Child maltreatment is linked to higher posttraumatic stress symptoms and internalized shame, especially when emotional abuse or neglect is involved. People who used psychedelics intentionally for therapy reported fewer complex trauma symptoms and less internalized shame, even when their maltreatment histories were similar. Those with more than five such psychedelic sessions showed the largest differences in trauma symptoms and shame. Psychedelic use also weakened the link between emotional maltreatment and trauma symptoms. No connection was found between maltreatment or psychedelic use and facial emotion recognition.
A history of childhood trauma does not increase the risk of having a challenging experience during acute ayahuasca effects, nor does it affect posttraumatic growth afterward. In a survey of 231 adults (average age 40, 48% women), those with childhood trauma histories reported no more adverse or challenging experiences during ayahuasca use than those without such histories. Additionally, the degree of challenge during the acute experience was not linked to greater ayahuasca-related posttraumatic growth. These findings suggest that childhood trauma exposure may not carry the same risk for poor treatment response to ayahuasca as it does for other interventions.
Adults with childhood maltreatment histories who used psychedelic drugs with therapeutic intent at ceremonies or raves showed significant improvements in PTSD symptoms, complex PTSD symptoms, trait shame, social connectedness, and general connectedness from before the experience to two months afterward, with effect sizes ranging from 0.73 to 1.12. The degree of improvement was linked to specific acute subjective effects of the psychedelic experience, suggesting that the psychosocial context of these group settings may contribute to therapeutic benefits.