Dr Nathan Emmerich1
1ANU, Australia
Biography:
Dr Nathan Emmerich is a Senior Lecturer in Bioethics in the School of Medicine and Psychology, Australian National University. He is deputy chair of ACT Health Clinical Ethics Committee. and is lead for the clinical ethics stream of the Australasian Association of Bioethics and Health Law. His current research interests include conscientious objection, abortion, the end of life, and psychedelic medicine.
Abstract:
There is evidence to suggest that various psychedelics might be therapeutic for a range of illnesses. Protocols for their use generally place them within a psychotherapeutic context, and the standard approach is labelled Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy (PAP). There is a great deal of uncertainty about the mechanism(s) of action of psychedelic drugs, including the role(s) played by neurochemical/ neurophysiological effects of the drugs as well as the actual experienced psychedelic induce and the surrounding psychotherapeutic processes. Nevertheless, it seems likely that both their neurological and their subjective effects play a role.
Psychedelic experiences are commonly perceived as being intensely meaningful and highly affective, both during and after they occur. It is likely that this is central to their therapeutic value. If so, we might consider whether it is appropriate to embrace or further realize forms of meaning that are rooted in psychedelic experiences or to draw any kind of (metaphysical) conclusions on their basis. The latter is something that might include spiritual or mystical type beliefs but may also include the way in which we (affectively) perceive or understand death, or our own mortality. Noting that psychotherapy can be a valuable undertaking in the absence of any pathology and that existential approaches take meaning to be a central concern, I suggest that if psychedelic experiences can be appropriately culturally situated then there is no reason why it should not be something we turn to in our efforts to realize meaning in modern life.