Psychedelic Therapy
Psychedelic Therapy is therapy enhanced via the use of high doses of Connection Supplements.
Types of Connection Therapy
Connection Therapy > Fusion Therapy, Psychedelic Therapy, Psycholytic Therapy, Transpersonal Nursing
Related LP Terms
Non-LP Related Terms
Psychedelic Therapy > COEX Systems, Perinatal Matrices, Psychedelic Introspection, Psycholytic Therapy, Transpersonal Psychology, Verbal Psychotherapy
Notes
Psychedelic therapy is a term first used by Stanislav Grof to describe his use of high doses of LSD (300-500ug)[1] to treat a wide range of neurotic and psychotic psychopathologies.
According to Grof, psychedelic therapy uses Connection Supplements (what he calls psychedelics) to amplify brain processes and expose them to examination and integration.[2] This leads to recovery and resolution of repressed psychodynamic, perinatal,[3] and even past life trauma (Armstrong, 1989). Successful treatment leads to enhanced functioning of the Physical Unit and eventual reconnection with the Fabric of Consciousness. As with Psycholytic Therapy, careful attention to Set and Setting is critical to the success of psychedelic therapy.
Grof also describes the way LSD breaks down ego barriers and then connects us to wider realities. "In some cases, the subject experiences loosening of his usual ego boundaries, and his consciousness and self-awareness seem to expand to include and encompass other individuals and elements of the external world. In other cases, he continues experiencing his own identity but at a different time, in a different place, or in a different context. In yet other cases, the subject experiences a complete loss of his own ego identity and a complete identification with the consciousness of another entity. Finally, in a rather large category of these psychedelic transpersonal experiences (archetypal experiences, encounters with blissful and wrathful deities, union with God, etc.), the subject's consciousness appears to encompass elements that do not have any continuity with his usual ego identity and cannot be considered simple."[4] Indeed, Grof's 1972 article "Varieties of Transpersonal Experiences: Observations from LSD Psychotherapy" is a veritable gold-mind of clinical examples of people connecting to all aspect of reality (plants, animals, other people, the planet, God, and creation). [5]
Grof considered psychedelic therapy to be a more powerful and direct form of therapy than lower dose Psycholytic Therapy.[6] By injecting the client with high doses of LSD, Ego Defenses were forcibly circumvented and the client was put in touch with the "transpersonal realms" of experience (i.e., the client was put in touch with the Fabric of Consciousness). The insights and revelations gained by even a brief encounter with the Fabric of Consciousness generally lead to significant, even startling improvements in psychological and sociological functioning (Grof, 1976)(see the SpiritWiki page on Entheogens for more information).
Early research with LSD and other Connection Supplements showed incredible promise. Unfortunately, social and political paranoia forced the cessation, until quite recently, of what would no doubt have been a revolutionary advancement in the treatment of psychopathology
Method
Dose, Intention, Set, Setting, and Skill
The researchers at Spring Grove were very interested in the mystical experiences that they witnessed in the carefully facilitated single high-dose LSD sessions administered at the research center. Prior to the LSD session there were several sessions with the therapist in which developing rapport and preparation for the drug session were the goals. The LSD sessions were administered with a high dose of the drug whose effects could last up to sixteen hours. There were always a male and a female therapist present. The environment was carefully set up with attention to beauty and comfort. The patient would recline on a couch, wear eyeshades, and listen to music under stereophonic headphones. The intention was to block out external visual stimuli so that a contemplative inner focus could be attained. After the LSD session, there would be several talk sessions for the purpose of integrating the experience into ordinary life. This discussion would use the patient’s written account of the session as the primary focus.[8]
With Cannabis
McQueen provides a methodology, blending, and dosage advice for using Cannabis in a psychedelic modality. [9]
- Keep a tincture or vaporizer/spray of CBD for emergencies since this helps calm, reduce paranoia, halt a bad trip.
- Blend, a blend of sativa, indica, with broad terpene profile, with something aged so there's a CBN contribution. Dosage depends on tolerance and past usage. Infrequent users, 20mg (two or three tokes), heavier users up to 100mg.
Footnotes
- ↑ Grof, Stanislav. “Varieties of Transpersonal Experiences: Observations from LSD Psychotherapy.” Journal of Transpersonal Psychology 4, no. 1 (1972): 45–80. p. 48.
- ↑ . “Theoretical and Empirical Basis of Transpersonal Psychology and Psychotherapy: Observations from LSD Research.” Journal of Transpersonal Psychology 5, no. 1 (June 1973): 15–53. p. 17.
- ↑ Grof, Stanislav. Realms of the Unconscious: Observations from LSD Research. New York: Viking Press, 1976.
- ↑ Grof, Stanislav. “Varieties of Transpersonal Experiences: Observations from LSD Psychotherapy.” Journal of Transpersonal Psychology 4, no. 1 (1972): 45–80. p. 49.
- ↑ Grof, Stanislav. “Varieties of Transpersonal Experiences: Observations from LSD Psychotherapy.” Journal of Transpersonal Psychology 4, no. 1 (1972): 45–80.
- ↑ Grof, Stanislav. Realms of the Unconscious: Observations from LSD Research. New York: Viking Press, 1976.
- ↑ McQueen, Daniel. Psychedelic Cannabis: Therapeutic Methods and Unique Blends to Treat Trauma and Transform Consciousness. Vermont: Park Street Press, 2021.
- ↑ Clark, Marilyn. “Evolution of the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music.” In Guided Imagery and Music: The Bonny Method and Beyond, edited by Kenneth E. Bruscia and Denise E. Grocke. Barcelona Publishers, 2002
- ↑ McQueen, Daniel. Psychedelic Cannabis: Therapeutic Methods and Unique Blends to Treat Trauma and Transform Consciousness. Vermont: Park Street Press, 2021/
Transpersonal Realm Connection Therapy Type
