Addressing Abuse in the “Psychedelic Renaissance”
Content contains discussions of abuse, psychedelic therapy abuse, and sexual violence without details.
—They’re calling it the psychedelic renaissance: new waves of abundant research are claiming psychedelic drugs to be the most effective and transformative treatments for mental illness we’ve ever seen. “It’s like ten years of therapy in a single session.” Ketamine will cure treatment-resistant depression; ibogaine will free you from addiction. MDMA will finally allow war veterans and their loved ones to experience relief from the debilitating symptoms of PTSD. Psychedelic (or psychedelic-assisted) therapy is blazing the way forward with a seemingly flawless track record and compelling promises of cathartic healing.
There are important questions that need to be asked. What are the structural conditions that are contributing to people’s suffering in the first place — what is allowing chronic depression, addiction, and war trauma to persist? Why is the focus on pushing for more forms of medicalization rather than improving these conditions? Who gets to access these expensive treatments? Why have we exceptionalized certain drugs and stigmatized others? Who is benefitting — and at the cost of whom?
the psychedelic renaissance is simply colonialism and capitalism’s latest venture.
It’s led by (wealthy) white people who can afford to travel, attend ceremonies, and obtain degrees and certifications. Who benefit from associating with drugs rather than be arrested for it. Who declare themselves experts and pioneers of this emerging consciousness. Those eager to profit off of the increased demand are creating and marketing psychedelic training programs, personal use products, and clinics. Indigenous peoples who have worked with their sacred plants for traditional, cultural, and ceremonial use over generations were persecuted and killed by colonizers for doing so, while their medicines and rituals have since been taken and repackaged into various forms of New Age spirituality that perpetuate colonial and capitalist violence.
And for colonialism and capitalism to work successfully, there must be people who are excluded and exploited. Abuse of power and specifically sexual abuse is a significant concern in psychedelic spaces.
The individuals and corporations at the head of the psychedelic movement are failing to take seriously and to take accountability for those who have been sexually assaulted, abused, and harmed in or as a result of psychedelic therapy. They are failing to speak to the multiple realities of drug-induced altered states of consciousness: yes, these substances can catalyze powerfully meaningful, transformative, and healing experiences, and they can also make people more disoriented and suggestible. Folks with trauma histories — who seek psychedelic therapy because research has told them it can heal their trauma — as well as BIPOC, neurodivergent, queer, and trans people can be especially vulnerable to retraumatization and victimization in the hands of the wrong therapist.
Sexual abuse has been reported across a variety of psychedelic settings including therapy, underground spaces, retreat centers, and research trials. Survivors have come forward to bravely share their experiences of assault and abuse in psychedelic spaces, often to have their stories dismissed, denied, and retaliated against by their abusers. Some were told that if they spoke up about their abuse, they would be singlehandedly destroying the psychedelic movement and its efforts to bring healing to all people. Institutions have also been complicit by withholding information about and failing to appropriately take action against ethical transgressions.
To learn more about survivors’ stories, see below for further reading.
Survivors are not disposable and their suffering should not be discarded as outlier experiences.
What is the promise in the psychedelic renaissance if there is a risk of abuse that’s unaccounted for and unaddressed in public discourse? If the movement truly cared about healing, why are survivors being silenced rather than being supported and centered in an accountability process? The unwillingness of the movement to halt, critically examine the conditions that allow these transgressions to continue, and make necessary changes to take accountability and center survivors’ needs clearly demonstrates their agenda as upholding existing hierarchies of power.
To be clear, I’m not contesting the use of psychedelics nor their potential for personal and collective healing. I’m not saying that all psychedelic therapists nor all white people are predators or abusers. What I am most concerned about is the how the psychedelic movement has been structurally designed to sanction abuse and ongoing oppression. Exploitation is embedded in the stolen global medicines and cultural practices that make up the psychedelic therapy approach. Facilitators face little to no consequences for abusing their power and sexually assaulting participants. Drug laws in the country continue to disproportionately criminalize Black and brown people for drug use and possession while white and wealthy people enjoy them prescribed as medicine. Unsurprisingly, I’m intensely skeptical about whether psychedelic therapy as operating in our current systems will actually lead to personal and collective healing.
I wish to be transparent in my own social position as well. I’m a psychotherapist who is curious and hopeful about the collective healing potential of psychedelics outside systems of oppression. I have received psychedelic therapy training, share space with other psychedelic therapists, practice harm reduction, and enjoyed personal use of psychedelics. I move with the intention of restoring reciprocity, transparency, and integrity to our relationships with survivors, clients, people who use drugs, traditional medicine holders, and the land. I’m open to feedback about how I can use my position and privileges to better support the movement by centering the needs of those harmed and the most systemically marginalized.
we can commit to supporting survivors and resisting harm in psychedelic spaces in the following ways:
Believe survivors. Period full stop.
Amplify the voices and work of survivor-led communities, organizations, and initiatives. Learn the histories, read the names.
Unfortunately but apparently this needs to be reiterated: Never have sexual contact or relationships with clients. This includes kissing, nudity, and touching private areas. Though charged energy and sexual attraction may be sensed within the therapeutic space and is a feeling that can be enhanced by use of psychedelics, it is our responsibility to never act on sexual urges and to maintain appropriate boundaries. Seek consultation, supervision, and personal therapy to ensure prioritization of client safety.
Address problematic behaviors in colleagues. If you notice or hear that someone you know is acting coercively, possessively, or otherwise concerningly towards clients, don’t stay silent. Find a way to intervene that centers the needs and safety of clients, and reach out to other trusted colleagues for support.
Do not attend or support trainings (or retreats) hosted by or featuring people who have not taken accountability for the harm they caused. Follow up with leadership and organizers about whether they know they’re working with people who have caused harm and what they’re doing about it.
Be proactive, transparent, and realistic with people interested in psychedelics about the risk of encountering unsafe facilitators.
Cultivate therapeutic relationships and spaces that prioritize our clients’ self-determination and bodily autonomy. Practice with self-awareness, humility, and respect.
Stay connected with other therapists to self- and co-reflect on our work, offer and receive constructive feedback and support, and stay actively engaged in the process of unlearning and rebuilding.
Take accountability when realizing or being alerted that we have caused harm.
Support indigenous-led initiatives for cultural and religious sovereignty and their right to use and protect their sacred medicines, rituals, and ceremonies. Avoid using and leading cultural practices that are not yours, including smudging, use of rattles and drums, and hosting ceremonies with plant medicines that are not from your lineage.
Support transformative justice and healing justice initiatives.
Continue to learn about, explore, and practice other ways of supporting survivors and resisting violence as the movement progresses.
references, resources, and further reading
Psychedelic Survivors is “dedicated to supporting survivors of abuse, assault, and/or direct personal harm within the context of psychedelic therapy, sessions or ceremony.”
TELL is a peer support network for victims and survivors of exploitation by psychotherapists and other healthcare providers.
Psymposia’s Psychedelic Sisters In Arms is “a series of personal stories on consent, gender, and sexual violence against women in psychedelic communities.”
“Ending the Silence Around Psychedelic Therapy Abuse” by Will Hall
Content includes abuse, sanism, sexual assault, gaslighting, and mention of rape.
“How the Psychedelic Community Should Respond to Sexual Abuse” by Leia Friedwoman
Content warnings included.
“Psychedelic Therapy Abuse: My Experience with Aharon Grossbard, Francoise Bourzat… and Their Lawyers” by Will Hall
Content includes sexual assault, gaslighting, sanism, emotional abuse, grooming, and psychological torture.
“Psychedelic therapy has a sexual abuse problem” by Olivia Goldhill
Content includes abusive behavior, sexual assault, and mentions of rape.
Cover Story: Power Trip (podcast)
Content warnings included at the beginning of each episode.
