Journal of Psychedelic Studies
January 15, 2025
Nir Tadmor, Demian Halperin, Guy Simon
6 citations
Mental health professionals who have personally taken psychedelics may gain enduring positive changes that benefit their clinical work. Interviews with eight such clinicians revealed a multi-faceted model of transformation covering interpersonal and emotional growth, changed relationships with death and nature, and deepened concepts of love, meaning, and spirituality. These personal shifts also enhanced their therapeutic skills. The findings suggest that clinicians involved in psychedelic integration should themselves have undergone altered states of consciousness, not only for empathy but because of intrinsic positive effects on their human and professional capacities.
The International journal on drug policy
January 1, 2026
Guy Simon, Nir Tadmor, Demian Halperin
2 citations
Psychedelics can produce lasting changes in attitudes and behavior, with outcomes shaped by both the drug and the context of use ('set and setting'). As these substances move from traditional settings into clinical environments, a tension arises between authenticity and standardization. Drawing on Walter Benjamin's concept of 'aura,' this article examines what may be lost or gained when psychedelic experiences are reproduced in institutional settings. It explores how set and setting contribute to authenticity, analyzes the implications of medicalization, and considers the roles of ritual and commodification. The authors propose ways to integrate traditional context with clinical approaches to preserve psychedelics' transformative potential.
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
May 1, 2026
Guy Simon, Maya Gal-Birman, Nir Tadmor et al.
In the October 7, 2023, attack at the Nova rave, 45 survivors were interviewed using a mixed-methods phenomenological design. Participants used classic psychedelics (24), empathogens (19), or ketamine (2). A dissociative phenomenon termed "adaptive psychedelic dissociation" emerged, combining emotional detachment, derealization, depersonalization, automatic behaviors, and preserved functionality. Participants' awareness of their substance use created an "epistemic container" that helped contain traumatic input in real time but complicated later meaning-making. Psychedelic effects appeared suppressed during acute trauma and resurged afterward. Substance use had a predominantly positive impact on immediate survival (75%-79%) and emotional coping (83%-84%), but mixed outcomes in aftermath processing (42%-53% positive, 25%-26% negative). This paradox suggests acute adaptive benefits with integration challenges.