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Psychopathological descriptive model of hallucinogenic/psychedelic drugs effect in the treatment of depression and addictions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

N. Girala
N. Girala*
Affiliation:
Consultorio, Psiquiatría, Asuncion, Paraguay

Abstract

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Introduction

There is a growing and renewed interest in the use of hallucinogenic drugs in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, especially since the FDA approval of ketamine treatment for resistant depression. The response to hallucinogenic psychedelic substances (ayahuasca, psilocybin, LSD, ketamine) in the treatment of depression and addictions calls for a theoretical explanatory model.

Objectives

Provide a descriptive / explanatory psychopathological model of the response to treatment with hallucinogenic drugs based on the descriptions of the subjects and the comparison with other extreme life experiences.

Methods

Relevant published literature on subjective experiences in treatment with hallucinogenic drugs for depression and addictions is reviewed. It is compared with subjective experiences in life changing experiences.

Results

Intense emotional states, mystical-type experiences including feelings of oneness, transcendence, ineffability, and the complex emotion of awe seem to be consistently presented as psychic elements related to the efficacy of these treatments. The genetic and cultural (memetic) evolutionary value of these emotions in the cohesiveness of human groups and the genesis of affective symptoms, and in the recalibration of cognitions and emotions, is discussed.

Conclusions

The efficacy of hallucinogenic drugs used in the treatment of depression and addictions is accompanied by complex and varied emotions but with common psychopathological elements that could mediate their action.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

Psychopathologyhallucinogenic drugspsychedelic drugsdepression treatment
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S706 - S707
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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