A Retrospective Study to Determine the Impact of Psychedelic Therapy for Dimensional Measures of Wellness: A Qualitative Analysis of Response Data

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundThe World Health Organization (WHO) defines wellness as the optimal state of health of individuals and groups. No study to date has identified the impact of psychedelic medicines for optimizing wellness using a dimensional approach. Treatment effects can be measured more broadly using a composite score of participants’ global perceptions of change for pain, function, and mood scores. Given the precedence in previous work for retrospective study of participants’ self-medicating with these substances, the nature of this study design allows for a safe way to develop further evidence in this area of care, with wellness as the broad indication.Methods65 civilian or military veterans between the ages of 18-99 self-identifying as having used psychedelic medicines for non-recreational therapeutic purposes in the last 3 years were recruited for this study. Participants completed various standardized questionnaires that will be analyzed in a separate study, while this study analyzed the qualitative experiences described in relation to the medicines used and coded them according to themes developed from review of previous literature.ResultsA total of 93 comments were analyzed. Participant comments were classified into these categories: mysticism and spirituality, functional improvement and self awareness, social connection and cultural impact, impact on medical and mental health conditions, neutral impressions, sensations or difficult experiences. Participants described impacts in these categories related to spiritual, physiological, psychological, and social improvements, as well as difficulties and complex emotions regarding the experience of using psychedelic medicines.DiscussionWellness of individuals or groups is not simply an absence of disease, symptoms, or impairments. Rather, it reflects the outcome of numerous personal characteristics, psychophysiology, and choices, expressed throughout one’s lifespan, unfolding in dynamic interaction with a complicated socio-cultural and physical environment. Participants that used psychedelic medicines described improvement of medical and mental health conditions, social interaction, spirituality, and overall function. In general, quality of life and wellness consequently improved after the use of these medicines based on established multidimensional factors.ConclusionThe use of various psychedelic medicines appears to be associated with a broad range of qualitative experiences that could help clarify the mechanism of how they impact wellness in the future.