Underground MDMA-, LSD- and 2-CB-assisted individual and group psychotherapy in Zurich: Outcomes, implications and commentary
Ben Sessa, Friederike Meckel Fischer
Drug Science Policy and Law March 24, 2015 DOI: 10.1177/2050324515578080 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractDespite LSD and MDMA being banned in the 1960s and 1980s, underground psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy continued in Europe. This article describes a Zurich-based psychotherapist who provided individual and group psycholytic psychotherapy for several years before her arrest in 2009. The authors comment on the psychopharmacological, moral, ethical, and legal issues of the case, situating them within the growing medical research on psychedelic substances as mainstream psychiatric treatments.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | MDMA |
| Keywords | Psychotherapist Mainstream Context archaeology Psychology |
| Citations | 39 |
| Key finding | Underground psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy persisted in Europe after prohibition, exemplified by a Zurich psychotherapist's practice until her 2009 arrest, raising psychopharmacological, moral, ethical, and legal issues relevant to the current resurgence of psychedelic research. |
Abstract
Underground psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has persisted in Europe despite the banning of the substances LSD and MDMA in the 1960s and 1980s, respectively. This article describes the work of a Zurich-based psychotherapist providing individual and group psycholytic psychotherapy, whose practice persisted for several years before she was arrested in 2009. The article provides commentary on the psychopharmacological, moral, ethical and legal issues of this case and discusses these issues in the context of the growing medical research of psychedelic substances as mainstream treatments for psychiatry.