The Netflix docuseries How to Change Your Mind, based on Michael Pollan’s book of the same name, explores the history and therapeutic effects of four different psychoactive compounds: LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, and mescaline (with the episodes in that order). Directed by Alison Ellwood and Lucy Walker, and presented by Pollan, How to Change Your Mind…
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Psychedelics are known to enhance suggestibility – in other words, the quality of being inclined to accept and act on the suggestions of others. (Interestingly, those who score high in trait conscientiousness – or being careful, diligent, efficient, and organised – are the most sensitive to this effect of psychedelics.) Psychedelic users are well aware…
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There are classic psychedelics (psilocybin, LSD, DMT) and non-classic psychedelics (ketamine, MDMA) that receive a lot of scientific and public attention regarding their potential mental health benefits. These are substances that, when combined with psychotherapy, can be helpful in resolving or alleviating conditions such as depressive and anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and addiction.…
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People living with mental illness may be eager to seek relief for their condition yet decide to avoid visiting a psychiatrist. Of course, psychiatry is not the only field that deals with the treatment of mental health conditions but it is the institution that specifically exists to diagnose, prescribe treatment for, and treat conditions that…
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Carl Rogers (1902 – 1987) was one of the founders of the humanistic approach to psychology, who developed his own particular approach known as client-centred therapy. Humanistic psychology emphasises an individual’s intrinsic desire for self-actualisation – the process of fully realising and manifesting one’s latent capacities. Rogers’ client-centred – or person-centred – approach, meanwhile, views…
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