new lexicon that includes Spirit to access non-dualistic and sacred experiences. |
Abstract
This discussion extends psychoanalytic theory and practice to engage expanded states of consciousness elicited by psychedelic medicine. The author utilizes Peoples and Rundel’s clinical illustration involving ketamine-assisted psychoanalysis to propose the intra-collective as a transpersonal holding environment that encompasses and contains the intersubjective field, where highly organized, undifferentiated, and developmentally mature psychic states transpire. The author argues that a novel lexicon is needed to access and commune with unitive experiences beyond the traditional analytic register. He speaks of Spirit to establish a pathway to this non-dualistic level of consciousness, and to preserve sacred experiences that exist beyond the symbolic realm.