Enhancing Psychedelic Healing: The Power of Group Experiences
In contemporary psychedelic research, there's a strong emphasis on individual therapeutic journeys supported by trained therapists. However, traditional psychedelic healing practices have often occurred in group settings for centuries. These communal experiences, marked by togetherness and shared humanity, may hold a key to unlocking the full potential of psychedelic therapy. Recent research conducted by scholars at the Imperial College of London delves into the concept of "psychedelic communitas" and its profound impact on therapeutic outcomes, particularly focusing on participants of retreats that use a similar model to Confluence Retreats.
Overview of the Study
This groundbreaking study sheds light on the importance of supportive group settings in psychedelic therapy. The researchers introduced a novel measure of "communitas" in psychedelic experiences, defining it as an intense togetherness that transcends social structures. Participants were asked to rate their agreement with statements related to communitas, providing valuable insights into the role of interpersonal connections during group psychedelic sessions.
The study employed a naturalistic approach, observing participants in their natural retreat settings, which included legal psilocybin retreat in the Netherlands which used a similar model to Confluence Retreats. These sessions involved the use of psilocybin-containing mushrooms or truffles, ayahuasca, or other psychedelics, with varying durations and group sizes. Questionnaires were administered before and after the sessions, including follow-ups four weeks later.
New Discoveries
The most significant finding of the study was the strong association between the sense of communitas reported by participants during the experience and their improved well-being in the following four weeks. In essence, the emotional support and connectedness experienced during the retreat had a lasting positive impact on psychological well-being. This suggests that feelings of closeness and harmony among participants and facilitators directly influenced mental health outcomes.
Path analysis revealed factors that enhance communitas, such as the rapport between participants and facilitators and the participants' susceptibility to immersion in experiences, known as "absorption." Higher levels of rapport contributed to emotional support during the sessions, fostering honest sharing within the group. "Absorption" was identified as a potential predictor of the intensity and impact of the psychedelic experience.
Furthermore, the study highlighted that social connectedness and elevated psychological well-being persisted for up to a month after the retreat, with communitas playing a crucial role in maintaining these effects.
What Now? Looking Ahead
These findings emphasize the importance of interpersonal relationships in psychedelic therapy, especially in group settings. They raise critical questions for the future of psychedelic-assisted therapies:
How can we design protocols that explicitly consider interpersonal and group dimensions to enhance the psychedelic experience?
What criteria should be established for the selection, training, and certification of facilitators?
Can these results be applied to clinical populations while preserving the interpersonal aspect?
Is there an opportunity to explore traditional ritual contexts for substances like psilocybin and ayahuasca, where group dynamics have long been integral?
Could these insights inform the effectiveness of other group-therapy settings, such as Alcoholics Anonymous?
Should we focus on the importance of group dynamics in the phases of preparation and integration?
Oregon's Legal Psilocybin Initiative (Measure 109)
In the context of these findings, it's worth noting Oregon's Legal Psilocybin Initiative (Measure 109) does allow for psilocybin to be legally utilized in a group, retreat setting. Oregon has taken a progressive step by legalizing the supervised therapeutic use of psilocybin, making it the first state in the United States to do so and the first jurisdiction in the world to have a adult-use model for psilocybin. This new law provides safe and regulated access to psilocybin therapy, potentially incorporating group sessions as part of the treatment. The research on communitas and group dynamics may contribute valuable insights to the implementation of this initiative, further advancing the field of psychedelic therapy.
Note: this article is based on a blog that originally appeared on the Synthesis Institute's website here.