Psychedelics as a Training Experience for Psychedelic Therapists: Drawing on History to Inform Current Practice
Journal of Humanistic Psychology – June 23, 2021
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
To effectively guide patients, psychotherapists administering psilocybin-assisted therapy may benefit from experiencing this hallucinogen. Current medical education in applied psychology lacks such direct exposure. Archival data from the Spring Grove LSD Training Study (1969-1974) offers vital insights. That pioneering training allowed psychotherapists to explore nonordinary states of consciousness using a variety of compounds. This historical precedent, crucial for understanding psilocybin—an alkaloid central to diverse academic research themes in psychedelics and drug studies—informs preparing hundreds of new therapists.
Abstract
The therapeutic use of psilocybin in psychedelic-assisted therapy models is currently being tested for a variety of indications, necessitating the training of hundreds of therapists. At present, training programs do not include the provision of a psilocybin experience for therapists, and the last time such an experience was offered with a similar compound was through the Spring Grove LSD Training Study between 1969 and 1974. This article explores archival Spring Grove data to inform training programs and efforts to establish or provide training experiences with psilocybin or otherwise include experiences with nonordinary states of consciousness in the training of psychedelic therapists.