Psychedelics: Therapeutic Practice and the Metaphysics of Mind

Module title	Psychedelics: Therapeutic Practice and the Metaphysics of Mind
Module code	PSYM235Z
Academic year	2024/5
Credits	30
Module staff	Professor Celia Morgan (Convenor)

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks	Runs T1 or T2	Runs T1 or T2

Number students taking module (anticipated)	50

Module description

This module will introduce you to the practical and theoretical sides of contemporary psychedelic research from leading researchers in the field. The past decade has seen a steep increase in the number of trials using psychedelic substances for therapy. You will learn how such therapy is carried out and developed, from ketamine for addiction to 5-MeO-DMT for depression. You will also learn about the long and recent history of such practices in a variety of cultures to gain a rich understand of the cultural and spiritual context of psychedelic therapies. Recent studies suggest that an essential mechanism for such psychedelic therapy to work may be the induction of metaphysical experience. You will therefore learn what metaphysics is, and how it relates to understanding the mind in its relation to such psychedelic experiences.
This is an online course, with asynchronous and synchronous (live) activities. It is an academic rather than practical qualification. Pre-requisites include a 2:1 or above in any discipline.

Module aims - intentions of the module

Students are intended to receive a broad, comprehensive knowledge of issues that pertain to the psychedelic field. For this reason, we shall look at both the sciences and the humanities. This is an academic rather than practical qualification though it is intended to prepare those who wish to become practitioners with detailed information about cutting-edge psychedelic research from leaders in the field alongside broader cultural, philosophic issues that contextualize that research. It is also intended for those with a general interest in psychedelic research who may wish to further their studies with leading experts.

The course is delivered online, with both asynchronous and synchronous (live) activities, such as short pre-recorded lectures, audio discussions, online written questions and answers, reading material with associated questions and activities, live Q&A with the teacher(s), live student seminar discussions, and more.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

1. Demonstrate knowledge of history of psychedelics and psychedelic therapy in relation to metaphysics and mind.
2. Skills: Synthesis and integration of transdisciplinary perspectives.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

3. Critical evaluation of evidence and practice in the psychedelic field.
4. Subjective enquiry and awareness using specific techniques.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

5. Critical evaluation of evidence and practice in the psychedelic field.
6. Subjective enquiry and awareness using specific techniques.

Syllabus plan

MODULE 1: Psychedelics: Therapeutic Practice Past and Present, and the Metaphysics of Mind

Psychedelics: History and Context
Metaphysics of Mind
Set and Setting in Psychedelic trials??
Mysticism and Psychedelic experiences?
Contemporary protocols of Psychedelic Therapy?
Causal Mechanisms of Psychedelic Therapy: Psychology, Physiology and Metaphysical Phenomenology?
Native American Metaphysics
Beyond the therapy room: ancient and modern psychedelic healing practices????
Monism (Panpsychism and Pantheism)?
Synthesis and Future Directions?

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
100	200	0

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled learning and teaching	10	Recorded lectures
Scheduled learning and teaching	20	Knowledge quizzes, preparation, and reflection
Scheduled learning and teaching	70	Research-led learning content (comprising text and other media, plus links to resources and activities)
Guided independent study	200	Video, interactive content, and reading and research linked to lectures and assessments

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Responses to Big Questions	30 minutes	All	Spoken and/or written feedback.
Knowledge quizzes	Appx. 30 minutes	All	Written
Audio-visual presentation	3 minutes	All	Spoken and/or written feedback.

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
100	0	0

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Audio-Visual Presentation	100	10 minutes	All	Spoken and/or written feedback.
	0
	0
	0
	0
	0

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Audio-Visual Presentation	Audio-Visual Presentation (100%)	As above	Examined with the next cohort

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 50%) you will be required to redo the relevant assessment. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 50%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Hauskeller, C. and Sjöstedt-Hughes, P., eds. (2022) Philosophy and Psychedelics: Exploring Frameworks for Exceptional Experience (London: Bloomsbury)
Roseman L., Nutt D.J. and Carhart-Harris R.L. (2018) Quality of Acute Psychedelic Experience Predicts Therapeutic Efficacy of Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression. Front. Pharmacol. 8:974. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2017.00974
Lectures XVI & XVII: Mysticism, in: James, W. (1902/1960) The Varieties of Religious Experience (Fount)
Hofmann, A. (1979/2019) LSD: My Problem Child, trans. J. Ott (Oxford University Press)
Huxley, A. (1954/1956/2004) The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell (Vintage Books)
Kopenawa, D. and Albert, B. (2010/2013) The Falling Sky: Words of a Yanomami Shaman, trans. N. Elliot and A. Dundy (Harvard University Press)
Richards, W. A. (2008) The Phenomenology and Potential Religious Import of States of Consciousness Facilitated by Psilocybin, Archiv für Religionspsychologie / Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 30, pp. 189¬–199
Jay, M. (2019) Mescaline: A Global History of the First Psychedelic (New Haven: Yale University Press)
Searle, J. (1984) Searle, J. (1984) Chapter 1: The Mind-Body Problem, in Minds, Brain, and Science (Harvard University Press)
Sjöstedt-Hughes P (2023) On the need for metaphysics in psychedelic therapy and research, Frontiers in Psychology, 14:1128589. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1128589
Furst, P. T. (1972) Introduction, in: Furst, P. T., ed. Flesh of the Gods: The Ritual Use of Hallucinogens (New York: Praeger Publishers)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

ELE – https://ele.exeter.ac.uk/

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

Key words search

Psychedelic, therapy, philosophy, metaphysics, medicine

Credit value	30
Module ECTS	15
Module pre-requisites	None
Module co-requisites	None
NQF level (module)	7
Available as distance learning?	Yes
Origin date	27/06/2023
Last revision date	07/11/2023