June / July 2006

Transpersonal Healing with Hallucinogens
— Roger Marsden and David Lukoff

A new paradigm of transpersonal exploration based on hallucinogen use has emerged that has been influenced both by indigenous healers and by psychotherapists. Ralph Metzner refers to “hybrid shamanic psychotherapeutic rituals” (Sacred Vine of Spirits: Ayahuasca, Park Street Press, 2006, p. 35). Although these psychedelic circles are often referred to as “shamanic,” they do not necessarily follow the guidelines of traditional shamanism nor the guidelines of transpersonal therapy models, particularly with regard to the role of the guide who is usually not referred to as a shaman or healer. The emphasis is very much on the internal process of the individual participants rather than on the internal experience or the influence of a shaman or “healer.” The technique, skill, depth, etc., of the guide is important, but equally so is the “set and setting,” a term that is integral to hallucinogen use. The focus of healing depends on the guide, the participant, the set and setting, and, possibly, the innate qualities of the plant “spirit.”

Psychedelic guides are a unique sort of “transpersonal healer” because they attempt to establish a conscious and growth-producing link between the participant and the hallucinogenic experience, just as transpersonal therapists have as a goal to help establish a conscious and growth-producing link between the client and a transpersonal experience [A. Sutich, “Transpersonal Psychotherapy: History and Definition,” in S. Boorstein, Ed., Transpersonal Psychotherapy, SUNY Press, 1996]. They follow a transpersonal “integral” approach that can focus on any and all levels of consciousness and can focus on the individual, social, global, or spiritual dimensions of the psychedelic experience. In addition, just as transpersonal therapists have pioneered adapting and incorporating spiritual practices and rituals into their psychotherapy, psychedelic guides incorporate many psychological or spiritual systems into their work. The practice is also unique in that it evolves not out of modern Western psychology, but psychology AND traditional indigenous approaches.

To gain a clearer understanding of the intentions and methods of these groups and of the subtle differences between them, and how they differed from the more traditional shamanic and psychotherapeutic models that they evolved from, the lead author conducted his doctoral research as an exploration into three such groups [R. Marsden, 2001, Structured Group Use of Psychedelic or Entheogenic Substances: Experiences of Guides and Participants, Doctoral Dissertation, California Institute of Integral Studies]. In each of the three groups, the guide and five participants were interviewed. From the interviews were extracted the essential themes that are largely the basis of what follows.

STRUCTURE

Although there is some similarity in origins and purposes, the three approaches differ from each other in many ways. They also share similarities and differences with traditional shamanic models. In traditional shamanic systems, there is probably less room for creative expression and choices on the part of the shaman because the structure of the group is defined by the culture and its history. In these Western groups, there is no single cultural structure. The structure is certainly an expression of the culture and its needs, values, etc., but because this work is underground and relatively new, there is no predetermined structure; consequently the guide, for better or for worse, has a significant degree of creative latitude and free reign. Factors that may influence the guides in the design of their structure can include some combination of: 1) the conscious decisions of the group leader regarding psychospiritual goals and how to move toward those goals; 2) the personality of the guides, i.e., a predisposition toward psychological work versus transpersonal or spiritual work; and 3) the teachers the guide was exposed to and influenced by.

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PREPARATION

One of the first things that emerged from interviews with group participants is how enthusiastic and passionate they all were about the value of the psychedelic experience in their personal development. Preparation usually includes formal meetings with the guide and contact with other group members, as well as personal ways of preparing such as dietary adjustments, meditating, or reflecting upon one’s intentions. In some groups, music plays a fairly central role. This can be traced in large part to the influence of Grof and Roquet who used music to guide the experience of the participants. The guide may sing. The songs are intended to “move the energy” of the participants or otherwise have a healing effect. This is similar to the spiritual songs of shamans (i.e., the icaros of the Amazonian shamans). The guide was seen to be “holding the space,” analogous to a psychotherapist holding the “container” of the psychotherapeutic process. The psychedelic psychospiritual experience within the session is often spoken of and thought of as the focal point of the work. Mystical experiences are acknowledged by many participants to foster a growing spiritual perspective in daily life. Ego death and surrender are also frequently mentioned as key elements in this psychedelic work.

COMMUNITY

As a group grows over time, there seems to be a progression from group activity focused on the individual therapeutic work to group activity expanded to include the community. Eventually this can move beyond the immediate therapeutic community to include social/political activism with the larger community. The fact that these relationships are not only permitted but actually encouraged is another feature that distinguishes them from conventional psychotherapy. In fact, these groups may, to a certain degree, have formed in response to the conventional psychotherapeutic model with its strict boundaries, where clients are unlikely to have contact with each other.

INTEGRATION

There are many stages and levels of integration which participants describe as fundamental components of the work. This distinguishes these group approaches from other less structured forms of psychedelic use. Integration is the explication of the meaning of the experience and incorporating that meaning into one’s conscious life. Integration may refer to a long-term process, e.g., when a participant says, “I am still integrating some of the things that came up in the session from last year.” It also refers to a short-term process, as when the group works with the experiences that happened in the previous hours.

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ISOLATION

Given the underground nature of this work, the guides have less opportunity for peer support, counseling and supervision, workshops, trainings, or professional journal articles that address their unique challenges. This allows the guide to be less accountable. But because these groups are underground and able to explore the use of powerful hallucinogenic substances and group methods, their experiments with therapeutic interventions can contribute to the field of psychotherapy. But ultimately, groups such as these face the challenge of how to incorporate their experiences into the larger community. To remain isolated and cut off from the main culture is ultimately disempowering. Not only is it valuable for the evolution of such transpersonal groups to participate in mainstream science and the mental health system, but also the larger culture needs the spiritual regeneration that comes from groups like these. An expanded account of transpersonal healing with hallucinogens will appear in Hallucinogens and Healing: Scientific Evidence for Psychedelic Substances as Treatments being published by Praeger Press (edited by Michael Winkelman and Thomas Roberts).

ROGER MARSDEN, Ph.D., is a clinician for Social Services in Alameda County, California. He did his doctoral work at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

DAVE LUKOFF, Ph.D., is Director of the Humanistic and Transpersonal Psychology Program at Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center, and Co-President of ATP.

First Cover Story:

REFLECTIONS ON THE CONCEPT OF
Altered States of Consciousness
—Ralph Metzner

2nd Cover Story

ALTERED STATES- a poem
by Don Eulert