Existential feelings as a phenomenological framework for psychedelic therapy

This article uses Matthew Ratcliffe's theory of existential feelings to explain how psychedelic therapy can relieve mental suffering. It argues that mental disorders share common existential feelings, and that psychedelic experiences can shift these feelings, particularly through oceanic feelings. The authors describe how this shift allows for existential reorientation, which is key to therapeutic change. They characterize the phenomenological process during psychedelic therapy and outline conditions needed for a successful therapeutic experience, such as set and setting. The account integrates phenomenology with clinical observations to show why certain psychedelic experiences lead to lasting relief.

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Abstract

This article provides a phenomenological account of the role of existential feelings in the acute and lasting effects of psychedelic therapy and attempts to elucidate phenomenologically why certain psychedelic experiences in specific contexts have the potential of providing long-term relief from mental suffering. First, we explain Matthew Ratcliffe’s theory of existential feelings and use it to highlight shared phenomenological characteristics between various mental disorders. Next, we discuss the phenomenology of oceanic feelings to specify the kind of existential feeling that is involved in acute psychedelic experiences and connect this to the existential reorientation that may occur after the use of psychedelics. Following this, we show how this framework of existential feelings allows us to (1) characterize the phenomenological process that takes during therapeutic use of psychedelics, and (2) describe various conditions required for a successful therapeutic psychedelic experience.