4: Psychedelics: Beyond the Familiar

Psychedelics are back. Once associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, substances such as LSD and psilocybin are now attracting renewed interest from neuroscientists, psychiatrists, and psychotherapists. But why? What is it about the effects of these substances that have captured our attention once again? What happens when our familiar ways of experiencing the world – and ourselves – undergo profound change? And what, if anything, might we take from these experiences into our everyday lives? In this fourth episode of Thinking Psychologically, we begin with a brief tour of the history of psychedelics, before exploring the wide-ranging effects they can produce. We consider what research in neuroscience is beginning to suggest about the way psychedelics interact with the brain, including in relation to its capacity for change. Our exploration also turns to the psychological significance of these experiences. What happens when familiar ways of thinking and feeling are disrupted? Might such experiences open up new possibilities for understanding ourselves and relating to the world? At the heart of these questions is a broader one: what might we discover when the familiar ways in which we experience ourselves give way to something beyond the familiar? . . Music credit Music used in this episode is drawn from the royalty-free work of PaulYudin. Many thanks for making this music freely available for creators.