Psychedelics, connectedness, and compassion

Enzo Tagliazucchi, Lorena Llobenes, Natali Gumiy

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Psychedelics are drugs with the remarkable capacity to induce long-term behavioural change after a single experience, which puts them in the focus of attention of contemporary psychiatry and clinical psychology. We review recent evidence showing that psychedelics can enhance certain dimensions of prosocial behaviour and well-being via increases in feelings of connectedness, which are mediated by changes in specific and well-understood neural networks. We then discuss how these changes could benefit compassion focused therapy, leading to the suggestion of exploring psychedelics as adjuncts for therapy. This suggestion is understood in the broader context of a true psychedelic renaissance in clinical and fundamental research, with potential to transform our conception of mental health disorders and the way we treat them.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCompassion Focused Therapy Clinical Practice and Applications
PublisherTaylor and Francis
Pages360-370
Number of pages11
ISBN (Electronic)9781000481310
ISBN (Print)9780367476915
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2022
Externally publishedYes

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