The History & Future of Psychedelic Therapy - Jules Evans
Psychedelic therapy is at a historic moment, as the US state of Oregon prepares to legalize it next year, and other US states look set to follow. Companies preparing to offer psychedelic therapy have raised over $5 billion on US stock markets. Hundreds of people are training to be psychedelic therapists or facilitators, and thousands more are on waiting lists for training programs.
What shape will the psychedelic future take and what opportunities do they hold for patients and practitioners?
What theories underline psychedelic therapy?
What are the risks?
This talk will be in four parts. First, it will look at the history of psychedelic therapy, focusing particularly on the 1950s and early 1960s in the US. Second, it will look at the contemporary psychedelic renaissance, and how it builds on the research ideas of the 1950s and 60s. Third, it will speculate on how the field will develop into two different paths – medicalized psychedelic therapy, and psychedelic spirituality. Fourth, it will consider difficult psychedelic experiences and the challenge of integration.
Reading Recommendations:
- How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence by Michael Pollan
- Realms of the Human Unconscious: Observations from LSD Research by Stanislav Grof
- Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream by Jay Stevens
- Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom by Andy Letcher
- Holiday from the Self: An Accidental Ayahuasca Adventure by Jules Evans
- BBC, The Psychedelic Drug Trial
About the Speaker:
Jules Evans
Jules Evans is an honorary research fellow at the Centre for the History of the Emotions at Queen Mary, University of London. He also teaches the History of Psychedelics at the Synthesis Institute in Holland. He is the author of Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations (2012), The Art of Losing Control (2017) and Holiday from the Self (2019) and the co-editor of Breaking Open: Finding a Way Through Spiritual Emergency (2021). You can sign up for his newsletter at www.philosophyforlife.org
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Next Event:
- University of Greenwich, 10 Stockwell Street Greenwich, London, SE10 9BD, United Kingdom
- 26/06/2022
Upcoming at TWU
This episode is sponsored by our upcoming Day on Changing Consciousness, taking place at the University of Greenwich on 26th June, 2022.
This will be The Weekend University’s first ‘in person’ event in over two years, and it’s shaping up to be a special occasion. The lectures will focus on consciousness paradigms that go beyond the brain, how they work, why they matter, and how understanding them can enhance your everyday experience of reality, with talks on:
–> Panpsychism: Is Everything Conscious? – Dr Philip Goff, PhD
–> From Ego-Centric to Eco-Centric: Changing Consciousness through Psychedelics – Dr Sam Gandy, PhD
–> Is Reality an Illusion? – Professor Donald Hoffman, PhD (via live video link)
By attending live, you can interact with the speakers in the Q&A sessions, connect with like-minded participants during the conference, and get CPD certification.
Should you be unable to attend in person, you’ll also be able to tune in from the comfort of home with a “Livestream Pass”.
As a listener of this podcast, you can get a discount on your ticket, if you go to https://bit.ly/ccj-twu, and use the discount code: POD when registering.
