Lemmy.World

The therapeutic effects of psychedelics appear to depend on psychological processes that are evoked by synergies between these substances' pharmacological action and the context in which they are administered. To better understand and further develop psychedelic therapy, theoretical models that specify these processes are needed. Here, we took a CBT perspective and proposed such a model based on Carhart-Harris and Friston's (14) relaxed-beliefs account of psychedelics' acute brain action: When combined with specific context factors that are typically present in psychedelic therapy, 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 experiences and become revised accordingly, potentially leading to long-term increases in acceptance and associated reductions in psychopathology. This model shows substantial parallels between psychedelic therapy and CBT that may be harnessed by using CBT as a therapeutic framework for psychedelic interventions. Empirical research is needed to validate and further develop the proposed model and, more generally, to examine the relative importance of acceptance as a mechanism of action in psychedelic therapy. Therefore, appropriate instruments for measuring processes related to avoidance and acceptance in psychedelic states must be developed. Although still requiring further empirical support, the proposed model demonstrates the usefulness of the relaxed-beliefs account as a basis for building theories of the therapeutic effects of psychedelic drugs.>>