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Psychedelic psychotherapy refers to psychotherapeutic practices involving the use of psychedelic drugs. As an alternative to synonyms such as " hallucinogen", " entheogen", "psychotomimetic" and other functionally constructed names, the use of the term psychedelic ("mind-manifesting") emphasizes the ability of psychedelic drugs to facilitate exploration of the psyche, which is fundamental to most methods of psychedelic psychotherapy.1 History
Psychedelic psychotherapy in the broadest possible sense of the term is likely as old as humanity's ancient knowledge of hallucinogenic plants itself. Though usually viewed as predominantly religious in nature, elements of psychotherapeutic practice can be recognized in the entheogenic rituals of many cultures.
The use of psychedelic agents in Western psychotherapy began in the 1950s, after the widespread distribution of LSD to researchers by its manufacturer, Sandoz Laboratories. Extensive research into experimental, chemotherapeutic and psychotherapeutic uses of psychedelic drugs was conducted worldwide over the next 10-15 years. Many studies found that the use of psychedelic drugs greatly facilitated psychotherapeutic processes, and proved particularly useful for patients with problems that were otherwise difficult to treat, including alcoholics, drug addictsDrug addiction or dependency is the compulsive use of drugs, to the point where the user has no effective choice but to continue use. This phenomenon has occurred to some degree throughout recorded history (see " opium"), though modern agricultural practi, sociopaths, and psychopaths.
In the mid- 1960Events January-February January 1 Independence of Cameroon January 9 Aswan High Dam construction begins in Egypt January 11 Chad declares its independence. January 14 Ralph Chubb, the gay poet and printer, dies at Fair Oak Cottage in Hampshire. January 23s, in response to concerns regarding the proliferation unauthorized use of psychedelic drugs by the general public (especially the countercultureIn sociology, counterculture is a term used to describe a cultural group whose values and norms are at odds with those of the social mainstream. In practice, the term is most commonly used to refer to the youth rebellion that swept North America and Weste), various steps were taken to curtail their use. Bowing to governmental pressure, Sandoz halted production of LSD in 19651965 was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). Events January-February January 4 United States President Lyndon Johnson proclaims his " Great Society" during his State of the Union address. January 14 Prime Ministers of N, and in many countries LSD was banned, or made available on a very limited basis that made research difficult. By 1980 authorized research into psychotherapeutic applications of psychedelic drugs had essentially discontinued, worldwide.
Research and therapeutic sessions have nevertheless continued to be performed, in one way or another, to the present day. Some therapists have exploited windows of opportunity preceding scheduling of particular substances (e.g. MDMA, Salvia divinorumSalvia divinorum (also known as diviner's sage or simply salvia is a psychoactive plant, a member of the sage genus. The plant is grown by the Mazatec indigenous people of the Oaxaca mountains of southern Mexico in isolated, moist and secret plots. It has), or developed extensive non-drug techniques for achieving similar states of consciousness (e.g. Holotropic Breathwork). A handful of researchers, especially since the late 1990s, have succeeded in obtaining legal permission for research studies. For the most part, however, since the early 1970s psychedelic therapy has been conducted by an underground network of therapists who consider the potential benefits of psychedelic psychotherapy to be so great as to justify risking their careers and freedom by clandestinely conducting therapy sessions using illegal substances.
