September 26, 2024 13:08
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Does ACT therapy work better under the influence of a psychedelic such as MDMA or psilocybin?
September 26, 2024 17:16
Does ACT therapy work better under the influence of a psychedelic such as MDMA or psilocybin?
Yes, psilocybin or MDMA can help with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT therapy) under the right circumstances. ACT is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on increasing psychological flexibility. It was developed in the 1980s and is based on the principles of behavioural therapy and mindfulness. ACT helps people learn to cope with difficult thoughts and feelings, rather than avoiding or fighting them. This is achieved through six core processes as below:
- Acceptance: Learning to accept unwanted thoughts and feelings without condemning them or trying to change them.
- Cognitive defusion: Developing distance from thoughts so that they have less influence on our behaviour.
- Self as context: Understanding that you are not your thoughts or feelings, but that you are an observer of these experiences.
- Values: Identifying what is important to you in life and what you want to pursue.
- Dedicated action: Taking steps that are in line with your values, even if this involves discomfort.
- Mindfulness: Developing an attentive attitude to the present moment, without judgement.
Why can psilocybin help with ACT?
With the core processes given earlier, let's look at what psilocybin can add. Psilocybin is known to produce a state of contentment during some phases, which occurs due to the high stimulation of serotonergic receptors in particular. Also, psilocybin can give a spiritual experience in which the body can be seen as a separate part. Thanks in part to these effects, it can enhance the following pillars of ACT:
- Acceptance: Because the brain can enter a state of contentment during various stages of the psilocybin trip, acceptance becomes easier. Understanding that everything is connected and cannot exist without each other can also help with acceptance.
- Cognitive defusion: Under the influence of psilocybin, people can develop new perspectives on their thoughts, making them less attached to negative thought patterns. This can help create more space for positive and constructive thoughts
- Self as context: During a deep psilocybin trip, self-awareness can completely fade away. A so-called ego death or ego fading sometimes feels like an out-of-body experience where thoughts and emotions are seen as something the brain and body do. This allows the self as observer to distance itself from thoughts and see them as part of the brain.
- Values: Psilocybin use can change meaning and associated values in a good way.
- Dedicated action: Often in the months following psilocybin sessions, people feel freer and more content. This makes it easy to change the behaviour that was previously stimulated from dissatisfaction.
- Mindfulness: During a psilocybin experience, you will naturally encounter many things that also occur in mindfulness.
Why can MDMA help with ACT?
And now we will look at how MDMA can enhance the individual element of ACT. MDMA mainly inhibits anxiety and brings about feelings of connection, euphoria and love. Thanks in part to these effects, MDMA can strengthen the following pillars of ACT:
- Acceptance: When someone feels secure or even happy, it is easy to face the difficult past and give it a place.
- Cognitive defusion: Under the influence of MDMA, people can develop new perspectives on their thoughts, making them less attached to negative thought patterns. This can help create more space for positive and constructive thoughts.
- Self as context: Through a positive state of being, it is possible to look at previous negative thoughts about the self without judgement and perhaps positively. This can provide long-term acceptance of protective negative thoughts about the self.
- Values: MDMA sessions can show what core values are when fear is no longer a limiting factor.
- Dedicated action: Because with anxiety reduction after an MDMA session, there is less of a brake on possible healthy actions and choices, they are easier to make.
- Mindfulness: Some MDMA sessions may involve a spiritual experience with elements similar to mindfulness.
More on psychedelic therapy
In the Netherlands, psychedelic therapy can only be seen as coaching and not as medical treatment. Through Triptherapie, however, you can already book psychedelic sessions with legal variants of psilocybin or MDMA. You can read more about it via the links below.