Abstract

Psychedelic substances have gained attention for their therapeutic benefits and their capacity to enhance our understanding of the mind, yet research on their potential negative effects remains limited. Despite the recent publication of a few papers on psychedelic integration, there is still a lack of empirical research on the long-term difficulties that individuals may experience after a trip, what they are like, and how they can be managed.

The Challenging Psychedelic Experiences (CPE) project aims to fill this gap by exploring adverse experiences associated with psychedelic use across recreational, therapeutic, and clinical contexts, and identifying helpful coping strategies for integrating the long-term effects of these experiences. Our study employs a mixed-methods approach with both closed and open-ended questions in an online survey, as well as in-depth interviews with survey participants. Respondents have reported difficulties such as anxiety, fear of going mad, fear of permanent damage, insomnia, dissociation, existential crisis, and more. The study aims to enable a taxonomy of post-trip difficulties and coping techniques used by participants and to identify whether similar difficulties were helped by similar coping methods.

Given the legalization or decriminalization of psychedelic therapy, or recreational use in several jurisdictions, understanding both the positive and negative effects of these substances is crucial for ensuring their safe and effective use. There is very little research on adverse experiences or on what helps people cope with them. With millions of people already trying psychedelics, and millions more interested in trying them for healing or spiritual fulfilment, it’s important to explore the harms that will affect a minority of these users. Our findings will provide valuable insights for future research and clinical practice as psychedelic therapy becomes mainstream in mental health and medicine. The qualitative reports of challenging experiences will be published by spring, and the presentation will focus on the various identified themes of post-trip difficulties and integration practices.