Psychedelics & Psychosis: The Latest Science

Historically, psychedelic-induced states have been proposed to be a model of psychosis, and many of the most influential theories, such as the Entropic Brain Theory and thalamic gating, have drawn heavily on this potential comparison. This talk, rather than relying on theoretical comparisons, will directly examine how people with a history of psychosis perceive psychedelic-induced states compare to psychosis and the impact psychedelic use has had on their symptoms. This will include an overview of an in-depth ongoing phenomenological interview-based study with people with a history of psychosis who have then used a classic psychedelic. This talk will explore both the perceived negative and positive impacts of psychedelic use on this historically excluded population, as reported in the study. Additionally, further survey-based research exploring how people with both a personal and family history of psychosis will be presented to examine the potential impact of psychedelic use on psychotic symptoms and whether this population reports similar mental health benefits to the general population of naturalistic psychedelic users. Finally, these results will be considered in light of the recently proposed Self-Entropic Broadening Theory, which provides some preliminary conceptual frameworks for how psychedelic-induced states and psychosis display both similarities and distinctions.