Erowid References Database
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Richards WA.
“Mystical and Archetypal Experiences of Terminal Patients in DPT-Assisted Psychotherapy”.
J of Religion and Health. 1978;17:117-126.
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Abstract
This article defines the terms "mystical consciousness" and "archetypal experience" and then discusses the role of psychedelic drugs in facilitating such experiences and the value of such forms of human consciousness. Data from the Personal Orientation Inventory indicated changes in the direction of increased self-actualization for those subjects who experienced mystical forms of consciousness during the action of DPT.
Among the different altered states of consciousness facilitated by the administration of psychedelic drugs in a supportive setting, there are two general types of experience that appear to be of potential importance in accelerating and qualitatively enhancing psychotherapeutic processes.* The first type of experience encompasses what might be called "conventional psychodynamic phenomena" such as vivid experiences of regression to childhood and infancy, intensified transference, emotional expression of early deprivation and conflict, and symbolic manifestations of what Stanislav Grof has termed "systems of condensed experience." These altered states basically are congruent with mental processes well known in dynamically-oriented psychotherapy that often are presumed to be of importance in contributing to conflict resolution and increased personality integration. Potent as such psychodynamic experiences often appear to be in facilitating psychotherapeutic progress, usually they are not viewed as "religious experiences," except insofar as any intense experience of emotional catharsis and interpersonal acceptance may be deemed to be of some religious import.
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