David Luke
David is a chartered psychologist and Professor of Exceptional Experience at the University of Greenwich, London, where he has worked since 2008 and has won both the Early Career Research Excellence Award and his Faculty's first Inspirational Teaching Award, and he is currently a Perrott-Warrick Senior Researcher (administered by Trinity College, Cambridge) studying lucid dreaming and precognition as part of the Psychedelic and Exceptional Experience Lab, which he leads within the Centre for Mental Health.
He was also Honorary Senior Lecturer at Imperial College, London (2019-2023), and Lecturer for the Alef Trust as programme leader for the professional certificate in Psychedelics, Altered States and Transpersonal Psychology (2021-2025), and the MSc Consciousness, Spirituality and Transpersonal Psychology (2020-2024) accredited by Liverpool John Moores University. He continues to supervise PhDs in Applied Transpersonal Psychology at the Alef Trust.
He has a a PhD in psychology (University of Northampton, UK), a BSc in Psychology (1st class – University of Westminster, UK), a TESOL certificate (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages - University of Westminster, UK), a Diploma in Parapsychology (Institute of Parapsychology, Rhine Research Centre, NC, USA), and a PGCertHE (University of Greenwich, UK), and has completed the first year of Diploma in Transpersonal Counselling with Re-Vision. He is a Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol) and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (AFBPsS) as well as a Media Spokesperson for the Society, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).
David has lectured in both undergraduate and postgraduate psychology (e.g. research methods, psychopharmacology, parapsychology, cognitive psychology, forensic psychology, consciousness and transpersonsal psychology) at the Universities of Westminster (1997-1998, 2001-2004), Northampton (2000-2001, 2008-2016), Greenwich (2003, 2008-2025), East London (2008), London Metropolitan University (2008), and Goldsmiths College (2014). He has worked as a Research Associate at the Beckley Foundation, Oxford, and as a researcher for Eleusis Benefit Corp. running a clinical drug trial looking at micro and low dose LSD in healthy volunteers.
His research focuses on transpersonal experiences, anomalous phenomena and altered states of consciousness, especially via psychedelics, having published more than 100 academic papers in this area, including thirteen books, such as Otherworlds: Psychedelics and Exceptional Human Experience (2nd ed., 2019). When he is not running clinical drug trials with LSD, conducting DMT field experiments or observing apparent weather control with Mexican shamans he directs the Ecology, Cosmos and Consciousness salon (which he founded in 2008), and is a cofounder and trustee of Breaking Convention: International Conference on Psychedelic Consciousness (since 2010), and was a director (2011-2022), and chair (2019-2022). He has given over 500 invited public lectures and key note addresses, and nearly 100 conference presentations internationally, and won teaching, research and writing awards.
He is currently an editorial board member of the Journal of Psychedelics Studies, the European Journal for Ecopsychology, Journal of Exceptional Experiences and Psychology, and Consciousness, Spirituality and Transpersonal Psychology, and is a referee for 30+ academic journals including, Journal of Psychopharmacology, International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, Brain Sciences, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Frontiers in Pharmacology, International Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Drug Science, Policy and Law, Journal of Psychedelic Studies, Perspectives on Psychological Science, Consciousness & Cognition, Psychology of Consciousness, Frontiers in Psychology, Personality and Individual Differences, Drugs and Alcohol Today, Anthropology of Consciousness, and the Journal of Scientific Exploration,
He has been an expert witness in Crown Court trials involving psychedelics, including a murder trial at the Old Bailey and an alleged terrorism case, and he is on the advisory board of numerous organisations involved with psychedelics, altered states and exceptional human experience. In 2009 he was elected President of the Parapsychological Association and was co-opted to the Council of the Society for Psychical Research.
Substack for other writing - https://substack.com/@davidluke543044
For further details see: https://www.gre.ac.uk/people/rep/faculty-of-education-and-health/dr-david-luke
He was also Honorary Senior Lecturer at Imperial College, London (2019-2023), and Lecturer for the Alef Trust as programme leader for the professional certificate in Psychedelics, Altered States and Transpersonal Psychology (2021-2025), and the MSc Consciousness, Spirituality and Transpersonal Psychology (2020-2024) accredited by Liverpool John Moores University. He continues to supervise PhDs in Applied Transpersonal Psychology at the Alef Trust.
He has a a PhD in psychology (University of Northampton, UK), a BSc in Psychology (1st class – University of Westminster, UK), a TESOL certificate (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages - University of Westminster, UK), a Diploma in Parapsychology (Institute of Parapsychology, Rhine Research Centre, NC, USA), and a PGCertHE (University of Greenwich, UK), and has completed the first year of Diploma in Transpersonal Counselling with Re-Vision. He is a Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol) and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (AFBPsS) as well as a Media Spokesperson for the Society, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).
David has lectured in both undergraduate and postgraduate psychology (e.g. research methods, psychopharmacology, parapsychology, cognitive psychology, forensic psychology, consciousness and transpersonsal psychology) at the Universities of Westminster (1997-1998, 2001-2004), Northampton (2000-2001, 2008-2016), Greenwich (2003, 2008-2025), East London (2008), London Metropolitan University (2008), and Goldsmiths College (2014). He has worked as a Research Associate at the Beckley Foundation, Oxford, and as a researcher for Eleusis Benefit Corp. running a clinical drug trial looking at micro and low dose LSD in healthy volunteers.
His research focuses on transpersonal experiences, anomalous phenomena and altered states of consciousness, especially via psychedelics, having published more than 100 academic papers in this area, including thirteen books, such as Otherworlds: Psychedelics and Exceptional Human Experience (2nd ed., 2019). When he is not running clinical drug trials with LSD, conducting DMT field experiments or observing apparent weather control with Mexican shamans he directs the Ecology, Cosmos and Consciousness salon (which he founded in 2008), and is a cofounder and trustee of Breaking Convention: International Conference on Psychedelic Consciousness (since 2010), and was a director (2011-2022), and chair (2019-2022). He has given over 500 invited public lectures and key note addresses, and nearly 100 conference presentations internationally, and won teaching, research and writing awards.
He is currently an editorial board member of the Journal of Psychedelics Studies, the European Journal for Ecopsychology, Journal of Exceptional Experiences and Psychology, and Consciousness, Spirituality and Transpersonal Psychology, and is a referee for 30+ academic journals including, Journal of Psychopharmacology, International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, Brain Sciences, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Frontiers in Pharmacology, International Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Drug Science, Policy and Law, Journal of Psychedelic Studies, Perspectives on Psychological Science, Consciousness & Cognition, Psychology of Consciousness, Frontiers in Psychology, Personality and Individual Differences, Drugs and Alcohol Today, Anthropology of Consciousness, and the Journal of Scientific Exploration,
He has been an expert witness in Crown Court trials involving psychedelics, including a murder trial at the Old Bailey and an alleged terrorism case, and he is on the advisory board of numerous organisations involved with psychedelics, altered states and exceptional human experience. In 2009 he was elected President of the Parapsychological Association and was co-opted to the Council of the Society for Psychical Research.
Substack for other writing - https://substack.com/@davidluke543044
For further details see: https://www.gre.ac.uk/people/rep/faculty-of-education-and-health/dr-david-luke
less
InterestsView All (23)
Uploads
Books by David Luke
Otherworlds: A psychonautic scientific trip to the weirdest outposts of the psychedelic terrain, inhaling anything and everything relevant from psychology, psychiatry, parapsychology, anthropology, neuroscience, ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology, biochemistry, religious studies, cultural history, shamanism and the occult along the way.
Staring the strange straight in the third eye this eclectic collection of otherworldly entheogenic research delivers a comprehensive and yet ragtaglledy scientific exploration of synaesthesia, extra-dimensional percepts, inter-species communication, eco-consciousness, mediumship, possession, entity encounters, near-death and out-of-body experiences, psi, alien abduction and lycanthropy.
Essentially, its everything you ever wanted to know about weird psychedelic experiences, but were too afraid to ask…
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Otherworlds-Psychedelics-Exceptional-Human-Experience/dp/1916068960/
“Emphasizing parapsychological aspects of the psychedelic experience, Luke’s new book fills in a fascinating and previously neglected lacuna in the burgeoning field of human studies with these compounds. ” – Rick Strassman, PhD
“A psychedelic Indiana Jones. ” – Matt Colborn, PhD
“David Luke’s delightful one-liner about his book is that it’s ‘about weird people in weird places taking weird substances doing weird things and, importantly, having weird experiences’ . . . On reflection, it’s much more profound than that . . . So weird reader, forge ahead without fear. ” – Dean Radin, PhD
“In his fascinating book David plunges into this controversial topic and gives the backstory, the front story, and possible ways forward to bring paranormal and psychedelic research together, and further our understanding of both. ” – Dennis J. McKenna, PhD
“A remarkable collection and a necessary one. This body of research illuminates aspects of psychedelic experiences usually obscured or denied in the medical and clinical research and sensationalized in the popular press. ” – James Fadiman, PhD
“A real Dr Gonzo. ” – Will Self
Otherworlds:
Psychedelics and Exceptional Human Experience
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Foreword – Dr Dean Radin
- Blasting Open the Doors of Perception
Preface
- Exceptional Psychedelic Experience
- Otherworld Cartographies
- A Strange Journey on a Crooked Path
SECTION 1: Explorations of Exceptional Entheogen Experiences
1: Notes on Getting Cactus Lodged in Your Reducing Valve: San Pedro and Psychic Abilities
- Cactus of the Four Winds
- Plant Allies and Plant Alkaloids
- Artificial Paradises or Natural Chemical Utopias?
- Cleansing the Doors of (Extrasensory) Perception
- Putting the Psi Back into Psychedelics
- Uncorking the Genie's Bottle
- Putting the Cork Back in the Bottle
2. Psychedelic Possession: The Growing Incorporation of Incorporation into Ayahuasca Use
- The Growing Incorporation of Incorporation in Ayahuasca Use
- The Prepossessing Power of Possession
- Psychedelic Possession Outside of Umbandaime and Barquinha
- Any Body for Anybody: Shape Sharing or Shape Shifting?
- Psychedelic Possession Outside of Shamanism, and Inside Ordinary People
- So Why is Umbandaime on the Rise?
- Shamanic… or Individualistic, Pluralistic, Consumerist and Technologized?
- Synthesis and Analysis
- Postscript: Flying High with Goose and Crow
3. The Induction of Synaesthesia with Chemical Agents: A Systematic Review
(with Devin Terhune)
- Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Postscript: A Placebo-Controlled LSD-induced Synaesthesia Experiment
4. Rock Art or Rorschach: Is There More to Entoptics Than Meets the Eye?
- Entoptics as Hallucinations and Projections: Both, Either, or Neither?
- Multidimensional Form Constants
- The Extra Dimensions of Cyberdelia
- Turning a Blind Eye to Entoptic Phenomena
- Omni-directional Perception
- Paranormal Visual Perception
- Conclusions: Cleansing the Doors of Misperception
- Postscript: Hurling Algebra at the Hard Problem of Consciousness to Obscure Absurd Infinite Regress
5. Discarnate Entities and Dimethyltryptamine (DMT): Psychopharmacology, Phenomenology and Ontology
- History of DMT Biochemistry
- The Speculated Psychopharmacology of DMT, its Related Compounds and the Pineal Gland
- Neurochemical Action of DMT
- Phenomenology of the DMT Experience
- Mental Imagery
- DMT and Veridical Visions
- Phenomenological Cartography of the DMT World
- Discarnate Entities
- Ontology of DMT Beings
6. Disembodied Eyes Revisited: An Investigation into the Ontology of Entheogenic Entity Encounters
- A Brief Glance at the Truly Forbidden
- Snake Eyes
- Sentient Entities
- Postscript: More Fishy Than the Greenwich Pie n Eel Shop
7. Psychedelics and Species Connectedness
- Turning Topiary
- Ecodelia
- Shamanism, Animism and Animaphany
- Interspecies Communication
SECTION 2: Do Psychedelics Like Psilocybin Really Cause Psi?
8. Psychoactive Substances and Paranormal Phenomena Review
9. Psychedelic/Neurochemical Models of Paranormal Experience
- Brain as Filter
- β-Carbolines, Tryptamines and Psi
- DMT, Near-Death and Other Exceptional Experiences
- Ketamine and NDEs
- Dopamine and Paranormal Beliefs and Experiences
- Overview of Psychedelic/Neurochemical Models of Paranormal Experience
10. Field Reports of Psychedelic Paranormal Phenomena
- Anthropological and Historical Reports
- Personal Views and Experiences
- Clinical Reports
- Evaluation of Field Reports
11. Surveys of Psychedelic Paranormal Beliefs and Experiences
- Surveys of Belief in the Paranormal
- Surveys of Paranormal Experiences
- Surveys and Out-of-body Experiences
- Summary of Survey Research
12. Experimental Psychedelic ESP Research
- Forced Choice Designs
- Free Response Psychometry (Object Reading) Experiments
- Other Free Response Clairvoyance Experiments
- Free Response Telepathy Experiments
- Summary of Experimental Research
13. Methodological Critique of Experimental ESP Research
14. General Summary and Conclusions on Psychedelic Parapsychological Research
Afterword: Pulling Magicians out of a Rabbit Hole
References
Index
An interdisciplinary selection of twenty-five essays first delivered at Breaking Convention 2015, the third conference on psychedelic consciousness, culture, and clinical research, held at the University of Greenwich, London.
Breaking Convention is the largest symposium of its kind, featuring more than 120 academic presentations biennially. Widely regarded as one of the foremost global platforms for serious research into psychedelic pharmacology, the conference has been instrumental in altering popular attitudes towards policy reform, with research focusing on the potential benefits that psychedelic therapies might hold in the treatment of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and in harm reduction among habitual substance abusers. Psychedelic Pharmacology for the 21st Century spans the sciences and humanities, from philosophy and neuroscience through chemical models of action to clinical use. This latest volume includes cross-cultural approaches exploring the global drug economy, clinical MDMA trials, histories of psychedelic literature, the enigma of the pineal gland, acid mediumship and psychedelic landscaping.
Contributors include:
Sam Gandy, Allan Badiner, Friedericke Meckel Fischer, Tharcila Chaves, John Constable, Lorna Olivia O’Dowd, Rick Doblin, Amanda Fielding, Mike Crowley, Robert Dickins, Luke Goaman-Dodson, Ido Hartogsohn, Scott J. Hill, Will Rowlandson, David E. Nichols, Jennifer Lyke and Julia Kuti, Michael Montagne, Jonathan Newman, Carl A.P. Ruck, Dale Pendell, Alan Piper, Graham St. John, Bruce Rimmel, Iker Puente, & Tim Read.
A psychonautic scientific trip to the weirdest outposts of the psychedelic terrain, inhaling anything and everything relevant from psychology, psychiatry, parapsychology, anthropology, neuroscience, ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology, biochemistry, religious studies, cultural history, shamanism and the occult along the way.
Staring the strange straight in the third eye this eclectic collection of otherworldly entheogenic research delivers a comprehensive and yet ragtaglledy scientific exploration of syanaesthesia, extra-dimensional percepts, inter-species communication, eco-consciousness, mediumship, possession, entity encounters, near-death and out-of-body experiences, psi, alien abduction experiences and lycanthropy. Essentially, its everything you ever wanted to know about weird psychedelic experiences, but were too afraid to ask…
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1908995149
“Emphasizing parapsychological aspects of the psychedelic experience, Luke’s new book fills in a fascinating and previously neglected lacuna in the burgeoning field of human studies with these compounds. ” – Rick Strassman, PhD
“A psychedelic Indiana Jones. ” – Matt Colborn, PhD
“David Luke’s delightful one-liner about his book is that it’s ‘about weird people in weird places taking weird substances doing weird things and, importantly, having weird experiences’ . . . On reflection, it’s much more profound than that . . . So weird reader, forge ahead without fear. ” – Dean Radin, PhD
“In his fascinating book David plunges into this controversial topic and gives the backstory, the front story, and possible ways forward to bring paranormal and psychedelic research together, and further our understanding of both. ” – Dennis J. McKenna, PhD
“A remarkable collection and a necessary one. This body of research illuminates aspects of psychedelic experiences usually obscured or denied in the medical and clinical research and sensationalized in the popular press. ” – James Fadiman, PhD
“A real Dr Gonzo. ” – Will Self
Otherworlds:
Psychedelics and Exceptional Human Experience
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Foreword – Dr Dean Radin
- Blasting Open the Doors of Perception
Preface
- Exceptional Psychedelic Experience
- Otherworld Cartographies
- A Strange Journey on a Crooked Path
SECTION 1: Explorations of Exceptional Entheogen Experiences
1: Notes on Getting Cactus Lodged in Your Reducing Valve: San Pedro and Psychic Abilities
- Cactus of the Four Winds
- Plant Allies and Plant Alkaloids
- Artificial Paradises or Natural Chemical Utopias?
- Cleansing the Doors of (Extrasensory) Perception
- Putting the Psi Back into Psychedelics
- Uncorking the Genie's Bottle
- Putting the Cork Back in the Bottle
2. Psychedelic Possession: The Growing Incorporation of Incorporation into Ayahuasca Use
- The Growing Incorporation of Incorporation in Ayahuasca Use
- The Prepossessing Power of Possession
- Psychedelic Possession Outside of Umbandaime and Barquinha
- Any Body for Anybody: Shape Sharing or Shape Shifting?
- Psychedelic Possession Outside of Shamanism, and Inside Ordinary People
- So Why is Umbandaime on the Rise?
- Shamanic… or Individualistic, Pluralistic, Consumerist and Technologized?
- Synthesis and Analysis
- Postscript: Flying High with Goose and Crow
3. The Induction of Synaesthesia with Chemical Agents: A Systematic Review
(with Devin Terhune)
- Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Postscript: A Placebo-Controlled LSD-induced Synaesthesia Experiment
4. Rock Art or Rorschach: Is There More to Entoptics Than Meets the Eye?
- Entoptics as Hallucinations and Projections: Both, Either, or Neither?
- Multidimensional Form Constants
- The Extra Dimensions of Cyberdelia
- Turning a Blind Eye to Entoptic Phenomena
- Omni-directional Perception
- Paranormal Visual Perception
- Conclusions: Cleansing the Doors of Misperception
- Postscript: Hurling Algebra at the Hard Problem of Consciousness to Obscure Absurd Infinite Regress
5. Discarnate Entities and Dimethyltryptamine (DMT): Psychopharmacology, Phenomenology and Ontology
- History of DMT Biochemistry
- The Speculated Psychopharmacology of DMT, its Related Compounds and the Pineal Gland
- Neurochemical Action of DMT
- Phenomenology of the DMT Experience
- Mental Imagery
- DMT and Veridical Visions
- Phenomenological Cartography of the DMT World
- Discarnate Entities
- Ontology of DMT Beings
6. Disembodied Eyes Revisited: An Investigation into the Ontology of Entheogenic Entity Encounters
- A Brief Glance at the Truly Forbidden
- Snake Eyes
- Sentient Entities
- Postscript: More Fishy Than the Greenwich Pie n Eel Shop
7. Psychedelics and Species Connectedness
- Turning Topiary
- Ecodelia
- Shamanism, Animism and Animaphany
- Interspecies Communication
SECTION 2: Do Psychedelics Like Psilocybin Really Cause Psi?
8. Psychoactive Substances and Paranormal Phenomena Review
9. Psychedelic/Neurochemical Models of Paranormal Experience
- Brain as Filter
- β-Carbolines, Tryptamines and Psi
- DMT, Near-Death and Other Exceptional Experiences
- Ketamine and NDEs
- Dopamine and Paranormal Beliefs and Experiences
- Overview of Psychedelic/Neurochemical Models of Paranormal Experience
10. Field Reports of Psychedelic Paranormal Phenomena
- Anthropological and Historical Reports
- Personal Views and Experiences
- Clinical Reports
- Evaluation of Field Reports
11. Surveys of Psychedelic Paranormal Beliefs and Experiences
- Surveys of Belief in the Paranormal
- Surveys of Paranormal Experiences
- Surveys and Out-of-body Experiences
- Summary of Survey Research
12. Experimental Psychedelic ESP Research
- Forced Choice Designs
- Free Response Psychometry (Object Reading) Experiments
- Other Free Response Clairvoyance Experiments
- Free Response Telepathy Experiments
- Summary of Experimental Research
13. Methodological Critique of Experimental ESP Research
14. General Summary and Conclusions on Psychedelic Parapsychological Research
Afterword: Pulling Magicians out of a Rabbit Hole
References
Index
The UK's largest conference on psychedelic consciousness, Breaking Convention, debuted at the University of Kent in 2011 to an audience of 500 delegates. The three-day event hosted eighty talks, in addition to workshops, music and psychedelic cinema. Breaking Convention returned two years later at the University of Greenwich with twice the number of presenters, and with tickets sold in forty countries. This anthology represents some of the most thought-provoking ideas addressed at Breaking Convention 2013.
Neurotransmissions offers a selection of essays on psychedelic consciousness spanning the sciences and humanities, from philosophy and neuroscience though chemical models of action into clinical uses, with a special emphasis on MDMA. Cross-cultural approaches explore the use of psychedelics in New Guinea, central and south America, British free festivals, electronic music and backwards in time to the ancient civilizations of India and Rome. The journey ends with an exploration of the role of psychedelics in artistic expression, spirituality and death.
Peer-review Journal Articles by David Luke
Psychedelics are undergoing a clinical research renaissance, with compounds such as psilocybin advancing to Phase 3 trials for treatment-resistant depression and receiving fast-track or breakthrough designations from regulatory agencies. Despite this progress, the field lacks standardized terminology to guide clinical development, dosing, safety monitoring, and regulatory classification. Here, we present a comprehensive framework for psychedelic nomenclature based on pharmacology, subjective effects, dosing, and therapeutic use. A pharmacological classification system is described, encompassing serotonergic, glutamatergic, kappaergic, GABAergic, and atypical psychedelics. Dose-dependent categories -microdose, minidose, mididose, and macrodose - are introduced to standardize the description of dosing levels and intended subjective effects. We also standardize vague terms like "short-acting" or "long-acting" with specific pharmacokinetic parameters, including route, onset, and duration of action. Safety considerations are also explored, particularly cardiovascular and psychological effects, and we discuss the need for risk mitigation protocols in higher-risk compounds like ibogaine. The evolving role of psychotherapy in psychedelic treatment is also examined, proposing terminology to distinguish between "psychedelic therapy" and varying levels of psychological support. A three-phase treatment model-preparation, dosing, and integration-is recommended as a minimum standard for safe and effective care. The lack of comparative research on psychotherapy modalities in psychedelic therapy is identified as a critical gap. Ultimately, a standardized lexicon and clinical framework will support clearer communication, improved trial design, and more equitable access as psychedelic therapies move toward widespread clinical use.
Psychedelic induced mystical experiences have been largely assumed to drive the therapeutic effects of these substances, which may in part be mediated by changes in metaphysical beliefs. However, there is growing evidence that psychedelic experi- ences can also trigger long lasting distress. Studies of persisting difficulties suggest a high prevalence of ontological challenges (related to the way people understand reality and existence). We conducted semi-structured interviews with 26 people who reported experiencing existential distress following psychedelic experiences. We explored the phenomenology of participants’ difficulties and the ways they navigated them, including what they found helpful and unhelpful in their process. Thematic analysis revealed that participants experienced persistent existential struggle, marked by confusion about their existence and purpose and preoccupation with meaning- making. Along with cognitive difficulties stemming from the ungrounding of their prior frameworks for understanding, participants’ ontologically challenging experiences also had significant emotional, social, bodily and other functional impact. Participants managed to alleviate their distress primarily through ‘grounding’: practices of embod- iment and the social and cognitive normalisation of their experience. Our findings suggest that psychedelic experiences act as pivotal mental states that can facilitate transformative learning processes, challenging and expanding the ways individuals make meaning. This research contributes to the growing field of psychedelic integra- tion by exploring the complex pathways through which people reestablish coherence and grow following ontologically challenging psychedelic experiences.
Introduction: Classical near-death experiences (NDEs) refer to states of disconnected consciousness characterised by a range of features occurring in the context of being close to death. Various psychedelic substances, such as N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), consistently replicate NDE features and may be considered ‘near-death-like experiences.’ However, a systematic qualitative analysis comparing the specifics of content with the broader themes of both psychedelic and NDEs has yet to be conducted.
Methods: We report the third thematic and content analysis of the DMT experience from a naturalistic field study, focusing on themes related to death and dying. Based on 36 semi-structured interviews, this analysis is then directly compared, qualitatively and in terms of content frequency, with a novel extension of a previous thematic analysis of 34 written NDE narratives.
Results: The ‘canonical NDE themes’ identified across the DMT experiences included Translocation, Bright Light(s), Sense of Dying, The Void, Disembodiment, Tunnel-like Structures, Light Being-esque Entities, Deceased Family, Life Review-like, and Hyper-empathic Experiences. A total of 95% of participants reported at least one of these. Twelve ‘less typical NDE motifs’ were also noted. Five classical NDE features were entirely absent from DMT, while DMT exhibited an even broader array of experience features that were absent from NDEs. DMT clearly shares a more basic phenomenological structure with NDEs but shows differences in the prevalence of certain features. Furthermore, DMT did not present any immediately recognisable linear sequencing of themes. Overall, DMT is distinctly unique in its qualitative content, characterised by its more prodigious and stereotypical nature, which includes kaleidoscopic, extraterrestrial, transcultural, fluctuating, and overwhelming elements.
Discussion: When examining the comparability between DMT and NDEs at a fundamentally more nuanced level of qualitative content (as opposed to broad themes or questionnaire items), the two experiences clearly diverge. However, a minority of NDEs, which are themselves unique, do share significant content with DMT. Taken together, DMT could be considered an ‘NDE-mimetic.’ The weaker comparability is likely due not only to differences in context but also to the complex neural processes occurring near death, in which endogenous DMT may only play a small role. In light of this level of parallelism with NDEs, some potential clinical applications of DMT are also discussed.
Accumulating psychedelic research has demonstrated a potential for improving mental health and wellbeing, yet studies in the context of eating disorders (EDs) are limited. This study aims to explore the subjective effects of psychedelic experiences to gain insight into the benefits and risks for people with EDs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight adults aged 25-54 (mean age = 36.9), reporting to have had experiences with EDs and psychedelics in both naturalistic and clinical settings. Participants had multiple diagnoses and suffered chronic EDs, (mean age of onset = 13), diagnosed (N = 7) and undiagnosed (N = 1). Reports of cessation or the reduction of ED symptoms were unanimous and long-lasting for seven, with two participants reporting recovery attributed to psychedelic use. Two participants reported relapsing, attributed to environmental factors in the months following. Thematic analysis resulted in two superordinate themes, each comprising three subordinate themes. The first superordinate theme, 'Exploring' via the 'gateway to healing', illustrates mental, emotional, and transcendental elements of psychedelic experiences. The second superordinate theme, 'Transformation' and being 'able to do the work', illustrates cognitive and behavioural outcomes, with retrospective safety perceptions. These findings may provide more in-depth information on what benefits and experiences people with EDs can obtain from the use of psychedelic drugs and may inform more robust investigations of psychedelic-assisted therapy for the treatment of EDs.
This article outlines recommendations from 30 psychedelic researchers on how to create a better psychedelic safety net. Methods: A survey of 30 psychedelic researchers asked them to identify key critical research gaps around psychedelic harm and safety. Results: The critical research gaps identified by the authors included defining the main types of psychedelic harm, the predictors of those harms, and the most effective way to treat those harms. They also call for better support for those experiencing post-psychedelic difficulties, including better online information, peer support groups, affordable therapy, and psychiatric consultation and medication. Finally, the authors call for better funding to create a psychedelic safety net, and suggest psychedelic philanthropists, investors and companies could commit 1% of their investment in psychedelics into supporting safety measures such as research and support services. Conclusions: The authors identify several practical steps to create a better psychedelic safety net and call for more funding to psychedelic safety measures such as research and support services. Relevance to clinical practice: The authors outline important gaps in our knowledge around the safety and risk profile of psychedelic medicines and identify practical steps forward for researchers and clinical practitioners to make this promising field safer.
Psychedelic drugs show promising therapeutic potential; however, some users experience extended difficulties following their use. This study investigated the prevalence, severity, duration, and associated coping strategies of post-psychedelic difficulties. We conducted an online survey of 159 participants, all of whom reported experiencing difficulties lasting more than one day after psychedelic use within the past 2-10 years. Participants rated the severity and duration of 11 types of difficulties and indicated effective coping strategies. Results revealed that social disconnection (72%), anxiety and panic attacks (68%), and existential struggle (65%) were the most prevalent difficulties. Anxiety and panic attacks were rated as most severe, while existential struggle and diminished self-esteem persisted the longest, with mean durations exceeding 15 months. Derealization and depersonalization, despite being common, were consistently rated as less severe than other difficulties. Self-education emerged as the predominant coping strategy for multiple difficulties, including social disconnection and existential struggle. Professional therapy was most effective for depression and diminished self-esteem, while peer and family support were particularly beneficial for managing anxiety and panic attacks. These findings highlight the diverse nature of post-psychedelic difficulties and the varying effectiveness of different coping strategies. Our results contribute to the development of more nuanced, effective approaches to harm reduction and integration in psychedelic use, emphasizing the importance of multifaceted support systems that include professional, educational, and community-based resources.
Abstract
Background and Aims: This naturalistic mixed methods field study, aimed to assess the potential of a psilocybin induced experience, to help Emergency Medical Service Workers (EMSW) to address psychological and stress related symptoms stemming from a challenging working environment, known to contribute to occupational burnout (OB). Methods: This exploration was conducted with an intentional sample of five participants, recruited through an online survey who self-administered a therapeutic dose of psilocybin mushrooms to manage psychological symptoms resulting from their work as EMSW, allowing the authors to assess the outcome. To measure the impact of the experience, changes in OB measures were assessed with psychometric instruments previously used in this population at three timepoints, before and after the session. The subjective impact of the psychedelic experience, through psychological insights and emotional breakthroughs, was also assessed, and two follow-up interviews were conducted to collect further data. Results: The results showed that, two weeks after the session, a visible improvement was noticed in several measures of pre-existent OB, that remained stable after two months. Additionally, most participants reported a strong subjective impact, that they perceived as fundamental for the positive outcome. Conclusions: After one therapeutic psylocibin session, several measures of OB showed an encouraging level of improvement and may constitute an important step towards finding alternative and innovative solutions to address high rates of psychological distress experienced by EMSWs, also benefiting the organization and the quality of patient care. The limitations and implications of the study and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Introduction: A growing body of literature is investigating the difficulties that some individuals encounter after psychedelic experiences. Existing research has explored the nature and predictors of these difficulties; however, a research gap exists in understanding how individuals endeavour to cope with such difficulties.
Methods: The current study collected data from an international cohort of 608 participants who reported experiencing difficulties that persisted for at least one day after a psychedelic experience. They provided written data on how they used coping strategies to alleviate these difficulties. The qualitative analysis of the written data on coping was conducted using Structured Tabular Thematic Analysis.
Results: A wide range of individual and social coping strategies were employed that were found helpful. The most common individual strategies were meditation and prayer, followed by self-educational activities such as reading and journaling. The most prevalent forms of social coping involved seeking support from friends or family members, followed by obtaining assistance from a therapist or coach. Features of social coping that were reported to be helpful included feeling heard/accepted, a non-judgemental attitude and sharing similar experiences.
Discussion: Our findings hold potential for informing the design of therapeutic interventions and educational resources aimed at enhancing positive outcomes for those experiencing extended difficulties after psychedelic use.
Abstract
Introduction: Virtually no studies have looked at psychopharmacological combinations as models of the near-death experience (NDE), which is inadequate given the evidently complex neurochemistry occurring near- or at death. An example of such a combination is ‘changa’, a smoked mixture of the psychedelic N,N-DMT and monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI)-containing plants, and as such has been referred to as ‘smokable ayahuasca’ (vine of the dead). Only very few studies, yet not systematically, have included experiencers of both NDEs and psychoactive substances. Methods: Two case studies are presented of individuals who have experienced both a near-death experience and a changa experience, making them invaluable in this comparative project. Interviews were conducted encompassing the content of both experience types, as well as the participants’ reflections on, including quantification of, perceived comparability. A detailed content analysis was performed and the presence or absence of each feature between the two experiences is tabulated. The near-death experience scale was also applied for both states as a quantitative measure. Results: Case SR (NDE from misaligned vertebra) reported high, while case DA (NDE, initially, from allergic reaction) reported medium perceived similarity between their NDE and changa experience, supported also by their NDE scale scoring. SR’s changa experience, however, shared only 36% of features with his NDE. Despite this, there were only a few notable differences in features with neardeath experiences at large (exhibiting 83% similarity with NDEs at large)—and the presence, and ordering, of other features is strikingly NDE-resembling. Although, the content by which these appeared was idiosyncratic of DMT. DA’s changa experience shared a comparably low-moderate 42% of features with his NDE, and did appear to entail more discrepancies with NDEs in general, which were classically DMT-like (but also exhibiting 83% similarity with NDEs generally). Despite this, several other features, though again DMT-like in content, appeared particularly NDE-resembling. Discussion: These similarities, to greater and lesser degrees, in both features and content, qualitatively and quantitatively, between the NDE and the DMT-MAOI admixture across the case studies are discussed in light of semantic analyses and physiological studies suggesting monoaminergic activity near-death, motivations for drug-induced re-experiencing of the NDE, and implications of state-dependent memory mechanisms.
Long-term adverse experiences following psychedelic use can persist for weeks, months, or even years, and are relatively unexplored in psychedelic research. Our convergent mixedmethod study gained quantitative and qualitative data from 608 participants who reported extended difficulties following psychedelic experiences. Data was gathered on the context of use, the nature and duration of the challenges they experienced (including a written description of these), plus a range of possible risk factors and perceived causes. The most common forms of extended difficulty were feelings of anxiety and fear, existential struggle, social disconnection, depersonalization and derealization. For approximately one-third of the participants, problems persisted for over a year, and for a sixth, they endured for more than three years. It was found that a shorter duration of difficulties was predicted by knowledge of dose, drug type and lower levels of difficulty reported during the psychoactive experience, while a narrower range of difficulties was predicted by taking the drug in a guided setting. Implications for psychedelic harm reduction are discussed.