Psychedelics and Psychological Well-Being

Abstract

Barriers to research and publication appear to have resulted in a bias toward selective dissemination of predominantly negative information about the effects of psychedelics. However, it appears that significant numbers of people feel that the psychedelics have made positive contributions to their personal psychological growth. This article summarizes the experiences and conclusions of five individuals who appear to exhibit exceptional levels of psychological well-being and to meet Maslow's criteria of self-actualization, and who are deeply involved in a psychological or consciousness discipline. All five felt that, for psychologically mature individuals, the psychedelics, while not constituting a path to deep awakening by themselves, could facilitate psychological growth when used in the context of an ongoing discipline. Advantages were said to include an opening to new realms of experience and belief, deeper understanding of depth psychologies, religions, and consciousness disciplines, more rapid working through of psychological barriers, and insights that provided guiding visions in subsequent life. Each of the five subjects reported that such experiences had played significant roles in either beginning or deepening his or her own personal and professional growth. Problematic areas included hedonism, overestimation of the importance of specific insights, an inadequate cognitive framework for understanding experiences, and the failure to undertake mental training to voluntarily unveil the capacities revealed.