Studies combining psychotherapy with psychedelic drugs (YDs) have demonstrated positive outcomes that are often associated with YDs' ability to induce 'mystical-type' experiences (MTEs) -i.e., subjective experiences whose characteristics include a sense of connectedness, transcendence, and ineffability. We suggest that both YDs and virtual reality can be situated on a broader spectrum of psychedelic technologies. To test this hypothesis, we used concepts, methods, and analysis strategies from YD research to design and evaluate 'Isness', a multi-person VR journey where participants experience the collective emergence, fluctuation, and dissipation of their bodies as energetic essences. A study (N=57) analyzing participant responses to a commonly used YD experience questionnaire (MEQ30) indicates that Isness participants reported MTEs comparable to those reported in double-blind clinical studies after high doses of psilocybin & LSD. Within a supportive setting and conceptual framework, VR phenomenology can create the conditions for MTEs from which participants derive insight and meaning.
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