1. Existential feelings as a phenomenological framework for psychedelic therapy.
- Author
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Tijhuis, Floris B., Coninx, Sabrina, and de Bruin, Léon C.
- Subjects
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MENTAL illness , *HALLUCINOGENIC drugs , *PHENOMENOLOGY , *SUFFERING , *EMOTIONS - Abstract
This article provides a phenomenological account of the role of existential feelings in the acute and lasting effects of psychedelic therapy and attempts to elucidate phenomenologically why certain psychedelic experiences in specific contexts have the potential of providing long-term relief from mental suffering. First, we explain Matthew Ratcliffe’s theory of existential feelings and use it to highlight shared phenomenological characteristics between various mental disorders. Next, we discuss the phenomenology of
oceanic feelings to specify the kind of existential feeling that is involved in acute psychedelic experiences and connect this to the existential reorientation that may occur after the use of psychedelics. Following this, we show how this framework of existential feelings allows us to (1) characterize the phenomenologicalprocess that takes during therapeutic use of psychedelics, and (2) describe variousconditions required for a successful therapeutic psychedelic experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2024
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