The Use of Psychedelics in Psychotherapy

Course overview

Psychedelics, also known as entheogens, are catalysts of mystical experience. Transliterated from the Greek, these words refer to an ineffable experience of union with the divine or oneness with the universe. Under their influence, the ego recedes and there is a soul-connection with a reality beyond logical comprehension. Jung called this an experience of the numinous and remarked in a 1945 letter to a colleague that he considered the approach to the numinous, not the cure of neurosis, to be at the heart of his work. Unlike Freud, Jung saw the unconscious less as the container of repressions and more as the realm of the archetypes and the dwelling place of the divine. He did not use psychedelics or entheogens as a means to enter this realm. In fact, he warned against it. His approach was to make use of dreams, fantasy, mythology, fairy tales, and various art forms and artifacts to connect with a level of experience that the unaided ego could never approach on its own. Jung had his misgivings about creating spiritual experience with a pill. He was concerned, first, with overwhelming consciousness with archetypal images that could precipitate a psychosis. He was also concerned about taking short cuts that would prove to be ultimately hollow. Nevertheless, both research and clinical experience have proven the utility of psychedelics when used competently and responsibly within the context of analytic work. This presentation will examine a particular case from a Jungian perspective in which analysis was conducted over a two-year period following patient experience with psilocybin. Attention will be paid to the prerequisites for including psychedelics as an adjunct to analytic work, the stages of the psychedelic journey, and the stages of progression through the course of the analytic work itself. Psychedelic therapies and research have exploded into the cultural consciousness in the last few years. With headlines claiming that psychedelics can cure depression and PTSD, along with stories of plane crashes caused by magic mushrooms, it is important to cultivate a critical lens through which to look at the emerging "Psychedelic Renaissance". In this presentation Dylan will walk you through some of the current research and leading theories of psychedelic therapy, as well as looking at ways in which psychedelic work has been held historically. He will compare and contrast emerging psychological models with traditionally held indigenous viewpoints, as well as examining issues regarding community care versus individual self-actualization. Participants in this workshop will gain a greater understanding of the current uses of psychedelics in psychotherapy, issues of culture and oppression at play in the emerging psychedelic landscape, as well as a deeper understanding of the current critiques and limitations of psychedelic psychotherapy.