In class we spent a good amount of time discussing the use of LSD in the treatment of Schizophrenia. The article that we read in class was looking at LSD's ability to bind and stay bound to serotonin receptors and how this effects an individuals perceived feeling of deep meaning. As Aldous Huxley described "solidarity with the Universe."
Part of the discussion that I found interesting was about Psychiatrists who would take LSD with their patients while they were in treatment. One view point was that by the doctor also ingesting the drug, it made them more relatable to the patient. If the patient had previously felt that there was no common ground for the doctor to understand, or empathize with the client that sense of othering and of authoritarianism would diminish as both parties participated equally in ingestion of the psychedelic. I don't agree with this point of view. I do not see Psychiatrists taking any other drugs that they prescribe to their patients, and many of them could interfere with the doctor being able to properly do their work. I also saw this as tangential to the point of the article about using LSD for it's serotonin binding / solidarity with the Universe effects and not it's psychotropic effects.
Another point brought up in class was that by doctors taking LSD with their Schizophrenic patients that they would be able to better understand the delusional world of the patient. I am curious why the assumption is made that the LSD would act as an entry into a very specific individuals break with reality? And if someone who already had psychotically broken with reality, what effect would a further psychotropic experience do to their perceived reality? Could it further deepen the break from reality? Would the sense of "solidarity with the Universe" perhaps cause them to form a deep bond with their delusions? Is the experience of taking LSD similar enough across individuals that it would create a common reality that both the doctor and the patient could relate to, and in that way anchor the client away from their schizoid delusion?
The article ended with a plea that Psychiatry desperately needs new drugs. This added a sense of urgency to the research as well as setting the scope that anything that is better than what is currently in use is acceptable. This isn't a search for a cure, this is a search for a better drug treatment. Living in a community where there is almost daily rhetoric about finding the cure for disease, it is curious to read about this situation where a better treatment is the goal.
I think I got a little lost in my past impressions of doctors and therapist in that discussion and I didn't explain my POV well. It's definitely situational and if this approach was taken, I don't think every therapy session should be an LSD session, especially with both healer and patient taking it. I guess what I was trying to say is that, oftentimes, the therapist can give the outright impression that the patient's viewpoint is just wrong and if they just did what the therapist says and go along with their POV, the patient will be just fine. That makes the patient feel as if their reality and experiences are outright invalidated. I think it's also a bit of a snap judgment on their part to say that their reality is just wrong. Perhaps if the therapist can see and help identify the pieces of truth in their patient's experiences and perceptions first, the patient can ease up and be more comfortable and more flexible in beginning to sort through their reality and see what has been tweaked within them that may need to be slowly adjusted. The reason I think in some cases, a little LSD may help the therapist, is because sometimes, the patient's reality may be very different and harder to understand and see for the average person. I'm just thinking it's possible that the LSD can give the therapist a little boost to bridge that gap. Maybe the patient is reluctant to let go of the different reality they see because there is truth that needs to be seen and acknowledged in it. Maybe it shouldn't all just be discarded for reality as what the "norm" sees it. Maybe it should be developed and worked with.
ReplyDeleteNow that I think of it, I guess it reminded me of this article I read once about a shaman going into a psychiatric hospital. When he finished touring the facility, he said something to the effect of, "So this is how this society treats their potential healers?" He took one patient to his tribe, healed him and helped him develop his own skills as a healer. So perhaps I got it wrong and these patients don't need a therapist on LSD, they need a good shaman?
https://www.wakingtimes.com/2014/08/22/shaman-sees-mental-hospital/
It would be a very interesting paradigm shift to see shamanism offered as an alternative care option. I think it would be good if western medicine weren't so black & white, and validated more methods of healing. The western thought sure does love a binary though, it'd be a hard fought battle .... but I kinda feel like TCM is cracking it open, perhaps one day there will by shamanism in mental health care.
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