Meeting Grandmother: Breakdown, breakthrough, and the fear of madness in psychedelic research
Psychedelics May 16, 2026 Tam Martin Fowles, Tehseen Noorani
The authors argue that research into psychedelics and psychosis/madness must be not only expanded but also conducted wisely. They note increasing publications on psychedelic use by people who have experienced psychosis and present a narrative account of the lead author, who had a breakdown diagnosed as psychosis in 1989 and used psychedelics for healing in 2024. The paper connects current psychedelic-assisted therapy research with insights from critical, historical, user-led, participatory, and theoretical literatures on psychosis. It offers research questions and frameworks, highlighting the concept of 'integration' versus 'sealing over' from earlier psychosis research. The authors call for interdisciplinary, methodologically diverse research that avoids speaking 'for' subjects.