Discussion of “Expansion and Regression in Oceanic Experience”
Psychoanalytic Dialogues November 2, 2025 DOI: 10.1080/10481885.2025.2574580 (opens in new tab) via Semantic Scholar
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThe author clarifies their own relational perspective on unitive feelings, such as the oceanic feeling, and applies it to a case vignette from Peoples and Rundel's paper. They highlight convergences and contrasts between this relational perspective and Peoples and Rundel's model of levels of consciousness, which argues that oceanic feelings can have transformative value rather than indicating pathological fusion or unhealthy regression.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Psychology |
| Key finding | Argues that unitive feelings in psychedelic-assisted therapy can be understood from a relational perspective, which both converges with and contrasts with Peoples and Rundel's model of levels of consciousness. |
Abstract
ABSTRACT In Expansion and Regression in Oceanic Experience, Peoples and Rundel examine “what happens from a psychoanalytic perspective when a patient engages in psychedelic-assisted therapy.” In an elegant paper that has both a clinical and theoretical focus, they discuss what Romain Rolland described metaphorically as the “oceanic feeling.” They believe such feelings can have transformative value, in contrast with what they see as a prevailing tendency among psychoanalysts, including me, to view such experiences as indications of pathological fusion and unhealthy regression. Here, I clarify my own relational perspective on unitive feelings and apply this to the case vignette offered in Peoples and Rundel’s paper. I highlight convergences and contrasts between this relational perspective and the far-reaching model of levels of consciousness proposed by Peoples and Rundel.