Breaking the Taboo: Psychedelics in Recovery
By: Dr. Denise Renye
It’s a taboo topic in 12-step groups: the use of psychedelics to aid recovery. I’ve worked with patients, clients, and students who felt ostracized and bullied if they spoke about using ibogaine, psilocybin, or ayahuasca (three common psychedelics showing promising results in addiction recovery) as integral parts of their recovery. In fact, a few stopped attending their 12-step meetings because there was no room for their point of view – other members considered the use of these traditional medicines to be drugs. I’m certified as a psychedelic integrationist and specialize in helping people who have sought complimentary treatments of psychedelics as healing agents. We work together doing integration so that their experience can be one that has the potential for deep and long lasting change.
The prevailing sentiment in many 12-step groups is if a person doesn’t abstain from certain mood-altering substances (cannabis and psychedelics primarily), they are not in recovery.
“This binary doesn’t take into account whether you’re using these substances to achieve or maintain a state of recovery, or to manage co-occurring disorders and health conditions, from depression to chronic pain and cancer,” wrote Olivia Pennelle.
She goes on to say, “The issue here is the misconception that taking substances serves to avoid that healing, and assumes we are still seeking an escape. But the contrary has been found to be true.”
The contrary has been found to be true in the sense that several scientific studies demonstrate psychedelics and cannabis can be used to break an addiction. For cannabis, in one study, 54% of patients preferred it over prescription medication and cocaine to overcome alcohol cravings. They found it provided better symptom management. Ketamine and MDMA are also being used to treat alcoholism by softening drink-related memories and overriding damaging behavior patterns, and perhaps most importantly, creating a space to deal with the deep trauma that underlies most addiction.
In terms of psychedelics in particular, psilocybin, the psychoactive and psychedelic compound in “magic mushrooms,” can be used to treat depression and reset the functionality of brain circuits that cause a role in depression. Also, microdosing psychedelics can improve cognitive function and flexibility, the same study found.
With ayahuasca, preliminary research has shown it is very effective in treating substance use disorders. Similarly, ibogaine had substantive effects on opioid withdrawal symptoms where other treatments had been unsuccessful, one study found.
Speaking from my personal experience with patients, I’ve seen substances like cannabis and also psychedelics be used to promote tremendous healing, including from addiction. The irony with the absolutism found in many 12-step groups is that Bill Wilson himself, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, used LSD and spoke of its benefits.
He said LSD could help people achieve a spiritual awakening. LSD gives people insight into their condition, which could be used to support their recovery, he added.
This concept is supported by Rick Doblin, the founder of non-profit research organization Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), who said, “Psychedelics bring material to the surface in ways where people need to surrender to them; it’s hard to hide from yourself under [them]. The other part is more positive. People often have a spiritual sense of connection that they can later draw strength from.”
Connection is a crucial aspect to recovering from any sort of addiction or trauma and perhaps in response to that, a Psychedelics in Recovery group was formed on the East Coast (more information may be found here). The group meets online twice a month and membership is open only to those who identify as being in recovery from addiction. In the San Francisco Bay Area, a Psychedelic Recovery group was also formed.
The idea is that members seek psychospiritual experiences to deepen their practice of incorporating 12-step spiritual principles of recovery into daily living. Psychedelics in Recovery is a forum to share experience and seek/provide support. However, the group is more of a “secondary” 12-step group, meaning members wishing to abstain from alcohol, for instance, are advised to still attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
In addition, a new initiative from the Psychedelics in Recovery: Outreach and Services (PROS) links community organizers with experts in the fields of psychedelics and addiction recovery. PROS seeks to study how people with addictions are using psychedelics beneficially, according to Filter Magazine.
A new non-profit, Project New Day, has sprung up precisely to support the new recovery groups. Founded by Mike Sinyard and Allison Feduccia, PhD, Project New Day seeks to help people overcome their addictions through the use of psychedelics. The group also wants to support the community by creating tangible materials, like pamphlets, for people and their family members who express concern about using one substance to get over another.
They plan to help the psychedelic support groups develop exercises they can engage participants in, and provide referrals to clinicians for those who need outside help. Project New Day wants to establish and promote best practices for psychedelic recovery groups and share them with more people, according to Feduccia.
“We’re just really in that phase of [exploring], what does the community need?” she said in a Psychedelics Today article. “How can we provide resources, information, connection to other people in a way to advance these groups? [We’re] thinking of it as a way of modernizing an AA type program, which is really abstinence-based. We want to make this a little bit more inclusive for people as these [psychedelic-assisted] treatments become more readily available.”
The tide is turning for psychedelics and perhaps one day soon it will be common to hear talk of them in 12-step meetings. But for now, there are certain spaces where members can talk about their psychedelic experiences without fear of judgment. To learn more or to work more deeply, reach out to be connected.
Addiction recovery meditation can be found here.
References
Carhart-Harris, Robin; Roseman, Leor; Bolstridge, Mark; et al. “Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression: fMRI-measured brain mechanisms.” Scientific Reports. October 13, 2017, Vol. 7(13187). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-13282-7#Sec3
Dark Circle Datum. “Are Psychedelics Safe for Those in Recovery?” Medium.com. August 4, 2018. https://medium.com/@michaelcollins_21859/are-psychedelics-safe-for-those-in-recovery-a31936d7be25
Devlin, Hannah. “World's first trials of MDMA to treat alcohol addiction set to begin.” The Guardian. June 30, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jun/30/world-first-trials-mdma-treat-alcohol-addiction-set-begin?CMP=share_btn_fb
Hill, Amelia. “LSD could help alcoholics stop drinking, AA founder believed.” The Guardian. August 23, 2012. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/aug/23/lsd-help-alcoholics-theory
Janikian, Michelle. “Psychedelics in Addiction Recovery: Taking a Deep Look at ‘Sober’ Communities that Use Psychedelics.” Psychedelics Today. April 8, 2020. https://psychedelicstoday.com/2020/04/08/psychedelics-addiction-recovery/
Kurtz, E. Drugs and the spiritual: Bill W. takes LSD. In The Collected Ernie Kurtz (1999). Wheeling, West Virginia: The Bishop of Books, pp. 39-50. http://www.williamwhitepapers.com/pr/1989%20Bill%20W%20takes%20LSD.pdf
Kingsley Brown, Thomas; Alper, Kenneth. “Treatment of opioid use disorder with ibogaine: detoxification and drug use outcomes.” The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. May 25, 2017. https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/mapscontent/research-archive/ibogaine/2017-Treatment-of-opioid-use-disorder-with-ibogaine-detoxification-drug-use-outcomes.pdf
Lekhtman, Alexander. “Can Psychedelics Find Acceptance in the Recovery Community?” Filter Magazine. February 3, 2020. https://filtermag.org/tripping-recover-drug-addiction/
Loizaga-Velder, Anja. “A Psychotherapeutic View on the Therapeutic Effects of Ritual Ayahuasca Use in the Treatment of Addiction.” MAPS Bulletin Special Edition. Spring 2013. https://maps.org/news-letters/v23n1/v23n1_p36-40.pdf
Noorani, Tehseen. “Psychedelics in Recovery.” Community Psychology. Accessed June 10, 2020. https://www.communitypsychology.com/psychedelics-in-recovery/
Pennelle, Oliva. “Cannabis, Psychedelics & Recovery: It Isn’t As Binary As You Might Think.” The Temper. August 12, 2019. https://www.thetemper.com/cannabis-psychedelics-recovery/
Psychedelics in Recovery. Accessed June 9, 2020. www.psychedelicsinrecovery.org/member-resources
Reiman, Amanda. “Cannabis as a substitute for alcohol and other drugs.” Harm Reduction Journal. December 3, 2009;6(35). https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1477-7517-6-35
Shah, Poorvi; McDowell, Marc; Ebisu, Reika; et al. “Adjunctive Use of Ketamine for Benzodiazepine-Resistant Severe Alcohol Withdrawal: A Retrospective Evaluation.” J Med Toxicol. 2018 Sep; 14(3): 229–236. doi: 10.1007/s13181-018-0662-8