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Full-Text Articles in Transpersonal Psychology
Unexpected Side Effects: A Cautionary Note On Challenges Of Persistent Self-Transcendence, Elizabeth D. Stephens, Harris L. Friedman
Unexpected Side Effects: A Cautionary Note On Challenges Of Persistent Self-Transcendence, Elizabeth D. Stephens, Harris L. Friedman
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive
Self-transcendence is an ambiguous construct without consensual meaning, yet many claim that it relates to, or even causes, beneficial outcomes. Few discuss its potential deleterious side effects, choosing to focus primarily on positive effects. However, anything with sufficient potency to heal may have unintended side effects, especially when it leads beyond a transitory state to becoming an enduring trait, such as when self-transcendence (ST) becomes persistent self-transcendence (PST). With PST, evidence is overviewed here, along with two illustrative case reports, that people can suffer emotional difficulties, motivation changes, loss of self-reflexivity, anhedonia, dissociation, depersonalization, memory problems, and other psychological concerns. …
Unexpected Side Effects: A Cautionary Note On Challenges Of Persistent Self-Transcendence, Elizabeth D. Stephens, Harris L. Friedman
Unexpected Side Effects: A Cautionary Note On Challenges Of Persistent Self-Transcendence, Elizabeth D. Stephens, Harris L. Friedman
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
Self-transcendence is an ambiguous construct without consensual meaning, yet many claim that it relates to, or even causes, beneficial outcomes. Few discuss its potential deleterious side effects, choosing to focus primarily on positive effects. However, anything with sufficient potency to heal may have unintended side effects, especially when it leads beyond a transitory state to becoming an enduring trait, such as when self-transcendence (ST) becomes persistent self-transcendence (PST). With PST, evidence is overviewed here, along with two illustrative case reports, that people can suffer emotional difficulties, motivation changes, loss of self-reflexivity, anhedonia, dissociation, depersonalization, memory problems, and other psychological concerns. …
Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy For Existential Suffering: Facilitating Self-Transcendence At The End-Of-Life, Kevin O. St. Arnaud
Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy For Existential Suffering: Facilitating Self-Transcendence At The End-Of-Life, Kevin O. St. Arnaud
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
Although existential suffering is amongst the most devastating forms of distress experienced by many patients nearing the end-of-life, it is often unsatisfactorily addressed due to a paucity of effective interventions. However, both historic and recent studies of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy have reported marked alleviation of this suffering. As such, this article seeks to advance the rationale for the use of psychedelic substances in the provision of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for patients nearing the end-of-life. It begins with an overview of the classic psychedelics and their application in psychotherapy, highlighting recent studies. This is followed with a conceptual overview of existential suffering at …