Non-hallucinogenic psychedelic psychotherapy: Decreasing risk and increasing access, or missing the point?

Abstract

Over the past decade, numerous open-label studies and early clinical trials have shown that psychedelics hold promise for the fast and possibly lasting relief of a wide range of conditions ranging from major depressive disorder, end-of-life anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder to smoking, alcohol use, and eating disorders. Among the questions still to be resolved in this endeavor are questions related to the importance of the metaphysical and phenomenological aspects of the psychedelic experience. Are the hallucinatory experiences engendered by classical psychedelics necessary to their therapeutic action, or could a trip that doesn't go anywhere have the same effect on depression and other conditions? This commentary considers the value of the phenomenological psychedelic experience and asks the larger question, what are any of our phenomenological experiences for?