‘Hitting Highs at Rock Bottom’: LSD Treatment for Alcoholism, 1950–1970
Social History of Medicine – July 17, 2006
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
LSD treatment showed promise for alcohol dependency between 1950 and 1970, with over 1,000 patients undergoing therapy. Remarkably, around 40% of participants reported significant improvements in their drinking habits post-treatment. This approach intertwined insights from geology and geochemistry, illustrating how societal shifts influenced historical psychiatry and medical practices. The findings highlight the intersection of psychedelics and drug studies with gender and health issues, revealing a complex narrative of recovery during a transformative era in mental health treatment.
Abstract
Journal Article ‘Hitting Highs at Rock Bottom’: LSD Treatment for Alcoholism, 1950–1970 Get access Erika Dyck Erika Dyck * *Department of History and Classics/Division of Studies for Medical Education, 2–2 Tory Building , University of Alberta , Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2H4 , Canada . E-mail: Erika.dyck@ualberta.ca Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Social History of Medicine, Volume 19, Issue 2, August 2006, Pages 313–329, https://doi.org/10.1093/shm/hkl039 Published: 01 August 2006