Exploring neuronal subjectivity and perceptions of mental health treatment in a sample of psychedelic retreat-goers

• In Event: 41067 - Sociology of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology

Abstract

Against the backdrop of a national mental health crisis and the failure of psychiatry to provide satisfactory treatments, media coverage surrounding evidence of psychedelics’ clinical efficacy has produced considerable “hype” about their potential to transform mental healthcare. Concurrently, increased rates of adult use have been observed for specific substances such as psilocybin, Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Since psychedelics remain controlled as Schedule I drugs, public interest has led to several developments to meet demand through changes to psychedelics’ legal status at the state and local levels, as well as growing availability of these substances through alternative avenues. For example, gray markets have emerged in municipalities with loosened legal restrictions, and the market for international drug tourism has grown alongside psychedelics’ increasing popularity. In both cases, the market demand for access to psychedelic drugs has been met with the proliferation of organizations hosting “retreats” centered around consumption of one or multiple psychedelic substances. This study draws on the experiences of psychedelics retreats attendees to understand how individual motivations to use psychedelics may relate to actual or perceived shortcomings of standard mental healthcare offerings, as well as how biomedical, especially neuroscientific, knowledge about mental health shapes retreat-goers’ conceptions of self and interpretations of their psychedelic drug experiences.

Author

• Logan Neitzke-Spruill, Baylor College of Medicine