Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Making Ketamine Work In The Long Run, Terrence S. Early

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Treatments such as ketamine psychotherapy face substantial financial and regulatory obstacles to dissemination into widespread use. Newly patented medications are able to generate enough capital to pay for studies required for FDA approval, personnel to apply for coverage on insurance plans, and marketing to establish a successful launch. Ketamine is an older drug with considerable evidence of efficacy for treatment resistant depression, and almost 50 years of data concerning safety as an anesthetic agent. However, it can no longer be patented, so there is no incentive for pharmaceutical companies to help get it into widespread use. In this paper we …

The Imperative For Diversity In A Transpersonal Psychology Of The Whole Person (Editor's Introduction), Glenn Hartelius

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Implications And Consequences Of Post-Modern Philosophy For Contemporary Transpersonal Studies Iii. Deleuze And Some Related Phenomenologies Of Felt Meaning: Psychosis And Mysticism As Inherent “Structures Of Thought”, Harry Hunt

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

There is a surprising confluence in the philosopher Deleuze, the psychoanalyst Bion, and phenomenological psychologist Gendlin on what Deleuze terms the immediate “sense” of understanding and Gendlin calls “felt meaning.” Beneath its more differentiated propositional articulations, all three understand this phenomenon as a felt sense of constantly shifting coherence and incoherence, and based in often tacit metaphoric, figural, and/or synesthetic processes. For Deleuze and Bion, in particular, psychotic thought disorder is understood as the exaggeration of this incoherence potential within all felt meaning. Correspondingly, the expansion or enhancement of the felt coherence aspect of ordinary thought becomes the basis for …

Ketamine—Its History, Uses, Pharmacology, Therapeutic Practice, And An Exploration Of Its Potential As A Novel Treatment For Depression, Philip E. Wolfson

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Psychedelic Experiential Pharmacology: Pioneering Clinical Explorations With Salvador Roquet (How I Came To All Of This: Ketamine, Admixtures And Adjuvants, Don Juan And Carlos Castaneda Too): An Interview With Richard Yensen, Philip E. Wolfson

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Richard Yensen was a research fellow at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center from 1972 to 1976. He studied psychedelic psychotherapy with Stanislav Grof, M.D. and other senior staff. During this time he treated patients with substance abuse disorders, cancer, neurosis, and other health professionals seeking a training experience. Dr. Yensen did his Ph.D. dissertation on the use of MDA in psychotherapy with neurotic outpatients and conducted his research at the MPRC. Through many years of experience in governmentsanctioned psychedelic research, he has evolved a non-drug shamanistic psychotherapy called Perceptual Affective Therapy. In the 1990’s Richard was co-holder of IND 3250, …

Engagement In A Community-Based Integral Practice Program Enhances Well-Being, Cassandra Vieten, Mica Estrada, Adam B. Cohen, Dean Radin, Marilyn M. Schlitz, Arnaud Delorme

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This project examined associations between engagement in a community-based integral practice program and measures of health and well-being. In this prospective withinsubjects uncontrolled cohort study, 53 participants of Integral Transformative Practice (ITP), a program that incorporates movement, nutritional and exercise recommendations, affirmations, contemplative introspection, theory and philosophy, and group discussions and activities, were followed over one year. Participants completed online questionnaires upon enrollment, at six months, and one year later. Repeated measures analyses showed that participants reported improved overall health and reduced symptoms of ill health, as well as increased psychological well-being, vitality, and quality of life over the course …

Ketamine And Depression: A Review, Wesley C. Ryan, Cole J. Marta, Ralph J. Koek

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Ketamine, via intravenous infusions, has emerged as a novel therapy for treatment-resistant depression, given rapid onset and demonstrable efficacy in both unipolar and bipolar depression. Duration of benefit, on the order of days, varies between these subtypes, but appears longer in unipolar depression. A unique property is reduction in suicidality although data are more limited. Strategies to extend duration, via multiple doses, maintenance treatment, or subsequent augmenting medications have yielded mixed results. There is a relative paucity of data regarding alternate methods of administration such as intramuscular, intranasal, and oral routes, though preliminary results are promising. Adverse effects most reliably …

Ketamine For Depression: A Mixed-Methods Study, Philip E. Wolfson

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Prior studies have reported variously on the presence or absence of dissociative effects at subanesthtetic doses of ketamine administered for treatment-resistant depression. This mixedmethods study emulated the protocol used for the studies in question, with IV administration of 0.5mg/kg over 40 minutes with eight experienced ketamine users. Quantitative measures were generally insignificant since this was not a population reporting depression; blood pressure increased as expected by 20-30mm systolic and 6-20mm diastolic, falling rapidly by 20 minutes after completion of the infusion. Individual qualitative reports reports of relaxation, pleasant sensation, decreased cognitive function, and some disabling of ordinary capacities. As experienced …

Ketamine Psychedelic Psychotherapy: Focus On Its Pharmacology, Phenomenology, And Clinical Applications, Eli Kolp, Harris L. Friedman, Evgeny Krupitsky, Karl Jansen, Mark Sylvester, M. Scott Young, Anna Kolp

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Meant to be an authoritative guide for psychiatrists and others interested in understanding and applying ketamine psychedelic psychotherapy (KPP), this paper focuses on its pharmacology, phenomenology, and clinical applications. Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic widely used by physicians and veterinarians in the United States. In addition to its anesthetic and dissociative properties, ketamine also has a multitude of other psychological and pharmacological properties, which include analgesic, sedative, neuroprotective, anxiolytic, antidepressant, stimulant, euphoriant, and hallucinogenic effects. The literature on the clinical application of KPP is comprehensively reviewed, practical advice for using KPP is given, and the pharmacology and phenomenology of ketamine-induced …

Regarding The Transpersonal Nature Of Ketamine Therapy: An Approach To The Work, Jeffrey Becker

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Recent evidence has shown that ketamine treatment can facilitate psychological insight and symptom resolution in various psychiatric disorders. To aid this process, psychotherapeutic support should be considered a fundamental aspect of treatment. The psychedelic experience produced by ketamine can be a deeply meaningful source of enduring change and personal growth. The author has repeatedly observed a rapid realignment of self-perception away from shame, fear, and dread toward authentic self-acceptance and gratitude, offering patients opportunity for insight and the consideration of new potentialities. The experience produced by ketamine is similar in quality to transpersonal experiences described by Jung and induced by …

Ethnographic Accounts Of Ketamine Explorations In Psychedelic Culture, Kenneth Ring, Ralph Metzner, Philip E. Wolfson

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Off-label use of ketamine as a mind-altering substance did not begin in the laboratory, but in the psychedelic culture that grew out of the 1960s counterculture movement. Whatever the risks and limitations of such experimentation, without them the remarkable therapeutic effects of the drug might well have gone unnoticed, and unresearched. The following personal accounts—both inspiring and cautionary—offer glimpses into the cultural contexts that found ketamine to be much more than a reliable anesthetic.

Ketamine (Im) Assisted Psychotherapy (Kap): A Model For Informed Consent, Philip E. Wolfson

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Informed consent is important for every medical intervention, and the unique nature of ketamine assisted psychotherapy (KAP) calls for a particularly thoughtful and detailed informed consent document. The following is an informed consent form developed for the author’s use in his own private practice. No representations are made concerning its adequacy or appropriateness for use by other practitioners, or in any other contexts; author, editors, and publisher disclaim liability for any use of or reliance on this document. However, as a document created by a psychiatrist with experience in KAP, this form may serve to illustrate the range of issues …

The Transformative Power Of Ketamine: Psychedelic States And A Personal History Of Transformation, Philip E. Wolfson

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

A discussion of the nature of transformation and its relationship to psychedelic experiences— particularly ketamine experiences—is presented and discussed along with a schema for thinking about types of states that may be encountered and transformations that may occur related to psychedelic use and practice. This is followed by a longitudinal historical approach for portraying and examining personal transformation along with a proposed instrument— The Transformational Codex—for cataloging that history and the elements that compose it.

Introduction To Special Topic Section: Toward A Transpersonal Medicine, Randy Fauver

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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What Constitutes Evidence In An Evidence-Based Psychology Of The Whole Person?, Glenn Hartelius

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Transpersonal Healing: Assessing The Evidence From Laboratory And Clinical Trials, Marilyn Schlitz

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Transpersonal or distant healing intention (DHI) is one of the most commonly used forms of complementary and alternative healing. While it is popular, its efficacy is uncertain and the mechanism of action unclear. This article provides an overview of both the laboratory research and clinical trials of DHI, summarizing the state of the field. There appears to be support, based on controlled laboratory studies, for a transpersonal dimension to DHI. Results of randomized, controlled clinical trials are more equivocal. While results do not offer clear evidence to support DHI as an evidence-based modality, this provocative field reveals important epistemological and …

Ayurvedic Psychology: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Science, Daniel Rhoda

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Ayurveda is a holistic medical system based on ancient Indian texts that utilizes natural treatments, botanical medicines, and lifestyle and dietary practices to promote healing of the body, mind, senses, and spirit. Interest in Ayurveda has grown in the United States over the last two decades, as consumers, therapists, scientists, and health regulators have recognized its holistic and preventative benefits. According to Ayurveda, every human being is composed of a unique proportion of these elemental energies, a foundational theory in Ayurveda known as tridosha. The three doshas (vata, pitta, kapha) represent three psychobiological constitutional types that govern …

Walking Between Worlds: Holding Multiple Worldviews As A Key For Ecological Transformation, Jeanine M. Canty

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The current ecological, social, and personal crises spark the need for radical transformation

to shift from one world that is mechanistic, destructive, and egocentric to another that is

relational, life affirming, and embedded in the widest understandings of interconnected

selves. The author employed an organic research inquiry to depict the patterns of people

making this shift, identified six qualities, and found that embracing these crises provides

opportunity to enlarge individual and collective perspectives in a way that aligns with larger

systems of life opening one up to what has been called the multicultural self, the ecological

self, or the self-transforming …

The Alchemical Heart: A Jungian Approach To The Heart Center In The Upanisads And In Eastern Christian Prayer, David M. Odorisio

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The heart is a rich symbol in religious traditions both East and West. When interpreted through a Jungian alchemical lens, the heart emerges as a symbol of psychospiritual

transformation, integration, and healing. This article re-visions the metaphor of the heart in the Upanisads and in Eastern Christian prayer through the use of Jung’s lectures on the heart cakra, his transcendent function theory, and as Spirit Mercurius. Each facet of this lens offers a variegated approach through which to explore the heart as mediating center of psychic polarities, what Jung referred to as the union of opposites. When …

Spontaneous/Radical Remission Of Cancer: Transpersonal Results From A Grounded Theory Study, Kelly A. Turner

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This grounded theory study aimed to collect hypotheses for spontaneous or radical remission (RR) of cancer, which is a remission that occurs without medical treatment, or with medical treatment considered inadequate to produce the remission. Interviews were conducted with 20 RR survivors and 50 non-conventional healers from 11 countries. Results showed that three underlying beliefs emerged: 1. Cancer thrives under certain conditions; 2. Illness represents blockage; and 3. A body-mind-spirit interaction exists. Six factors believed to be possible causes of RR also emerged: 1. Diet change; 2. Deepening spirituality; 3. Increasing happiness; 4. Releasing suppressed emotions; 5. Taking supplements; and …

Results Of A Transpersonal, Narrative, And Phenomenological Psychotherapy For Psychosis, Lewis Mehl-Madrona, Erik Jul, Barbara Mainguy

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

In our academically based, psychiatric outpatient practice, we have encountered those who wish to avoid medications for treatment for psychosis. This study is a qualitative/quantitative study in progress of a patient population diagnosed with psychosis and managed primarily without medication. We reflect upon the transpersonal foundations of an approach in which voices and visions are accepted as real, given full ontological status, and addressed within a dialogical framework. We present interim data on a series of 51 patients over 20 years old who presented with psychosis and who remained with us for at least six months in their effort to …

An Anatomical, Biochemical, Biophysical And Quantum Basis For The Unconscious Mind, James L. Oschman, Maurie D. Pressman

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This article suggests that it may now be possible to develop some theoretical and experimental bases for organic substructures involved in psychological phenomena including the unconscious. Our inquiry arose from mutual interest in the mechanisms involved in peak athletic and artistic performances and in deep therapeutic encounters. We are referring to a state of consciousness is often described by performers as “the zone.” This is a state in which individuals or groups function at an extraordinary level of perception and coordination; or a state in which therapists develop a deep connection with their clients’ repressed feelings or traumatic memories. Here …

The Seasons Of Wellbeing As An Evolutionary Map For Transpersonal Medicine, Donald M. Epstein, Simon A. Senzon, Dan Lemberger

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The four Seasons of Wellbeing (Discover, Transform, Awaken, and Integrate) refer to distinct rhythms, periods, and factors that influence the accessibility of an individual’s resources during the journey of life. Each season is explicitly and implicitly related to an individual’s experience, focus, and capacity for self-organizational states. Each can be used to understand, organize, and foster behavior change, positive growth, transformation, and human development. A genealogy of the seasons is described, emphasizing the empirical and theoretical foundations of Reorganizational Healing and its roots in models such as Grof ’s Systems of Condensed Experiences (or COEX Systems) and Wilber’s Integral Theory …

A Possible Mechanism Of Action For The Placebo Response: Human Biofield Activation Via Therapeutic Ritual, Marie G. Brook, Randy Fauver

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The lack of an identified mechanism of action for the placebo response contributes to its perception as clinically unimportant in Western medicine and minimizes its value as a contributing factor to the effectiveness of both conventional and alternative medical treatments. The therapeutic ritual is one of the principle contributors to the placebo response. Two key elements predicting salutogenic outcomes in both the placebo response and therapeutic ritual are patient meaning making and the patient/healer relationship. A detailed examination of human biofield dynamics shows its role in storing, communicating, and regulating the flow of information associated with healing in Western and …

A Brief History Of Mind-Body Medicine, Elliot S. Dacher

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

From its earliest sources the medical tradition has recognized the causal role of the interface of mind and body in health and disease. Cultural and historical circumstances have determined the degree to which each of these two key factors are emphasized. In modern times we are emerging from an exclusive materialistic emphasis on biology to a renewed acceptance and understanding of the role of the mind and consciousness in health and disease. This re-balancing of the two great forces of healing can be traced to a progressive expansion of knowledge in the fields of stress, past-traumatic stress, biofeedback, cognitive and …

Advanced Spiritual Intimacy: The Yoga Of Deep Tantric Sensuality, Paul Ambrose

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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