Psychedelic therapy as reality transformation: A phenomenological approach
Journal of Psychedelic Studies April 27, 2023 Mateo Sanchez Petrement 10 citations
A growing crisis in psychiatry's individualist approaches, which treat patients as separate from their social and material contexts, has coincided with rising evidence for psychedelic drugs' therapeutic potential. While researchers note that psychedelic therapy works by producing a sense of connectedness to self, world, and others, neurological and psychological perspectives remain trapped in individualist thinking. This essay uses phenomenological psychiatry to examine psychedelic therapy for depression, arguing that depression is a bodily detunement or disconnection. Through a process called immersive reflection, psychedelic therapy transforms not only the self but patients' sense of reality, explaining its lasting effects and paradigm-shifting potential for mental health.