REACTIONS TO PSILOCYBJN ADMINISTERED IN A SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT
The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease December 1, 1963 Timothy Leary, George H. Litwin, Ralph Metzner 245 citations
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Ralph Metzner
4 papers in the library · 415 citations · publishing 1963-2014
Papers
Hallucinogenic Drugs and Plants in Psychotherapy and Shamanism
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs December 1, 1998 Ralph Metzner 140 citations
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and indigenous shamanic healing both use psychoactive substances for healing and gaining knowledge, but they rest on fundamentally different worldviews. Four paradigms are reviewed: standard psychedelic psychotherapy, where the drug amplifies internal self-analysis; shamanic rituals, where the healer takes the medicine to 'see' causes of illness; syncretic folk religious ceremonies focused on community bonding; and hybrid shamanic therapeutic rituals combining elements of both. The shamanic worldview diverges radically from the Western one in two ways: the perception of multiple realities accessible in expanded states of consciousness, and the belief that spirits encountered in dreams and visions are as real as the physical organism.
A new behavior change program using psilocybin.
Psychotherapy January 1, 1965 Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner, Presnell Madison et al. 29 citations
A new rehabilitation program for prisoners uses consciousness-altering drugs, specifically psilocybin, within a collaborative group setting to produce lasting changes in thinking and behavior, aiming to reduce recidivism. The program avoids traditional doctor-patient roles, is relatively short, and includes built-in evaluation. It is designed to be run by non-professionals with egalitarian wisdom. Recidivism rates are high: 50 to 70 percent of released offenders return within five years, with a national average of 67 percent. The program builds on prior methods such as guided group interaction and psychodrama, but centers on shared insight experiences induced by psilocybin.
Ethnographic Accounts of Ketamine Explorations in Psychedelic Culture
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies July 1, 2014 Kenneth Ring, Ralph Metzner, Philip E. Wolfson 1 citation
The off-label use of ketamine as a mind-altering substance originated not in laboratories but within the psychedelic culture emerging from the 1960s counterculture movement. Without such experimentation, the drug's therapeutic effects might have gone unnoticed and unresearched. Personal accounts, both inspiring and cautionary, reveal cultural contexts where ketamine was found to be much more than a reliable anesthetic.