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Boekrecensie: A Different Medicine, Postcolonial Healing in the Native American Church

adifferentmedicineA Different Medicine, Postcolonial Healing in the Native American Church, Joseph D. Calabrese, Oxford University Press, 2013

Deze studie is het resultaat van twee jaar veldwerk bij de Navajo in New Mexico. De auteur heeft naast een antropologische ook een klinische achtergrond, en combineerde het veldwerk gedurende een jaar met werk in een kliniek gericht op het ondersteunen van Native American jongeren met een drugs- en/of alcoholprobleem. Deze unieke combinatie van antropologie en klinische psychologie mondt uit in een ‘klinische etnografie’, waarbij de auteur het gebruik van peyote binnen de Native American Church analyseert. Hij onderzoekt enerzijds de plaats die peyote inneemt binnen de cultuur en de symboliek binnen het ritueel, en anderzijds de toepassing ervan binnen een klinisch traject waarbij jongeren worden geholpen om hun verslaving te overwinnen met behulp van rituelen.

Het eerste deel van het boek, ongeveer een derde van het geheel, gaat in op de methodiek en de theoretische onderbouwing die noodzakelijk is om naar genezingspraktijken in andere culturen te kijken. Voor niet-antropologen is dit zeer verhelderend, omdat het goed laat zien met welke problemen een onderzoeker wordt geconfronteerd als de gebruiken binnen een bepaalde cultuur sterk afwijken van de gebruiken die hij of zij gewend is. De belangrijkste onderwerpen die in dit deel aan bod komen zijn de gevaren van etnocentrisme en de noodzaak van zelfreflectie, maar onder deze noemer worden ook enkele spannende ideeën besproken die ons begrip van therapie verbreden. De nadruk op hoe een therapie is ingebed in de cultuur en mythologie roept tegelijkertijd vragen op over hoe dit al dan niet in onze eigen cultuur gebeurt.

Calabrese stelt dat bij de Navajo (en vele andere traditionele culturen die psychoactieve stoffen op een rituele wijze gebruiken) concepten als psychofarmacologie en psychologie niet als zodanig bestaan en zij dus niet denken in termen van deze twee onderscheiden wetenschapsgebieden. Ook is de symboliek binnen de rituelen verbonden met de bredere culturele mythologie, waardoor het helingsproces wordt ingebed in een algemene verhaallijn die op iedereen van toepassing is. In het Westen is deze zogeheten therapeutische ‘emplotment’ vaker gericht op een wetenschappelijk model van de psyche, of op een persoonlijk verhaal dat richting dient te geven aan het helingsproces.

Door ons bewust te worden van onze culturele vooroordelen in een dialectiek met andere culturen, kunnen we anderen én onszelf beter leren begrijpen. Calabrese probeert dan ook empathie opwekkende teksten te schrijven die bijdragen aan een beter begrip van de ander en daardoor van onszelf. Door zijn onderzoek te richten op het gebruik van psychoactieve stoffen binnen een genezingsritueel dat tegelijkertijd spiritueel van aard is, hoopt Calabrese aan te tonen dat gangbare visies op het gebruik van dergelijke middelen aan herziening toe zijn. In plaats van een focus op wie welke stoffen tot zich neemt, pleit hij voor een analyse die zich richt op de manier waarop dergelijke stoffen worden gebruikt binnen een bredere culturele context, en op de vraag of die wel of niet nuttig of helend kan zijn.

In het tweede deel gaat Calabrese dieper in op de symboliek binnen de rituelen van de Native American Church. Eerst bespreekt hij de geschiedenis van deze kerk en de manier waarop zij door de geschiedenis steeds opnieuw verkeerd is begrepen (als heidens ritueel of als een excuus om drugs te gebruiken). Vervolgens behandelt hij achtereenvolgens de visie van leden van de kerk met betrekking tot peyote, de aard van de ceremonie, de rol die de kerk speelt in de socialisatie en het scheppen van onderlinge banden. Ook de manier waarop de ceremonies binnen de Native American gezondheidszorg zijn ingebed komt aan bod.

De leden van de kerk beschouwen peyote zowel als medicijn als als geest. Sommigen leggen de nadruk meer op de ene interpretatie, anderen juist meer op de andere, waardoor er geen eenvormig begrip is te onderkennen. Calabrese benadrukt de persoonlijke relatie die mensen hebben met peyote en bevestigt hiermee dat persoonlijke interpretaties mogelijk blijven. Deels passen deze interpretaties in de bredere (niet exclusief Native American Church aanhangende) Navajocultuur, en deels zijn ze uniek voor deze kerk.

De ceremonie zelf is gericht op heling en het ritueel ondersteunt dit proces door middel van de vele symbolen die centraal staan. Door te reflecteren op de symbolen, te communiceren met het medicijn of de geest van peyote, en door de transformatieve kracht van de ervaring zien mensen hun eigen leven in het licht van de mythologie van dood en wedergeboorte waarbinnen hun heling betekenis krijgt. Het therapeutische proces is minder gericht op de relatie therapeut/patiënt en meer op de persoonlijke relatie die een persoon aangaat met het medicijn binnen een rituele context.

De leden van de kerk zien de ceremonies ook als een vorm van socialisatie, waarbij familiebanden en vriendschappen worden versterkt. Kinderen worden al op vroege leeftijd meegebracht indien ze daar zelf interesse in hebben. Hier bestaat binnen de Westerse/christelijke cultuur veel weerstand tegen, maar Calabrese laat zien dat het na decennia nog steeds niet is aangetoond dat er enige negatieve gevolgen zijn verbonden aan het gebruik van peyote door jonge mensen binnen de kerk. Peyote wordt gezien als een kracht die helpt bij het versterken van de onderlinge banden en die mensen stimuleert om ethisch te leven. Het speelt ook een rol in de opvoeding en ontwikkeling van jonge Navajo. Er zijn bijvoorbeeld speciale ceremonies om hen te ondersteunen bij de uitdagingen die zij tegenkomen in hun reguliere opleiding, waarbij men als groep bidt om hen te helpen.

De Native American Church ceremonie heeft zelfs een plaats gekregen binnen officieel goedgekeurde behandelmethoden bij jongeren die problemen hebben met drugsgebruik. Dit terwijl peyote officieel op een lijst staat van drugs die geen medische toepassing hebben. Calabrese heeft in zijn werk aan de kliniek gezien hoe het ritueel jongvolwassenen met een dergelijke problematiek ondersteunt in hun helingsproces, en merkt tegelijkertijd op dat door de officiële goedkeuring van het gebruik de bureaucratische machine grip krijgt op de vorm van het ritueel; het moet bijvoorbeeld specifiek gericht zijn op het behandelen van verslaving bij één of meerdere jongeren in plaats van een meer algemeen ritueel zoals bij de reguliere diensten van de kerk.

Met dit boek pleit Calabrese voor een herwaardering van culturele pluriformiteit ten opzichte van de geestelijke gezondheidszorg. Door personen die als patiënt worden geholpen te verbinden met een gebruik uit hun eigen traditie, wordt een waardevol aspect van hun genezingsproces aangesproken. Met name jongeren met alcohol- en drugsproblemen krijgen door de peyoteceremonies een praktisch voorbeeld van het omgaan met een psychoactieve stof op een manier die niet destructief en in veel gevallen zelfs helend is. Tegelijkertijd verbindt het hen opnieuw met hun ouders en familie en herstelt het banden die eerder waren verbroken. Door te erkennen dat er meerdere wegen zijn die helpen in het helingsproces, laat Calabrese het algemeen heersende culturele etnocentrisme en de ideologische vooroordelen zien die ons vaak belemmeren op een heldere manier na te denken over het traditionele gebruik van psychoactieve stoffen in andere culturen.

Al met al is dit boek een uitstekende toevoeging aan de bestaande literatuur over de Native American Church, met name doordat het probeert om culturele vooroordelen aan te kaarten en te vermijden, zodat een analyse kan ontstaan vanuit wederzijds respect. Dit is niet alleen van belang voor het gebruik van een krachtig psychedelisch middel, maar ook om de negatieve impact van het kolonialisme aan het licht te brengen en een wereld te voorzien waarin de pijn die nog steeds leeft onder Native Americans kan worden overwonnen en geheeld.

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Gebruik psychedelica geassocieerd met verminderde psychische klachten en suïcidaliteit

A8_thumbnail_500x400In een onderzoek waarvan de resultaten eerder deze maand zijn gepubliceerd is een relatie gevonden tussen het gebruik van klassieke psychedelica en verminderde psychische klachten en suïcidaliteit [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][1]. In de studie werden de gegevens van 191.382 Amerikanen opgenomen die tussen 2008 en 2012 deel hadden genomen aan het jaarlijks afgenomen bevolkingsonderzoek ‘National Survey on Drug Use and Health’ (NSDUH) [2]. Hendricks en zijn onderzoeksteam vergeleken de mate van psychologisch welbevinden in personen die wél of niet werden geclassificeerd als gebruikers van psychedelica. Om als gebruiker van klassieke psychedelica geclassificeerd te kunnen worden, diende de persoon aangegeven te hebben dat hij of zij minstens één keer in zijn of haar leven ayahuasca, mescaline, LSD, peyote of San Pedro en/of psilocybine heeft gebruikt. Om uit te sluiten dat de verschillen tussen de groep gebruikers en niet-gebruikers verklaard konden worden door een andere factor dan het gebruik van klassieke psychedelica, werd er statistisch gecontroleerd voor de demografische variabelen leeftijd, geslacht, etnische achtergrond, opleidingsniveau, jaarlijks inkomen, burgerlijke stand, zelfbenoemde mate van risicogedrag en illegaal drugsgebruik. Hoewel er op basis van deze studie geen uitspraak gedaan kan worden over causaliteit, sluiten de resultaten wel aan bij eerdere onderzoeken waaruit blijkt dat psychedelica mogelijk een gunstige invloed kunnen hebben op diverse factoren die van invloed zijn op suïcidaliteit [3]. Geschat wordt dat er momenteel ongeveer 7% van de wereldbevolking lijdt aan een psychische stoornis [4]. De resultaten van deze studie zijn een veelbelovend antwoord op de oproep van de Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (2014) om meer onderzoek te richten op nieuwe interventies die de kans op suïcide verkleinen.


 
[1] Hendricks et al. (2015).
[2] Dit bevolkingsonderzoek wordt uitgevoerd door de ‘United States Department of Health and Human Services’. Met de gegevens uit het onderzoek wordt een schatting gemaakt van de prevalentie van drugsgebruik en psychologische stoornissen.
[3] Een uitgebreid overzicht van eerder onderzoek is te vinden in de derde en vierde paragraaf van het artikel van Hendricks et al. (2015).
[4] Op basis van een schatting van de Wereldgezondheidsorganisatie (2015) dat er wereldwijd ongeveer een half miljard personen lijden aan een psychische stoornis en dat de wereldbevolking momenteel uit ongeveer 7.2 miljard personen bestaat (United States Census Bureau, 2015).
 
Referenties
Hendricks, P. S., Thorne, C. B., Clark, C. B., Coombs, D. W., & Johnson, M. W. (2015). Classic psychedelic use is associated with reduced psychological distress and suicidality in the United States adult population. Journal of Psychopharmacology. [Abstract]
National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention: Research Prioritization Task Force (2014). A prioritized research agenda for suicide prevention: An action plan to save lives. National Institute of Mental Health and the Research Prioritization Task Force, Rockville, Maryland.
United States Census Bureau (2015). U.S. and World Population Clock. As retrieved on January 17. from http://www.census.gov/popclock/
World Health Organization (2001). The World health report 2001: Mental health: New understanding, new hope. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Gebruik psychedelica geassocieerd met verminderde psychische klachten en suïcidaliteit Read More »

Classic psychedelic use is associated with reduced psychological distress and suicidality

A8_thumbnail_500x400In a population-based survey study that was published earlier this month, an association was found between the use of classic psychedelics and reduced psychological distress and suicidality [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][1]. The researchers included the data of 191.382 individuals that participated in the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) [2] between 2008 and 2012, and made a comparison between the psychological well being of classic psychedelic users and non-users. Classic psychedelic users were categorized as such if they met the criteria of having used ayahuasca, mescaline, LSD, peyote or San Pedro and/or psilocybin at least once in their lifetime. To rule out the possibility that differences between the groups of users and non-users could be attributed to factors other than classic psychedelics, the researchers statistically controlled the demographical factors age, gender, ethno-racial identity, educational attainment, annual household income, marital status, self-reported risky behavior and lifetime illicit drug use. No solid claim can be made about causality from this correlation, but the results are in line with earlier hypotheses that the effects of psychedelics may have qualities that could be helpful in modulating suicide risk [3]. As a current estimate, about 7% of the population worldwide suffers from mental health disorders [4]. The results of this study are a hopeful answer to the request from the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (2014) to develop novel interventions that aim at suicide prevention.


 
[1] Hendricks et al. (2015).
[2] The NSDUH survey is the annual survey that is conducted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The survey aims at estimating the prevalence of substance use and mental illnesses.
[3] An extensive overview of earlier research can be found in the third and fourth paragraph of the article of Hendricks et al. (2015).
[4] This is based on the estimate of the World Health Organization (2001) that about half a billion people worldwide experience mental health problems and that the current world population is estimated at 7.2 billion (United States Census Bureau, 2015)
 
References

Hendricks, P. S., Thorne, C. B., Clark, C. B., Coombs, D. W., & Johnson, M. W. (2015). Classic psychedelic use is associated with reduced psychological distress and suicidality in the United States adult population. Journal of Psychopharmacology. [Abstract]
National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention: Research Prioritization Task Force (2014). A prioritized research agenda for suicide prevention: An action plan to save lives. National Institute of Mental Health and the Research Prioritization Task Force, Rockville, Maryland.
United States Census Bureau (2015). U.S. and World Population Clock. As retrieved on January 17. from http://www.census.gov/popclock/
World Health Organization (2001). The World health report 2001: Mental health: New understanding, new hope. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

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Long-term use of psychedelic drugs is associated with differences in brain structure and personality in humans

Abstract

Psychedelic agents have a long history of use by humans for their capacity to induce profound modifications in perception, emotion and cognitive processes. Despite increasing knowledge of the neural mechanisms involved in the acute effects of these drugs, the impact of sustained psychedelic use on the human brain remains largely unknown. Molecular pharmacology studies have shown that psychedelic 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT)2A agonists stimulate neurotrophic and transcription factors associated with synaptic plasticity. These data suggest that psychedelics could potentially induce structural changes in brain tissue. Here we looked for differences in cortical thickness (CT) in regular users of psychedelics. We obtained magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images of the brains of 22 regular users of ayahuasca (a preparation whose active principle is the psychedelic 5HT2A agonist N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT)) and 22 controls matched for age, sex, years of education, verbal IQ and fluid IQ. Ayahuasca users showed significant CT differences in midline structures of the brain, with thinning in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), a key node of the default mode network. CT values in the PCC were inversely correlated with the intensity and duration of prior use of ayahuasca and with scores on self-transcendence, a personality trait measuring religiousness, transpersonal feelings and spirituality. Although direct causation cannot be established, these data suggest that regular use of psychedelic drugs could potentially lead to structural changes in brain areas supporting attentional processes, self-referential thought, and internal mentation. These changes could underlie the previously reported personality changes in long-term users and highlight the involvement of the PCC in the effects of psychedelics.

Bouso, J. C., Palhano-Fontes, F., Rodríguez-Fornells, A., Ribeiro, S., Sanches, R., Crippa, J. A. S., … & Riba, J. (2015). Long-term use of psychedelic drugs Is associated with differences in brain structure and personality in humans. European Neuropsychopharmacology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.euroneuro.2015.01.008
Link to full text

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Duurzame positieve invloed van LSD in de behandeling van angst bij terminale patiënten

LSD_clinical_trial_bottle_small

Eerder berichtten we over het eerste onderzoek naar LSD met menselijke proefpersonen sinds meer dan veertig jaar, dat in Zwitserland werd uitgevoerd door Peter Gasser en zijn team. Een vervolgstudie op dit onderzoek [1], gebaseerd op kwalitatieve interviews met deelnemers, wijst op duurzame positieve resultaten van de behandeling.

De oorspronkelijke – dubbelblinde en placebogecontroleerde – studie werd uitgevoerd op een onderzoeksgroep van twaalf proefpersonen, waarvan er uiteindelijk negen de volledige studie doorliepen, inclusief het opvolgingsgesprek na twaalf maanden. De deelnemers, die allen terminaal ziek waren, ondergingen zes tot acht psychotherapeutische sessies zonder drug, en twee LSD-ervaringen waarin ze werden begeleid door twee cotherapeuten. De vier proefpersonen aan wie aanvankelijk de actieve placebo van 20µg LSD toegediend werd, kregen aan het einde van het onderzoek de mogelijkheid om twee LSD-sessies met experimentele doses van 200µg te ondergaan. Drie onder hen maakten gebruik van deze optie, en namen alsnog deel aan de kwalitatieve interviews.

Alle deelnemers hadden blijk gegeven van aanzienlijke gevoelens van angst en/of depressie in verband met hun levensbedreigende ziekte. Allen gaven te kennen dat ze belangrijke positieve effecten van de therapie ondervonden op lange termijn, onder andere een verminderde ongerustheid, minder angst voor de dood, en een verbeterde levenskwaliteit. Een bijkomstig gunstig resultaat van de behandeling was het feit dat de meesten ook van positieve veranderingen in hun persoonlijkheid gewaar werden, wat een subjectieve bevestiging zou kunnen zijn van de kwantitatieve metingen van angst als persoonskenmerk (‘trait anxiety’, te vergelijken met ‘state anxiety’, angst als gemoedstoestand) die werden gerapporteerd. Deze metingen voor angst als persoonskenmerk zakten significant na de LSD-sessies, en bleven laag bij het vervolgonderzoek na twaalf maanden [2].

In hun subjectieve beschouwing van de LSD-sessies beschreven de patiënten een betere toegang tot hun emoties te hebben en tot gevoelens van catharsis. In verband met hun korte levensprognose meldden ze dat ze dankzij LSD hun emoties intenser konden aanvoelen en gemakkelijker konden uitdrukken. De interviews suggereren dat de patiënten voordeel haalden uit deze intense emotionele ervaring. LSD stelde hen ook in staat om zichzelf en hun moeilijke situatie in een nieuw en breder perspectief te zien. “Sterven is even gewoon of ongewoon als het leven zelf,” zei een patiënt. “Ik moet alleen even wennen aan het idee en het proces.” De patiënten meldden ook drastische veranderingen in hun emoties tijdens of tussen de twee sessies. Dit begon meestal met ‘negatieve’ gevoelens in verband met hun levenssituatie, zoals angst, depressie en wanhoop. Deze negatief beleefde emotionele toestand veranderde naar een positieve staat die werd beleefd met een voordien ongekende intensiteit, en die minstens tot een jaar na de sessies voortduurde. Ondanks het feit dat de deelnemers lichamelijk zwaar ziek waren ondervond geen enkele onder hen negatieve gevolgen van de psychedelische sessies.

Een ander interessant aspect is de gekozen methode. Twee verschillende benaderingen zijn voortgekomen uit de eerste onderzoeksgolf met LSD in de jaren 1950-1970. Bij psycholytische therapie, die vooral in Europa werd gebruikt, ondergingen patiënten een groot aantal op psychoanalytische principes gebaseerde psychotherapeutische sessies, met lage tot middelhoge doses LSD (50-100 µg). De psychedelische benadering daarentegen beoogde het veroorzaken van mystieke- of piekervaringen bij patiënten door hen hoge doses (200-500 µg) toe te dienen in een beperkt aantal sessies. Deze laatste methode werd meer in de VS gebruikt en is totnogtoe de enige die werd gebruikt in het behandelen van angst bij terminale patiënten.

In de Zwitserse studie sloot de gekozen methode nauw aan bij deze psychedelische benadering, maar met een relatief lage dosering. Het kader was ook ietwat losser dan in de traditionele psychedelische benadering, waar de proefpersoon bijna de hele tijd een oogscherm ophield en met een koptelefoon naar muziek luisterde. De ervaringen die de deelnemers aan deze studie op die manier beleefden kunnen beschreven worden als piekervaringen, maar voldoen niet aan de criteria voor volledige mystieke ervaringen. Deze twee soorten ervaringen zijn zeer gelijkaardig. Bij piekervaringen vervagen de grenzen van het ‘ik’, maar lossen ze niet helemaal op zoals bij mystieke ervaringen. Het intellectueel vermogen is ook minder aangetast, waardoor er meer interactie tussen patiënt en therapeuten mogelijk is dan in de traditionele psychedelische benadering. Het lijkt erop dat zulke piekervaringen hierbij het belangrijkste psychologische werkingsmechanisme zijn, en dat ze veel belangrijker zijn dan de cognitieve en psychodynamische ervaringen die ook veel voorkomen bij het toedienen van LSD.

De benadering die bij deze Zwitserse studie gehanteerd werd levert duidelijk voordelen op, onder andere het feit dat ze de resultaten voor alle deelnemers lijkt te normaliseren. In vorige studies met psychedelica voor het behandelen van angst bij terminale patiënten, die tijdens de eerste onderzoeksgolf werden uitgevoerd, was het typische resultaat een drastische verbetering bij ongeveer een derde van de proefpersonen, een gematigde verbetering bij een ander derde, en geen enkele significante verandering bij het overige derde [3]. Opmerkelijk genoeg ondervond in deze studie elke patiënt een significante verbetering, al werd die door niemand als ‘drastisch’ ervaren. Dit resultaat maakt verdere studie zeker wenselijk, vooral wat betreft de ontwikkeling van verschillende therapeutische benaderingen in het kader van psychedelische therapie.


 
[1] Gasser, P., Kirchner, K., & Passie, T. (2014).
[2] Gasser, P., Holstein, D., Michel, Y., Doblin, R., Yazar-Klosinski, B., Passie, T., & Brenneisen, R. (2014).
[3] Kurland, A.A. (1985).
 
Referenties
Gasser, P., Kirchner, K. & Passie, T. (2014). LSD-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety associated with a life-threatening disease: A qualitative study of acute and sustained subjective effects. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 29(1), 57-68. [Abstract]
Gasser, P., Holstein, D., Michel, Y., Doblin, R., Yazar-Klosinski, B., Passie, T., & Brenneisen, R. (2014). Safety and Efficacy of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide-Assisted Psychotherapy for Anxiety Associated With Life-threatening Diseases. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 202(7), 513–520. [Abstract]
Kurland, A.A. (1985). LSD in the supportive care of the terminally ill cancer patient. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 17(4), 279–290. [Link to full text]

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Sustained subjective benefits of LSD for the treatment of end-of-life anxiety

LSD_clinical_trial_bottle_small

Earlier, we reported on the first study with LSD in human subjects in more than forty years, conducted in Switzerland by Peter Gasser and his team. A follow-up of this study [1], based on qualitative interviews with participants, indicates lasting positive outcomes.

The original double-blind, placebo-controlled study was carried out on a sample of twelve subjects, nine of which went on to complete the full course of the study, including the 12-month follow-up. The participants, all terminally ill, underwent 6-8 non-drug psychotherapeutic sessions and two LSD experiences conducted by a co-therapist dyad. The four subjects who initially received the active placebo of 20µg of LSD were offered the possibility to take two full experimental 200µg-doses of LSD at the end of the actual study, an opportunity that was taken by three of them, who were subsequently included in the qualitative interviews.

All subjects had previously displayed significant anxiety and/or depression related to their life-threatening health situation. All of them reported considerable long-term benefits, among which are reduced anxiety, less fear of death, and an improved quality of life. Interestingly, most of them also reported positive changes in personality, which could be a subjective confirmation of the quantitative measures of trait anxiety (as opposed to state anxiety) that were reported. These trait measures dropped significantly after the LSD sessions, and remained low at the 12-month follow-up [2].

In subjective reports of the LSD sessions, participants described facilitated access to emotions and catharsis. Facing a short life prognosis, they reported that LSD intensified and allowed expression of associated emotions. The interviews suggest the patients benefited from this intensified emotional experience. LSD also enabled them to view themselves and their difficult situation in a new, broader perspective. “Dying is as usual or unusual as life itself,” said one patient. “I simply have to familiarize myself with the idea and the process.” The patients also reported drastic shifts in emotions during or between the two sessions, usually beginning with ‘negative’ feelings related to their life situation, such as anxiety, depression and hopelessness. This reportedly negative emotional state transformed into a positive one, felt with an intensity never experienced before and lasting for at least one year after the sessions. Although they were facing ongoing severe somatic diseases, none of the participants reported any adverse effects from the psychedelic sessions.

Another interesting aspect is the approach that was chosen. Two different approaches emerged from the early research with LSD between the 1950s and the 1970s. In psycholytic therapy, used mainly in Europe, patients underwent a high number of psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapeutic sessions with low to medium dosages of LSD (50-100 µg). The psychedelic approach, on the other hand, aimed to elicit mystical or peak experiences in patients by administering them high doses (200-500 µg) in a limited number of sessions. This latter method was more frequently used in the United States, and up to now, it is the only approach that was used in the treatment of end-of-life anxiety.

In the Swiss study, the approach was very much akin to the psychedelic method, however staying on the low side of the dosage range. The setting was also somewhat looser than in the traditional psychedelic approach, where the subject kept on eyeshades most of the time while listening to music through headphones. Most of the resulting experiences could be described as ‘peak experiences’, but do not match the criteria for full mystical experiences. These two types of experiences can be quite similar. Ego boundaries are loosened in peak experiences, but don’t dissolve completely as in mystical experiences. Intellectual functions also stay intact to a greater degree, which allows for a higher degree of interaction between subject and guiding therapists than in the traditional psychedelic approach. These peak experiences seem to be the main psychological mechanism of action involved, much more so than the cognitive and psychodynamic experiences that are also frequent as a result of LSD administration.

The Swiss study’s approach certainly has advantages, one of which being that it seems to normalize the results for all participants. In past studies with psychedelics for end-of-life anxiety, conducted during the first era of psychedelic research, the typical outcome would show a dramatic improvement in about one-third of the subjects, a moderate improvement in another third, and no significant changes in the remaining third [3]. In the present study, remarkably, every single patient experienced significant improvement, although none reported ‘dramatic’ effects. This result certainly warrants further study, especially in light of the development of different therapeutic approaches to be used in psychedelic therapy.


 
[1] Gasser, P., Kirchner, K., & Passie, T. (2014).
[2] Gasser, P., Holstein, D., Michel, Y., Doblin, R., Yazar-Klosinski, B., Passie, T., & Brenneisen, R. (2014).
[3] Kurland, A.A. (1985).
 
References
Gasser, P., Kirchner, K. & Passie, T. (2014). LSD-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety associated with a life-threatening disease: A qualitative study of acute and sustained subjective effects. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 29(1), 57-68. [Abstract]
Gasser, P., Holstein, D., Michel, Y., Doblin, R., Yazar-Klosinski, B., Passie, T., & Brenneisen, R. (2014). Safety and Efficacy of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide-Assisted Psychotherapy for Anxiety Associated With Life-threatening Diseases. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 202(7), 513–520. [Abstract]
Kurland, A.A. (1985). LSD in the supportive care of the terminally ill cancer patient. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 17(4), 279–290. [Link to full text]

Sustained subjective benefits of LSD for the treatment of end-of-life anxiety Read More »

Classic psychedelic use is associated with reduced psychological distress and suicidality in the United States adult population

Abstract

Mental health problems are endemic across the globe, and suicide, a strong corollary of poor mental health, is a leading cause of death. Classic psychedelic use may occasion lasting improvements in mental health, but the effects of classic psychedelic use on suicidality are unknown. We evaluated the relationships of classic psychedelic use with psychological distress and suicidality among over 190,000 USA adult respondents pooled from the last five available years of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2008–2012) while controlling for a range of covariates. Lifetime classic psychedelic use was associated with a significantly reduced odds of past month psychological distress (weighted odds ratio (OR)=0.81 (0.72–0.91)), past year suicidal thinking (weighted OR=0.86 (0.78–0.94)), past year suicidal planning (weighted OR=0.71 (0.54–0.94)), and past year suicide attempt (weighted OR=0.64 (0.46–0.89)), whereas lifetime illicit use of other drugs was largely associated with an increased likelihood of these outcomes. These findings indicate that classic psychedelics may hold promise in the prevention of suicide, supporting the view that classic psychedelics’ most highly restricted legal status should be reconsidered to facilitate scientific study, and suggesting that more extensive clinical research with classic psychedelics is warranted.

Hendricks, P. S., Thorne, C. B., Clark, C. B., Coombs, D. W., & Johnson, M. W. (2015). Classic psychedelic use is associated with reduced psychological distress and suicidality in the United States adult population. Journal of Psychopharmacology. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0269881114565653

Link to full text

Classic psychedelic use is associated with reduced psychological distress and suicidality in the United States adult population Read More »

Recreational Use, Analysis and Toxicity of Tryptamines.

Abstract

The definition New psychoactive substances (NPS) refers to emerging drugs whose chemical structures are similar to other psychoactive compounds but not identical, representing a “legal” alternative to internationally controlled drugs. There are many categories of NPS, such as synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic cathinones, phenylethylamines, piperazines, ketamine derivatives and tryptamines. Tryptamines are naturally occurring compounds, which can derive from the amino acid tryptophan by several biosynthetic pathways: their structure is a combination of a benzene ring and a pyrrole ring, with the addition of a 2-carbon side chain. Tryptamines include serotonin and melatonin as well as other compounds known for their hallucinogenic properties, such as psilocybin in ‘Magic mushrooms’ and dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in Ayahuasca brews.

Aim: To review the scientific literature regarding tryptamines and their derivatives, providing a summary of all the available information about the structure of these compounds, their effects in relationship with the routes of administration, their pharmacology and toxicity, including articles reporting cases of death related to intake of these substances.
Methods: A comprehensive review of the published scientific literature was performed, using also non peer-reviewed information sources, such as books, government publications and drug user web fora.
Conclusions: Information from Internet and from published scientific literature, organized in the way we proposed in this review, provides an effective tool for specialists facing the emerging NPS threat to public health and public security, including the personnel working in Emergency Department.

Tittarelli, R., Mannocchi, G., Pantano, F., & Saverio Romolo, F. (2015). Recreational use, analysis and toxicity of tryptamines. Current Neuropharmacology, 13(1), 26-46. https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1570159X13666141210222409
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Recreational Use, Analysis and Toxicity of Tryptamines. Read More »

Psilocybin-assisted treatment for alcohol dependence: A proof-of-concept study

Abstract

Several lines of evidence suggest that classic (5HT2A agonist) hallucinogens have clinically relevant effects in alcohol and drug addiction. Although recent studies have investigated the effects of psilocybin in various populations, there have been no studies on the efficacy of psilocybin for alcohol dependence. We conducted a single-group proof-of-concept study to quantify acute effects of psilocybin in alcohol-dependent participants and to provide preliminary outcome and safety data. Ten volunteers with DSM-IV alcohol dependence received orally administered psilocybin in one or two supervised sessions in addition to Motivational Enhancement Therapy and therapy sessions devoted to preparation for and debriefing from the psilocybin sessions. Participants’ responses to psilocybin were qualitatively similar to those described in other populations. Abstinence did not increase significantly in the first 4 weeks of treatment (when participants had not yet received psilocybin), but increased significantly following psilocybin administration (p < 0.05). Gains were largely maintained at follow-up to 36 weeks. The intensity of effects in the first psilocybin session (at week 4) strongly predicted change in drinking during weeks 5–8 (r = 0.76 to r = 0.89) and also predicted decreases in craving and increases in abstinence self-efficacy during week 5. There were no significant treatment-related adverse events. These preliminary findings provide a strong rationale for controlled trials with larger samples to investigate efficacy and mechanisms.

Bogenschutz, M. P., Forcehimes, A. A, Pommy, J. A., Wilcox, C. E., Barbosa, P. C. R., & Strassman, R. J. (2015). Psilocybin-assisted treatment for alcohol dependence: A proof-of-concept study. Journal of Psychopharmacology. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0269881114565144

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Psilocybin-assisted treatment for alcohol dependence: A proof-of-concept study Read More »

[Interview] Matthew Johnson: "Psychedelic therapy may become available in a decade"

Matthew Johnson is part of the team at the Johns Hopkins University that conducts research with psilocybin in a growing number of areas, ranging from mystical experiences to the treatment of end-of-life anxiety and addictions. Matthew’s personal focus lies in addiction treatment, and his latest scientific article described his research using psilocybin for smoking cessation. He spoke with the OPEN Foundation about his studies and the future of psychedelic science.

How did you wind up in psychedelic research ? Was this an old dream of yours, or rather a chance event?

Well, it was both an old dream and a chance event. About 15 years ago when I was in graduate school, I was hoping to do research with psychedelic compounds, although I anticipated that it would take many decades before achieving that. But then I was fortunate enough to discover that my postdoctoral fellowship mentor, Roland Griffiths, had started research with psilocybin. I discovered this when I was on my postdoctoral interview, so I jumped in as much as I could, and I’ve stayed on the faculty here many years since.

What got you interested in the first place?

Well, the questions these psychedelics are associated with, these very broad, interesting, philosophical questions that really intrigued me. When I was about 19-20 years old, I became very interested in many of the readings on psychedelics and on the older research with them, the questions of mind-body connections, the nature of mind… we don’t have any definitive answers to those questions, but psychedelics seem to be a very good place to start when you’re interested in them.

Do you have any tips for those who would like to embrace the same career?

The biggest piece of advice is to receive training in some type of discipline that would allow you to conduct research: either receive an MD or receive a PhD to become a researcher in some area of neuroscience or psychology. I suggest picking an area that dovetails nicely with more mainstream interests. A researcher is not likely to find a position where they can exclusively focus on psychedelics. Take me for example, I study addiction generally, the acute effects of drugs, the nature of addiction and addiction treatment, and this dovetails very nicely with my interest in psychedelics in the treatment of addiction. So that other area of work is able to support my position even though the focus on psychedelics wouldn’t be able to do that by itself. So get into something mainstream that can intersect with your interest in psychedelics.

Getting to the research you’ve conducted, your latest article was about your smoking cessation study using psilocybin in combination with cognitive behavioral therapy. The results seem very promising, as the article reports an 80% success rate on the limited sample of the study. What could be the mechanism of action that helps people kick their addiction when treated with psychedelics?

So far, evidence suggests that there are psychological mechanisms of action at play. For example, people endorse that after the psilocybin sessions, it was easier for them to make decisions that were in their long-term best interest, and they were less likely to make decisions based on short-term, hedonistic desires. They also reported an increase in their self-efficacy, their confidence in their ability to remain quit. Many of the participants had what they considered spiritual or very meaningful experiences. All of these psychological aspects are consistent with addiction therapies. Certainly, there’s a long history of people reporting that spiritual experiences or insights have led them to overcome an addiction. We believe there are also biological mechanisms which we have not explored yet, we’re just beginning to in this next phase of the study. Ultimately, I believe the answer’s going to cover many aspects and reveal both psychological and biological mechanisms.

What about the 3 people (out of 15) who weren’t able to quit smoking? Do you have an idea why?

They tended to have less meaningful experiences in their psilocybin sessions. Our sample is relatively small, so we’re cautious in overstating our conclusions, but it appears that the trend is that those people who had less personally meaningful or spiritually significant session experiences were less likely to be successful in the long term. And that’s consistent with other data we collected in other psilocybin studies. The nature of the experience, particularly the positive, mystical-type nature of the experience, seems to be what’s predicting positive change in personality and long-term attributions of benefit.

If these interesting results could be confirmed on a larger scale, do you think this kind of therapy could become generally available, and if so, how long could it take?

Yes, I do believe so. I think it would be at least ten years, I’m hopeful that it wouldn’t be much longer than that. Research with psilocybin in the United States is further along in the treatment of cancer-related anxiety and depression. We would expect that in the US, initial FDA approval of psilocybin as a prescription medicine would likely be for cancer-related distress. But we would anticipate, if the data continue to look promising, that an addictions indication could come soon after that. I think it absolutely is possible, and that’s our hope, that this would be disseminated beyond research, into approved prescription use. We believe that this would be conducted in clinics, in a way similar to outpatient surgery. So it would not be, “take two of these and call me in the morning”, sending the patient home with psilocybin to use on their own. It would involve preparation, much like what is going on in our research. Screening, followed by a few preparatory meetings with professional staff, and then one or a few day-long experiences where the person would come in in the morning and leave at 5 or 6pm. They’d be released into the care of a friend or a loved one, very similarly to the way outpatient surgery procedures are performed.

Would doctors need a special license to practice this kind of thing?

Yes, they might need some specialized training, some certificate in the basics of conducting these kinds of sessions. The procedures that are at play in the current research studies with psilocybin are very effective, so it would essentially look like this, with similar safety mechanisms.

You’ve also conducted research on mystical experiences, in another study. Everything seems to indicate that those experiences induced by psychedelics cannot be distinguished from spontaneous or naturally occurring mystical experiences. What are the implications of this, and what does it mean for scientific research?

I think it opens up many avenues. It’s going to be a long time before we fully realize – perhaps we never will – the potential of this. The most interesting thing, perhaps, is what it may tell us about the biology of naturally occurring experiences. Even if those occur without the provocation of an external substance, it may be that something very similar is going on endogenously. One speculation that Dr. Rick Strassman has put forth is that naturally occurring dimethyltryptamine (DMT) could be responsible for extraordinary spontaneous experiences of this type. We don’t really know that to be the case, although it certainly sounds plausible at this point. But I think if we do find a similar biological basis to naturally occurring spiritual or mystical experiences and psychedelically mediated experiences, this would have profound philosophical implications for how we view human experience generally, the idea that there’s not this dualistic divide between biology and subjective experience. It would suggest that these are always two sides of the same coin.

What do you think we can gain or learn from mystical experiences? Could they be useful to society as a whole?

It’s been speculated that the world would be a better place in many ways if more people had such experiences. Perhaps it’s wishful thinking to think that these experiences, by themselves, would save the world. But it makes sense that if more people have genuine experiences of openness and connection with the rest of humanity, that can only help – whether this be from psychedelics or spontaneously occurring experiences, or through the use of other techniques. I’m interested in the speculation that these experiences can lead to prosocial behavior, which can be good for the world in general, although I’m a bit cautious. I certainly wouldn’t say that psychedelics are a panacea that is single-handedly going to save the world. But perhaps, if cautiously used under the right circumstances, they could be part of and contribute to an overall greater level of awareness. Ultimately, we’re all completely dependent on each other, we’re on this planet together, trying to figure out how to ultimately survive and thrive, and I think these profound mystical experiences, however they might be occasioned, can perhaps help point us in the right direction.

Several sources, including the scientific articles themselves, seemed to suggest that the subjects in the studies about mystical experiences were highly educated, high functioning, and prone to spiritual practice. Isn’t there a bias here that could prevent generalization towards the general population?

That’s an interesting question and a good point. Across the number of studies we’ve conducted, we’ve become less specialized in our target population. In the very first study that Roland conducted, these were people who already had an intense interest and an ongoing spiritual practice of some type. In subsequent studies, we have loosened our requirements of that nature, and now it’s getting closer to a general population. At baseline, before people enter the study, we collect measures of their lifetime experience of mystical-type effects, using the Hood mysticism scale. We found that people in our subsequent studies have a much lower score than in that initial study. In my smoking study of 15 individuals, these were very ‘normal’ people in that regard. Some had an interest in spirituality, but most of them didn’t have any particularly strong interest. Regarding education and level of functioning, the subjects are generally pretty high functioning, although it tends to get rather normative. In the smoking study, we had an elementary school teacher, we had a carpenter that fixed furniture, a child care worker, as well as a lawyer, for instance. So although some did, not all of them had intellectual occupations. Furthermore, we haven’t noticed any real difference in experience between highly intellectual individuals or people with high socioeconomic status and people who are more normative.

Are there any significant differences from one substance to another, or does everything revolve around having the psychedelic experience in and of itself, whatever the substance that triggers it?

We don’t know yet. Very much of the recent resurgence of interest in psychedelics has been research done with psilocybin. Our presumption with many of these research questions is that similar results would be obtained with LSD, mescaline and the other classic psychedelics. But that’s just an assumption. We certainly know that they have a common biological pathway. I think there’s potential for both possibilities. When we compare our research to the older research with LSD, and when you compare these psilocybin accounts to naturally occurring, non-drug occasioned experiences, you do see substantial commonality. But at the same time, we do know that these various psychedelics have shades of different effects, even though the classic psychedelics all have effects at the serotonin 2A receptor. We also know that they differ in their effects at a variety of other receptor sites, and this is likely to account for some of the more subtle differences in subjective effects that people will report. Sometimes those might be specific to the individual: some people will report that e.g. psilocybin is more psychologically gentle, and that LSD is more abrasive, and other people will report exactly the opposite. All of this is reporting from anecdotal or recreational use. All those questions should be examined in the laboratory under double blind conditions to really validate them. There’s a lot of excitement that, if there is any promise to psilocybin or one or a few of these psychedelic compounds, we have a whole library of hundreds of compounds waiting in the weeds, much of the work that Sasha Shulgin and David Nichols and others have done to create dozens of compounds that are derivatives of the tryptamine or the phenethylamine structure. It’s going to be really exciting to follow up this initial research with psilocybin with a wide variety of compounds. It could be that they are all very general, but – I’m just speculating here – perhaps one of these other substituted tryptamines might be as effective for cancer-related anxiety as psilocybin, but perhaps comes with less of a chance of difficult acute experiences, or perhaps it’s a shorter or longer duration, in a way that makes it more ideal for treatment. I think there’s a lot of potential, and we’re in our infancy in examining these things, so there’s a lot of exciting things to come ahead.

Do you have an idea why psilocybin is so prominent right now?

Yes, for our group at Johns Hopkins and for a number of other investigators that have reinitiated research in the last decade, I think there was a sense that politically, we wanted to stay away from LSD. With people who are going to have a hair-trigger sensationalistic reaction when hearing about the research, LSD might have been a bad place to start, because it would raise all of the concerns about Tim Leary and the counterculture of the sixties. In some sense, psilocybin was a little safer politically because it was not the prominent psychedelic used recreationally in the 60s – that was primarily LSD. We also know that, next to LSD and mescaline, psilocybin is one of the classic psychedelics that received the most research in that earlier era of research from the 50s to the 70s, so there was a nice background on the basic toxicology and pharmacology. If we were starting with a brand new compound that’s never been administered to humans, there are many basic safety studies that would need to be done on animals and in early studies with humans. So psilocybin fit the bill nicely, and also, its time course happens to be pretty convenient: five to six hours. It fits into a therapeutic workday a little easier than the 10-12 hour experiences one can have with LSD or mescaline.

There have been some recent calls for legislative change regarding psychedelics (Nature Reviews Neuroscience in June 2013, Scientific American in February 2014). Are there any concrete efforts made to move these substances down a schedule or two in order to facilitate research?

The most concrete effort would be moving into phase 3 trials for cancer-related anxiety and depression. This is something that a number of the research teams in the US have talked about, and we’re preparing to enter into phase 3 research after our phase 2 study and the one at NYU are completed. We’ve already completed all our participants, so that’s going to be soon. If phase 3 is successful in terms of showing safety and efficacy, that would lead to the possibility of a schedule change. That would be a way within the current system to see a scheduling change, very specifically for one compound and one indication. Now a lot of the editorials that you’ve referred to are also raising concerns more broadly, regardless of whether phase 3 research prompts the rescheduling of a particular compound. There is concern that placing so many of these compounds in Schedule I, and the heavy restrictions we have on Schedule I compounds, can limit their clinical development potential. One aspect of that is that no pharmaceutical companies are interested in developing these compounds at all, and one reason for that is because they’re on Schedule 2, so that it’s a very bad bet to invest millions of dollars in a compound therapeutically if it’s already at the highest level of restriction and if it doesn’t seem hopeful that’s going to change. It also makes research much more difficult having a substance in Schedule I versus other schedules. It’s ironic that it can be much more difficult doing research with psilocybin or with cannabis, which are Schedule I drugs in the USA, than with cocaine, methamphetamine and many of the opioids, because these are Schedule II or less restrictive schedules. So even if a particular compound hasn’t gone through all the steps to merit clinical approval, there is still this notion – and I agree with this – that the level of regulation is too burdensome, and the system is not encouraging enough of cautious scientific exploration of these different compounds. There is this general sense across psychiatry that we have to some degree reached our limit with many of the conventional treatment methods, and so we need to be more open, and have a more flexible system for conducting safe research with some of these currently heavily restricted compounds.

After those phase 3 trials are completed, and if they’re successful, do you fear a renewed resistance, which would be more psychological or political in nature, from society and policymakers?

I do think there will be some resistance, and I think the only thing we can do is rely on data, and to conduct this research responsibly. The concerns about psychedelics are really related to the uncontrolled recreational use. They’re really very addressable when it comes to conducting research or approved clinical use. To draw an analogy, we know that drugs like heroin come with incredible toxicity and are associated with high death rates – that’s unquestionable. But heroin is virtually identical to the drugs that we use in medical settings, and those are indispensible to the practice of medicine. So mentally we draw a distinction between the uncontrolled hazardous use of heroin and other opioids on the street versus the careful use of morphine and other drugs in that same class in the clinic. As an example there, when under careful medical screening, people don’t stop breathing because of opioids, because that’s readily detectable and reversible if it happens in a medical setting, whereas people stop breathing unfortunately all too often in the recreational abuse of intravenous heroin. So in the same way, yes, with psychedelics, occasionally, even though it’s relatively infrequent, people will have panic attacks and hurt themselves, they’ll respond erratically, they’ll run across the highway, they’ll accidently fall from a height. They’ll do things that people do with many other drugs, such as alcohol, at a much higher rate. But those things are very addressable in a research or therapeutic context. They don’t happen in carefully controlled research contexts, because we just have all the safeguards in place. So the more we’re presenting cautious research and conveying the way this clinical intervention is done, the more we’re able to address those political concerns.

How badly are psychedelic researchers such as yourself considered mavericks within the scientific field, for studying such things as drugs and mystical experiences? Is this an obstacle to eventual implementation of results in society at large?

Not too much, I think. There’s a little bit of that, but I think it’s changing fast. It’s funny, sometimes media journalists want to highlight the controversy and they’ll find a clinician who really disagrees with this, often someone who runs a drug clinic or something, who will just say: oh, this sounds dangerous. But really, in the scientific field of those who study addiction and the harms of drug abuse, there’s not much in the way of controversy. It ranges from people who think this is very promising and are happy this kind of research is happening once again, to people who think this might be a bit weird and wouldn’t bet their money on it, but who agree that it is appropriate to conduct cautious research. No-one is credibly saying that this isn’t a legitimate scientific, medical inquiry. It’s really not so controversial, and I think the longer we and others are conducting the research, the more people respect the data. They can see for themselves that this mystical nature of experience is repeatedly predictive of long-term therapeutic outcome, so they recognize this is a meaningful scientific construct. These are also constructs that are known and respected in other areas of psychology as mechanisms of change. So I think this stuff is more and more becoming mainstream, and I guess it’s not much of an obstacle. I’d say to me it’s been more of a benefit, in terms of people saying: wow, that’s really interesting! How good of you to cautiously explore something that’s outside of the box and that needs attention!

Do you think there may be obstacles other than scientific that might bring psychedelic research to a halt all over again, like it happened before? Or do you think it will go on to evolve into standard practice?

I think it will move on and won’t be halted the way it was in previous decades. I don’t know definitively, but that’s what my gut tells me. As a society, we’re doing this in a much more mature way now. Also, in the 1960s, psychedelics were combined with so many other societal changes that it ultimately was a little traumatic for society. Psychedelics probably got too much of the blame for that, even though there were some individual harms caused. But much of it was just impression. There was a reason people were protesting the Vietnam war, fighting for civil rights, women’s rights, etc., completely outside of the fact that there were psychedelics. Today society has changed in many ways, and I think this research can be compartmentalized and can be seen for what it is: an interesting avenue that might be helpful in that it might address intriguing questions about the mind and biology, and there may be therapeutic outcomes. But I’m hopeful that if some rogue researcher comes around and does something very dangerous, it would be clearer now that things would go wrong because that researcher is dangerous and does his thing in an inappropriate way. Just like if someone were to apply morphine at a dangerous dose and not monitor the patient’s breathing in a hospital setting. That would be viewed more as an individual problem rather than as a reason to stop using opioid analgesics. I’m hopeful that that’s the point where we’re at with psychedelics.

[Interview] Matthew Johnson: "Psychedelic therapy may become available in a decade" Read More »

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