Spiritual experiences in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: Case reports of communion with the divine, the departed, and saints in research using psilocybin for the treatment of alcohol dependence.

Abstract

Psychedelic substances have been central to religious and shamanic healing practices of various cultures for generations. More recently, in western medicine, psychedelic substances have demonstrated promise in the treatment of various mental health indications. A growing evidence base supports not only the therapeutic potential of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, but also the importance of integrating spiritual aspects of psychedelic experiences into the traditional therapeutic process. Psilocybin, a classic psychedelic, is a serotonergic hallucinogen that can elicit profound spiritual experiences even in the research setting. Our group is currently conducting a randomized controlled trial exploring the therapeutic potential of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for alcohol dependence. Over the course of the trial, many individuals have reported experiences that take a variety of forms, including spiritual insights, beatific visions, and communion with the Divine. Here we present three case studies of experiences involving communion with a deceased loved one, with a holy figure, and with the Divine from our clinical trial. These cases have been selected to illustrate the diverse nature of the spiritual experiences observed in this clinical trial, and to also explore elements of spiritual care that may be supportive in the psychotherapeutic process during and after the medication experiences. Should psychedelic medicine continue to show treatment promise in clinical trial stages, there is a strong possibility that these medicines will become an integral part of psychotherapy, which will require integration of direct spiritual experiences and spiritual care into the healing process.

Models of Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy: A Contemporary Assessment and an Introduction to EMBARK, a Transdiagnostic, Trans-Drug Model

“…Psychedelic medicines are well known to catalyze profound encounters with mystical or spiritual content ( Griffiths et al, 2006 ; Breeksema et al, 2020 ; Podrebarac et al, 2021 ) and existential concerns, such as mortality ( Swift et al, 2017 ), alienation ( Watts et al, 2017 ), or questions of life meaning ( Ross et al, 2016 , 2021 ; Belser et al, 2017 ). This is perhaps not surprising, given the historical and current use of psychedelic plants and fungi in the religious practices of many cultures worldwide ( Schultes et al, 2001 ).…”

“…This is perhaps not surprising, given the historical and current use of psychedelic plants and fungi in the religious practices of many cultures worldwide ( Schultes et al, 2001 ). Several PAP clinical trials have found that participants often report profound experiences of an existential or spiritual nature ( Johnson et al, 2014 ; Bogenschutz et al, 2015 ; Belser et al, 2017 ; Podrebarac et al, 2021 ) that may hold enduring significance for them ( Griffiths et al, 2006 ). The potency of participants’ mystical experiences has been found to correlate with a range of treatment benefits, including reductions in symptoms of depression ( Davis et al, 2021 ) and treatment-resistant depression ( Roseman et al, 2018 ), increased motivation to stop problematic cocaine use ( Dakwar et al, 2014 ), decreases in cancer-related depression and anxiety ( Griffiths et al, 2016 ; Ross et al, 2016 ), greater success in nicotine cessation ( Johnson et al, 2014 ), and other positive changes in psychological functioning ( Griffiths et al, 2018 ).…”

Et psykoanalytisk og et postmoderne perspektiv på selv/egoopløsning i en psykedelisk kontekst

“…Eksempler herpå er bl.a. forandringer i spiritualitet, tids-og rumperception (Malone et al, 2018;Podrebarac et al, 2021), hvilket det vil vaere relevant at have øje for i fremtidige undersøgelser af SEO.…”

Asclepius Revisited—Ancient Myth and 21st-Century Psychedelic Medicine

“…Patients' experiences in psychedelic sessions are often extraordinary, deeply meaningful, and commonly extend into transpersonal realms. 10 Research suggests that the depth or quality of the transpersonal experience mediates therapeutic outcomes in treatment-resistant depression, alcohol use disorder, depression and anxiety in patients with cancer, and in smoking cessation. These are novel, relevant, and provocative discoveries.…”