Tune in, Turn on: Religious Music and Spiritual Power in the History of Psychedelic Therapy.
Stephen Lett, Erika Dyck
Social History of Medicine December 8, 2022 DOI: 10.1093/shm/hkac057 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism Psychedelic-assisted therapy |
| Keywords | Psychedelic treatment Hallucinogenic therapy Entheogenic therapy Mind-altering therapy Music therapy Therapeutic music Sound healing Musical intervention Auditory healing Spiritual experiences Religious experiences Transcendent experiences Inner journey Transformative journeys Personal transformation Profound insights Emotional healing Self-discovery |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key points | Argues that contemporary psychedelic therapy recapitulates historical practices of using religious sounds and music, which may hinder broader applicability. |
Abstract
Psychedelic-assisted therapy has attracted considerable clinical attention in the past decade for its ability to bring therapeutic benefits to patients in treatment-resistant categories. In contradistinction from other psychopharmaco-therapies, contemporary psychedelic therapists, like their predecessors, paid close attention to the 'set and setting', and argued that the mind-set of the subject and the conditions or environment of the session was as influential as the pharmacological reaction itself. In this paper, we examine how religious sounds and music were both incorporated into and strategically avoided in the early psychedelic therapeutic sessions in an effort to achieve spiritual epiphanies at peak experiences. Prominent contemporary practices, we conclude, recapitulate many of the practices of the past, relying, we argue, on aesthetic premises that could hinder the therapy's broader applicability.
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 3
- 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
- Psychedelic Therapy and the Role of Music: A Scoping Review of Quantitative Evidence on Subjective and Objective Outcomes. Brain and Behavior June 1, 2026
- Optimizing music for psychedelic-assisted therapy: Examining contemporary practices, traditional entheogenic rituals, and musically-induced peak experiences Journal of Psychedelic Studies June 2, 2026