Learning to Let Go: A Cognitive-Behavioral Model of How Psychedelic Therapy Promotes Acceptance

Frontiers in Psychiatry
Max WolffHenrik Jungaberle

Abstract

The efficacy of psychedelic-assisted therapies for mental disorders has been attributed to the lasting change from experiential avoidance to acceptance that these treatments appear to facilitate. This article presents a conceptual model that specifies potential psychological mechanisms underlying such change, and that shows substantial parallels between psychedelic therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy: We propose that in the carefully controlled context of psychedelic therapy as applied in contemporary clinical research, psychedelic-induced belief relaxation can increase motivation for acceptance via operant conditioning, thus engendering episodes of relatively avoidance-free exposure to greatly intensified private events. Under these unique learning conditions, relaxed avoidance-related beliefs can be exposed to corrective information and become revised accordingly, which may explain long-term increases in acceptance and corresponding reductions in psychopathology. Open research questions and implications for clinical practice are discussed.

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Citations

Jul 18, 2020·NeuroRehabilitation·Gary GoldbergLeonard Kamen
Dec 8, 2020·Pharmacopsychiatry·Sandeep Nayak, Matthew W Johnson
Dec 17, 2020·Frontiers in Psychiatry·Bénédicte NobilePhilippe Courtet
Mar 31, 2021·Journal of Psychopharmacology·Rachael L SumnerFrederick Sundram
Apr 17, 2021·ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science·Jacob S AdayChristopher C Davoli
May 13, 2021·Pharmacopsychiatry·Gerhard Gründer, Henrik Jungaberle
May 28, 2021·Molecular Biology of the Cell·Matthew I BanksCody J Wenthur
Jul 31, 2021·Frontiers in Psychology·Sascha B ThalPetra M Skeffington
Aug 6, 2021·Frontiers in Psychiatry·Rita KočárováRobin Carhart-Harris
Jun 1, 2021·Journal of Psychopharmacology·Pedro J TeixeiraRobin L Carhart-Harris

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