Year: 2023
Type: preprint
Abstract: This paper argues that cultural embodiment plays a pivotal factor in shaping psychological experiences, influencing both the development and treatment of mental health conditions. Traditional analytic philosophy of mind proposes that the efficacy of psychedelic-assisted therapy should be understood as a brain computational model update. Beyond the scientific understanding of neural activity, we argue instead that the psychological therapeutic effect should be understood as pattern changes in self-narratives. Psychedelic experience plays a causal role in therapeutic efficacy by allowing the pattern changes of culturally situated self-narratives. By considering the interplay between cultural embodiment and therapeutic outcomes, this study offers a novel perspective on the processes underlying psychedelic-assisted therapy and highlights the potential for more effective treatment approaches in mental health interventions.
Authors: Inês Hipólito, Sofia Tzima
Institutions: Macquarie University, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4387338542