Conducting Qualitative Research With Psychedelic Psychopharmacologists: Challenges of Co-Production in an Era of Interdisciplinarity
OpenAlex – January 01, 2017
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
Psilocybin, a psychoactive alkaloid, showed very promising outcomes for long-term cigarette smokers in a 2013-2015 clinical trial. Understanding the mechanisms of change, however, presented significant challenges in interdisciplinary co-production. A qualitative researcher, trained in Sociology, spearheaded efforts to bridge perspectives between social scientists and pharmacologists focused on Chemical synthesis. This unique case study within Psychedelics and Drug Studies offers practical suggestions for fostering effective collaboration and maximizing knowledge production for future therapeutic advancements.
Abstract
From 2013 to 2015, I worked as a postdoctoral research fellow with a team of pharmacologists experimenting with psilocybin, an illegal psychoactive compound found in psychedelic mushrooms. The team had conducted an open-label clinical trial with long-term cigarette smokers, using psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to help them quit. The smoking outcomes were very promising, occurring alongside many other profound positive life-changes. The team wanted to investigate further the mechanisms of change by which the study led to its effects. With my PhD training in qualitative research but little knowledge of psychopharmacology, I spearheaded a retrospective qualitative research project to identify participants’ perceptions of the mechanisms of change. This case study describes the challenges I experienced through my involvement with the pharmacology team and some of the solutions that emerged. The distance between collaborating physical scientists and social scientists ebbs and flows, and I begin by situating our interdisciplinary project in the context of the recent intellectual history of psychopharmacology. I then offer a twin analysis of working on the topic as a qualitative researcher and working in a team with pharmacologists. The case study ends with practical suggestions for getting the most out of interdisciplinary co-production.