The psychedelic ritual as a technique of the self

Psychedelic substances are seeing renewed therapeutic interest, but why they work remains unclear. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in a Peruvian Amazon clinic, this article proposes an anthropological explanation for their effectiveness in treating addiction. Using interactionism, narrative approaches, and cultural phenomenology, it argues that psychedelic rituals are transformative techniques of the self, leading participants to reinterpret their identity, biography, and daily behaviors through a new cultural model. The dissociative states induced by psychedelics, often viewed as side effects, are instead a driving force in therapy. Beyond neuropharmacology and psychodynamics, relational, narrative, and spiritual processes are key therapeutic mechanisms.

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Abstract

Although so-called “psychedelic” substances have recently experienced a revival of interest in their therapeutic properties, the underpinnings of their effectiveness remain poorly understood. Based on data collected during ethnographic fieldwork in a Peruvian Amazon clinic, this article proposes an anthropological approach to their therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of addiction. Using an analytical framework rooted in interactionism, narrative approaches, and cultural phenomenology, I argue that psychedelic rituals are best conceptualized as transformative techniques of the self leading the participants to reinterpret their identity, their biography, and their daily behaviors in the light of a new cultural model. I claim that the “dissociative” states induced by psychedelics, usually considered as side effects or adverse reactions, are in fact a driving force in therapy. Beyond neuropharmacological and psychodynamic models, my analysis points out the importance of relational, narrative, and “spiritual” processes as key therapeutic mechanisms of psychedelics.