Imperial College London
Alternate

Professor Robin Carhart-Harris

Faculty of Medicine, Department of Brain Sciences

Visiting Professor
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 7992r.carhart-harris

 
 
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Assistant

 

Miss Bruna Cunha +44 (0)20 7594 7992

 
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Location

 

Burlington DanesHammersmith Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Cherniak:2021:osf.io/x58m9,
author = {Cherniak, AD and Gruneau, Brulin J and Mikulincer, M and Ostlind, S and Carhart-Harris, R and Granqvist, P},
doi = {osf.io/x58m9},
title = {Psychedelic Science of Spirituality and Religion: An Attachment-Informed Agenda Proposal},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/x58m9},
year = {2021}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - <p>In this paper, we set an agenda for a psychedelic science of spirituality and religion, based on a synthesis of attachment theory with the Relaxed Beliefs Under pSychedelics (REBUS) model. Attachment theory proposes that people develop internal working models (IWMs) of interactions with others from their relational experiences with caregivers. Such IWMs then function as high-level priors enabling people, for better and for worse, to predict and organize their interpersonal and religious/spiritual relationships. One mechanism by which efficacious psychedelic interventions may work is by relaxing the grip of rigid, defensive priors (e.g., insecure IWMs with regard to others and God), further amplified by corrective relational experiences with the therapist, God, or others. We outline three key proposals to steer future research. First, individual differences in attachment security predict the phenomenology and integration of psychedelic experiences. Second, efficacious psychedelic therapy facilitates increased attachment security as a clinically relevant outcome. Third, attachment-related dynamics (e.g., a sense of connection to others and God, alleviation of attachment-related worries and defenses) are process-level mechanisms involved in the clinical utility of psychedelic treatment. Finally, we discuss the role of religion and spirituality in psychedelic experiences from an attachment perspective.</p>
AU  - Cherniak,AD
AU  - Gruneau,Brulin J
AU  - Mikulincer,M
AU  - Ostlind,S
AU  - Carhart-Harris,R
AU  - Granqvist,P
DO  - osf.io/x58m9
PY  - 2021///
TI  - Psychedelic Science of Spirituality and Religion: An Attachment-Informed Agenda Proposal
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/x58m9
ER  -
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