As the exploration of psychedelics as potential solutions forpsychological disorders gains momentum, it becomes crucial fortherapists to gain an in-depth understanding of these substances.Our patients will inevitably approach us to discuss theirexperiences with psychedelics, and some of us may findpsychedelics useful to assist psychotherapy with certain people.Psychoanalysis intersects with Psychedelics in that they bothseek to explore and understand the depths of the human mind,although they approach this goal differently.Psychoanalysis is a therapeutic technique that involves exploringthe unconscious mind. Psychoanalytic treatment is based onbringing unconscious thoughts and feelings to consciousawareness, leading to insight and healing. The psychoanalyticprocess relies on a dialogue between the patient and thetherapist, experientially embedded in that relationship, leading toresolving psychological conflicts.Psychedelics, also experiential, are substances that alterperception, mood, and cognitive processes. Examples includeLSD, Psilocybin (found in magic mushrooms), and DMT. Thesesubstances have been used for centuries in various cultural andspiritual contexts to induce states of altered consciousness.In recent years, there has been growing interest in the potentialtherapeutic use of psychedelics for conditions such asdepression, anxiety, PTSD, addiction, and end-of-life deathanxiety. Both contemporary research and research dating backdecades suggest that, under controlled conditions and with appropriate therapeutic support, psychedelics may facilitate profound psychological insights and changes.
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SDPC
In Person, SDPC Offices
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Educational Objective(s)
- Compare different models of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (eg, psycholytic vs psychedelic).
- Explain the neuropsychopharmacology of classical psychedelics as well as atypical psychedelics such as ketamine and empathogens such as MDMA.
- Identify hypotheses for mechanisms of action of psychedelics on the brain.
- Understand the challenges of integrating psychedelic experiences.
- Understand how neuroscience concepts like memory reconsolidating, predictive encoding, and updating working memory are related to the clinical concepts of transference analysis and working through.
- Understand how the neuroscience concept of the Default Mode Network (DMN) relates to the clinical concepts of the narrative self through fantasy and phantasy.
- Assess potential applications of psychedelic-assisted therapy, including extra- psychiatric fields, such as within palliative care and spirituality, as well as within medicine, such as for pain and immunomodulation.
Presenter Information
Daniel Brockett, M.D.