Personally, I've seen multiple people close to me with trauma histories (some complex) benefit hugely from EMDR. It deserves to be much more widely known and accessible. Other related (and similarly structured) possibilities include brainspotting (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainspotting) and yoga nidra (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga_nidra).
While I'm greatly in favor of studying and using psychoactive substances to help people heal in their lives, they're at most a supportive component in an overall treatment strategy. Our society's preference to just medicate problems away doesn't solve things over the long term.
> While I'm greatly in favor of studying and using psychoactive substances to help people heal in their lives, they're at most a supportive component in an overall treatment strategy. Our society's preference to just medicate problems away doesn't solve things over the long term.
All of these studies are treating the psychedelics as a tool for greatly enhancing therapy. No doctors advocating for their use are suggesting that troubled people should be dropping a bunch of acid at parties on the weekends. The general idea is to work with a patient to understand what their ailments are through talk therapy sessions; then to have a comfortable, controlled setting with doctors and therapists present to help guide the patient through the drug experience, assisting them through any difficult portions; and then to follow up with further sessions of talk therapy.
The "LSD will cure the world" craze died out with Timothy Leary, and with good reason--subsequent advocates (albeit with a few exceptions) have been more level-headed about these things acting as consciousness amplifiers that can go flying off in any direction unless they are channeled into helpful ones. The revival of interest that is taking place now follows a much more measured approach.
Thanks for that. I have seen the benefits of EMDR in others but have had little (but some) success with it for myself. I will look into the other options you mention and may give them a try.
While I'm greatly in favor of studying and using psychoactive substances to help people heal in their lives, they're at most a supportive component in an overall treatment strategy. Our society's preference to just medicate problems away doesn't solve things over the long term.