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Missed Opportunities? Beneficial Uses of Illicit Drugs
Published in Ross Coomber, The Control of Drugs and Drug Users, 2020
Lester Grinspoon, James B. Bakalar
Psychedelic therapy for alcoholism is based on the assumption that one overwhelming experience sometimes changes the self-destructive drinking habits of a lifetime, and the hope that psychedelic drugs can consistently produce such an experience. In one reported case, a 40-year-old unskilled laborer was brought to a hospital from jail after drinking uncontrollably for ten days. He had been an alcoholic for four years, and he was also severely anxious and depressed. He described his experiences during an LSD session as follows: I was afraid. I started to run, but something said “Stop! Stop!” … then I felt as if ten tons had fallen from my shoulders. I prayed to the Lord. Everything looked better all around me…. I changed my mind from alcohol toward Christ and the rose came back into my life…. As I sat up and looked in the mirror I could feel myself growing stronger. I feel now that my family and I are closer than ever before and I hope that our faith will grow forever and ever. One week later his score on a questionnaire testing neurotic traits had dropped from the 88th to the 10th percentile. Six months later his psychological tests were within normal limits; he had been totally abstinent from alcohol for all that time and despite a temporary relapse when he lost his job, he was still sober after twelve months (Kurland, 1967).
Key considerations for the use of ketamine and esketamine for the treatment of depression: focusing on administration, safety, and tolerability
Published in Expert Opinion on Drug Safety, 2022
Michael D. Kritzer, Chi-Un Pae, Prakash S. Masand
The primary focus of this article is related to the pharmacological, biological, clinical safety and efficacy of ketamine and esketamine treatment. However, given the resurgence of interest in psychedelic treatment, the psychological effects an individual experiences when receiving ketamine and esketamine treatment cannot be ignored. As with any drug-assisted psychotherapy, the subjective experience and the clinical setting are also present with ketamine treatment [25]. There is ongoing investigation into the efficacy of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. The underlying notion is that psychedelic therapy can be a drug-assisted form of psychotherapy rather than pure pharmacotherapy [26] [27]. With this approach, psychological factors involving the clinical context such as the preceding preparation as well as subsequent integration of the experience are thought to be important for influencing therapeutic outcome.
Psychiatry might need some psychedelic therapy
Published in International Review of Psychiatry, 2018
The current issue of International Review of Psychiatry contains a number of exciting manuscripts focused on the scientific potential and clinical use of psychedelics, written by leading experts with backgrounds in psychiatry, psychology, neuroscience, and pharmacology. Although the focus is on the classic 5-HT2a agonist psychedelics, related compounds with differing but somewhat overlapping mechanisms, such as methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), are occasionally addressed. As clinical research interest in psychedelics is rapidly increasing, special attention has been paid to curate both summaries of the current landscape of clinical psychedelic research, as well as previously unexplored topics, including both psychological and biological mechanisms, and novel potential future therapeutic modalities and theoretical frameworks for understanding psychedelic therapy.
Psychedelics and the new behaviourism: considering the integration of third-wave behaviour therapies with psychedelic-assisted therapy
Published in International Review of Psychiatry, 2018
Zach Walsh, Michelle S. Thiessen
Mood disorders are another area where the combination of TWBT and psychedelic psychotherapy may be potentially beneficial. MBCT is designed to address mood disorders, and several meta-analyses have revealed positive effects for the prevention of relapse and reduction of acute depression (Clarke, Mayo-Wilson, Kenny, & Pilling, 2015; Piet & Hougaard, 2011). Both DBT and ACT have demonstrated effectiveness in the treatment of mood disorders that are independent and those that are comorbid with other disorders (Öst, 2008). Psychedelic therapy has also evinced effects for the treatment of depression. A recent pilot study using psilocybin to treat depression produced promising results (Carhart-Harris et al., 2016), and a systematic review of 19 studies of psychedelic use and unipolar depression reported improvement in over 75% of participants, and concluded that further clinical trials are strongly warranted (Rucker, Jelen, Flynn, Frowde & Young, 2016).