Can Psychedelics Help Heal Trauma?

Written By Mirabilis Health

The word "psychedelic" was coined in 1957 by British psychiatrist Humphry Osmond. It comes from the Greek words "psyche," meaning "mind," and "delos," meaning "clear" or "manifest." The term was originally used to describe drugs that produce an altered state of consciousness, such as LSD, which Osmond and his colleague Aldous Huxley believed could offer therapeutic benefits and spiritual insights: literally, ‘mind manefesting’. Today, the term is commonly used to refer to a wide range of drugs and experiences that are associated with altered states of consciousness, including psychedelic substances, meditation, and other spiritual practices.With the right guidance — research is showing that psychedelics can be an invaluable tool for healing deep psychological & emotional trauma.

Psychedelics have proven effective in treating a range of experiences from existential anxiety to depression. But can they help with trauma recovery? In this article, we'll explore the potential benefits of different psychedelics and the latest research on their use in trauma therapy.



Can Psychedelics Support Trauma Recovery?

While the use of psychedelics for therapeutic purposes has been shown to reduce complex trauma symptoms, the exact reasons behind this remain unclear. The human brain is incredibly complex, and the intricacies of human consciousness are still beyond the scope of current scientific understanding. However, there are several psychological, spiritual, and neurological aspects that provide insight into why psychedelics may offer a powerful pathway to healing.



1. Reprocessing Sensory & Somatic Processes



Shifting mental activity into an altered state can unlock new avenues for processing sensory and somatic experiences, both present and past. It also allows for a new perspective on ourselves, our experiences, and those around us, offering therapeutic potential.

There are two main types of psychedelic-assisted therapy: psycholytic and psychedelic therapy. Both provide distinct altered states of mind with the potential for transformative healing.




A) Psycholytic Therapy: A Therapeutic Microdose Regimen

Psycholytic therapy, coined by Roger Sandison, involves low doses of psychedelics (mostly LSD and psilocybin) paired with therapeutic interventions. The term "psycholytic" means "mind loosening," allowing for a subtle loosening of conscious and unconscious defense mechanisms without a full hallucinogenic experience.

This approach supports deeper introspection in a therapeutic setting and can enhance the relationship between the patient and therapist, making the rapport and trust-building process easier. (1)

B) Psychedelic Therapy: Reaching a Peak Experience

Psychedelic therapy involves fewer full-dose sessions aiming to reach a peak psychedelic experience.

The full psychedelic experience can lead to personal revelations, epiphanies, and access to traumatic memories that are not in immediate conscious awareness. In a safe therapeutic environment these insights can be harnessed for integration to support trauma processing and healing.

Altered states of consciousness, whether induced through psychedelics, deep meditation, breathwork, or dreaming, have been linked to increased creativity, inspiration, and moments of sudden problem-solving. This mental flexibility can support reprocessing and reframing negative thoughts, traumatic memories, and detrimental mental patterns.





2. Mystical Experiences and Psychedelics: Unlocking Universal Unity

Psychedelics have been used across cultures and traditions to access mystical and spiritual realms, providing feelings of connectedness, expanded empathy, and dramatic shifts in perspective. Classic psychedelics, such as LSD, often induce a sense of universal unity - a lack of separation between self and others.

This experience of union and connection aligns with many spiritual practices seeking enlightenment or a reduction in suffering. Researchers and advocates describe a "psychedelic peak experience" as an intense mystical experience that occurs occasionally, leading to lasting improvements in self-relationships and a positive outlook.

After the effects of the substance have subsided, a state of elevated mood and positive outlook, known as the psychedelic afterglow, can alleviate anxiety, reduce rumination over past events, and enhance the ability to participate in interpersonal relationships. This afterglow can last up to a month, providing an enhanced timeframe for psychotherapeutic work and trauma integration.






3. New Neural Pathways: How Psychedelics Can Alleviate Depression and Anxiety

Through modern neuroimaging and observation methods, researchers have observed changes in brain activity under the effects of different psychedelic substances, such as ayahuasca, psilocybin, and LSD. While research is still in its early stages, there is substantial evidence supporting the strong antidepressant and anxiolytic properties of classical psychedelics.

Depression and anxiety are frequent comorbidities of unresolved trauma and PTSD, making their treatment and management relevant to trauma recovery. Psychedelics can alleviate depression and anxiety through various neurobiological pathways, including:

Overall, the ability of psychedelics to form new neural pathways and alleviate depression and anxiety holds great promise for trauma recovery.

From a neurobiological standpoint, these substances can help alleviate depression and anxiety through a few different pathways. Here are some of them:







A) Inhibiting Activity in the Amygdala:

Classical psychedelics enhance the inhibition of the amygdala, bringing a hyperactive amygdala back to balance. This decreases the response to threat-like stimuli, which can reduce levels of anxiety and distress when faced with triggering memories or situations.

B) Flexible Thinking and Decreased Connectivity in Default Mode Network:

Strong connectivity in the default mode network perpetuates negative thought patterns. For those with trauma, recurring negative thoughts of self-blame, shame, fear, and mistrust can stem from the trauma-inducing event. Psychedelics can decrease connectivity in the default mode network, promoting more flexible thinking.

C) Increased Neuroplasticity:

Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to adapt and modify connections. Reduced neuroplasticity is common in mood disorders, including depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Psychedelics like psilocybin and ketamine have shown the potential to increase neuroplasticity, leading to new pathways for coping and responding to stressors. This can help patients develop new self-soothing and resilience techniques crucial for recovery.

D) Memory Reconsolidation:

Memory reconsolidation ensures reliable information storage, but traumatic memories may become stronger as they reconsolidate. Treatments that disrupt memory reconsolidation may support PTSD treatment, and psychedelic substances may facilitate memory reconsolidation interventions.

E) Fear Extinction:

Fear extinction progressively reduces stress responses to a specific trigger. Exposure therapy and systematic desensitization treat anxiety disorders by exposing patients to triggering situations while ensuring safety. Psychedelics' reduced fear response can support exposure therapy and fear extinction, helping patients respond healthily to triggering experiences.

These pathways offer hope for individuals struggling with trauma, PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Safe and regulated use of psychedelic substances may help patients regain the ability to respond in a healthier manner to intrusive memories and triggering situations.







Which Psychedelics Can Help With Trauma Recovery?







Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is a new field of research, and while many substances have been used for centuries, modern research and standardization of their safe use still have a long way to go. Here is a brief overview of some of the most commonly used and observed psychedelics in trauma processing and recovery.

A) LSD For Healing Trauma

LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) has been one of the most researched and explored substances since its synthesis in 1938. LSD-assisted psychotherapy is typically done in an immersive session with the necessary preparations and follow-up therapeutic integration. LSD has made itself a name for the ability to retrieve repressed memories, which can help understand and integrate painful experiences. Users also report a feeling of unity and universal interconnectedness, which can be a catalyst for healing. LSD has been shown to reduce strong emotional activation in the amygdala when faced with a fear-inducing stimulus, creating a stronger frame to face emotionally challenging memories such as those tainted by trauma.

Current clinical trials are underway, and research shows positive results in anxiety management in subjects after only two sessions of LSD-assisted psychotherapy.

B) MDMA for Healing Trauma

MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is valued in the therapeutic field for its ability to reduce fear response in triggering situations and support introspection, making it a potential treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Psychotherapy is the first line of treatment for PTSD, but full recovery is often not achieved, leaving a large population without symptom improvement. Clinical studies of different types of trauma-focused psychotherapy, including cognitive-behavioral therapy and exposure therapies, have shown recovery rates of 67% for those who completed a full treatment round, but only 54% for those who only partially completed it.

In the first clinical trial with MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, 83% of participants in the MDMA group showed clinically significant improvement, while only 25% in the placebo group did. This alone warrants further study of MDMA for trauma healing.

MAPS has completed a successful phase 3 trial, a stepping stone for FDA approval of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD patients.

MDMA has also been shown to have effects on emotional processing brain mechanisms. Its effects in the brain appear to be most active in the amygdala and hippocampus, two areas heavily involved in emotional processes and memory. This suggests it has the potential to alter how memories are perceived, with study participants reporting bad memories as less negative and good memories as more euphoric and vivid while on MDMA. It could be a great tool in trauma processing and the reframing of traumatic memories.

MDMA has also been shown to increase activity in the frontal cortex, often impaired in patients with complex trauma or PTSD.

C) Psilocybin for Healing Trauma

Psilocybin, the psychoactive component in magic mushrooms, has also shown promise in reducing anxiety and alleviating depression. While research on psilocybin's effectiveness in trauma recovery is still relatively new, earlier studies have demonstrated that therapeutic use of magic mushrooms can increase neurogenesis and synaptogenesis, leading to rapid antidepressant effects through facilitated neuroplasticity.

Please explore the video titled "PAUL STAMETS, 'Psilocybin & Neurogenesis'" - a talk by mycologist and researcher Paul Stamets at the 2022 Horizons Northwest conference. In his talk, Stamets discusses the potential of psilocybin, the active compound in psychedelic mushrooms, to promote neurogenesis, the growth of new brain cells. He presents research findings that suggest psilocybin can stimulate the growth of new neurons, enhance cognitive function, and potentially treat a range of neurological and psychiatric disorders, including depression and anxiety. Stamets also discusses the potential of other mushroom compounds, such as lion's mane, to enhance cognitive function and promote neurogenesis. He suggests that these findings have important implications for the development of new treatments for brain-related disorders, and encourages further research into the therapeutic potential of psychedelic compounds.


The Psychedelic Revolution Is Coming. Psychiatry May Never Be the Same.

-A recent New York Times article

Similarly to LSD and MDMA, psilocybin appears to reduce activity in the amygdala. As people with PTSD often have heightened amygdala activity, this effect may assist in regulating the nervous and emotional responses, facilitating the process of trauma integration.

D) DMT for Healing Trauma

DMT (dimethyltryptamine) has been traditionally used for centuries by South American indigenous communities as a tool for healing and spiritual practices. While research on the use of DMT in trauma recovery is limited, it is known to have antidepressant and anxiolytic effects.

Two forms of DMT preparation that have gained attention are ayahuasca and bufo toad venom (5-MeO-DMT). Ayahuasca is a plant brew used in Amazonian indigenous rituals, and its use in trauma recovery is hypothesized to affect memory reconsolidation and enhance fear extinction, leading to a decreased intensity of traumatic memories during memory updating.

Similarly, the inhalation of 5-MeO-DMT, which is secreted by the Bufo alvarius toad, has been suggested to have significant mindfulness-enhancing effects, which could support trauma recovery through mindfulness-based, cognitive-behavioral approaches.

However, due to legal restrictions, research on the therapeutic use of these substances is limited. Nonetheless, there are promising potential applications for DMT and its preparations in the treatment of trauma.


Psychedelics in Healing Spaces: A brief history

The therapeutic use of mind-altering substances is not a new concept. The use of plant medicines to access altered states of consciousness dates back millennia and has been a part of cultural practices since ancient times. The Vedas, for instance, mention "Soma", a hallucinogenic drink used in Vedic spiritual rituals. Similarly, the ancient Greeks offered young men a wheat drink during rites of initiation that is believed to have been inoculated with Ergot fungus, a compound that closely resembles LSD. Native communities around the Amazon rainforest are known for their Ayahuasca ceremonies, a practice that has evidence to date back at least 1000 years.

The 1960s marked the boom of psychedelia, with the counterculture movement heavily influenced by the use of psychedelic substances as well as ancient cultures that used them as part of their spiritual practices. During this time of shifting paradigms, psychiatric research was flourishing with promising observations about the efficacy of psychedelics to treat psychiatric concerns. However, the U.S. government banned the use of LSD in 1967, and research came to a halt.

The past decade has seen a resurgence of psychedelic research since the start of the war on drugs in the late 1960s. Substance decriminalization and the reopening of legal avenues for psychedelic research have allowed researchers to rekindle their work. Organizations like MAPS, Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, and Stanford Psychedelic Group have dived back into research with the promise of improved psychiatric treatments. Renowned names like like Timothy Leary, Richard Alpert (Ram Dass), and Stanislav Grof in the health and psychotherapy fields are proponents of psychedelic use within a therapeutic context, and recognized educational institutions now offer programs in psychedelic-assisted therapy and psychedelic integration counselling.

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