Grofians Unauthorized
Discussion Group
Grofian Peyotists
Adverse Aftereffects. . .
The following excerpts are from
LSD PSYCHOTHERAPY. Grof, S. 1980
ISBN 0-89793-166-1
http://www.promind.com/bk_lps.htm
--excerpts from Chapter 5:
ADVERSE AFTEREFFECTS OF LSD PSYCHOTHERAPY
"LSD psychotherapy involves activation
of deep unconscious material, its exteriorization, and conscious integration. Although the . . . sessions represent the most dramatic aspect of this treatment modality and ideally form a relatively completed psychological gestalt, psychedelic therapy is a continuous uncovering process which includes the dynamics of the free intervals between sessions. Within the framework of an LSD series, no clearcut boundaries can generally be drawn between the sessions and the events preceding and following them. The dynamic unfolding of various governing systems in the unconscious continues in a more or less subtle way for a long time after the actual pharmacological effect has subsided. A very convincing illustration of this process is found in dreams. The content of the dreams seem to form a continuum with the content of the psychedelic sessions. It is quite common that the pre-session dreams anticipate the content of the . . . experience and post-session dreams are attempts to complete the gestalts that remained unfinished and to elaborate on the material involved.
Although internalization of the . . . sessions and active psychological work in the termination periods can considerably facilitate the integration of the material, there is never any guarantee that all the psychological gestalts will be completed by the time the pharmacological effect . . . terminates. The risk that the integration of a session will be incomplete and will result in real clinical complications seems to be directly proportional to the degree of preexisting emotional problems in the subject and the negative circumstances in the session that prevent consistent introspective work. The extreme examples of this are intensification of the original symptoms, emergence of new forms of psychopathology, prolonged reactions, psychotic breaks, and . . . ("flashbacks"). All these should be seen as comprehensible phenomena which are part of the dynamic unfolding of the uncovering process and represent calculated risks of LSD psychotherapy."
"The psychopathological symptoms that can manifest as a result of incompletely resolved . . . sessions cover a very wide range. Essentially, any aspect of an activated dynamic matrix or specific unconscious material that remains unresolved can persist after the session for an indefinite period of time, or recur at a later date. Most frequently, these are various emotional qualities, such as depression, a sense of inferiority, suicidal feelings, affective lability or incontinence, a sense of loneliness, anxiety, guilt, paranoid feelings, aggressive tension or manic elation. Psychosomatic symptoms that can occur in this context involve nausea and vomiting, difficulties with breathing, psychogenic coughing and gagging, cardiovascular distress, constipation or diarrhea, headaches and pains in various parts of the body, chills and hot flashes, increased sweating, "hangover" feelings, flu-like symptoms, hypersalivation, ski rashes, and different psychomotor manifestations such as general inhibition or excitement, muscular tremors, twitches, and jerks. An activated and unresolved unconscious gestalt can also specifically influence the subject's thought-processes. Certain ways of thinking about various issues such as sex, men, women, marriage, and authority, or philosophical speculations about the meaning of existence, the role of religion in life, suffering, injustice, and many other problems that can be direct reflections of the underlying unconscious material. Strong opinions, judgments, and systems of values in various areas can change drastically when a previously unfinished unconscious gestalt is completed.
The occurrence of various perceptual changes after unresolved sessions is relatively less frequent. Long after the pharmacological effect of the drug has subsided, the patient may still report anomalies in color-perception, blurred vision, after-images, spontaneous imagery, alterations in body image, intensification of hearing, ringing in the ears, or various strange physical feelings. Sometimes, various combinations of the above emotional, psychosomatic, ideational and perceptual changes constitute completely new clinical syndromes which the subject has never experienced before. The occurrence of new forms of psychopathology can be understood as the result of activation and exteriorization of the content of previously latent unconscious matrices. These symptoms usually disappear instantly when the underlying material is fully experienced and integrated.
The general nature and specific characteristics of the adverse aftereffects of LSD sessions depend on the level of the unconscious that was activated and the specific content of the matrix involved. An active and unresolved matrix, whether of a psychodynamic, perinatal, or transpersonal nature, will influence the subject's perception of himself or herself in the world, emotional reactions, thought-processes, and behavior patterns in a specific way. The clinical symptoms that are psychogenetically connected with the activated functional system may persist for days or weeks and even for unlimited periods of time. Sometimes the adverse aftereffects of the session are limited to accentuation and intensification of the original emotional, psychosomatic or interpersonal problems of the patient. At other times the post-session difficulties represent a recurrence of symptoms which he or she suffered from in childhood, adolescence, or some later period of life. In still other instances, the adverse aftereffects constitute a repetition of the situation that typified the onset of the subject's manifest neurotic or psychotic symptoms; this is true not only in terms of clinical symptoms, but also for specific interpersonal patterns.
One mechanism of crucial relevance has to be mentioned at least briefly in this context. We described earlier how an activated dynamic matrix determines the nature of the patient's experience and the specific ways in which he or she perceives the environment. This is quite regularly associated with a strong tendency to exteriorize the content of the unconscious constellation and enact its replica in the treatment situation, as well as in everyday life. If we carefully analyze the psychodynamics of this phenomenon, we find a very interesting underlying mechanism that can be described as intolerance of emotional-cognitive dissonance. Apparently, it is very difficult and disturbing to experience a deep incongruence between one's inner feelings and/or sensations and the nature of the events in the external world, as cognitively interpreted. It seems to be much more acceptable to experience various unpleasant emotions as being reactions appropriate to or at least congruent with actual circumstances existing in objective reality, than to perceive them as incomprehensible and absurd elements coming from within.
Thus irrational feelings of anxiety and a sense of threat originating in the unconscious can result in maneuvers aimed at provoking hostility in the therapist, spouse, or employer. When these maneuvers succeed, previously incomprehensible feelings of anxiety assume the form of concrete and familiar fears of losing the therapist's support and endangering the continuation of treatment, worries about the disintegration of the marriage, or unsubstantiated concerns about losing one's position or job. In more intense forms of such fear that border on vital threat, the patient might actually seek out dangerous situations in activities such as hazardous car driving, parachuting, walks in bad neighborhoods, or visits to bars and night clubs of questionable reputation. Similarly, an LSD patient tuned into deep irrational guilt feelings may behave in an utterly inappropriate way, break the basic rules of therapy, and try to offend, irritate, or verbally attack the therapist. He or she can also do things in everyday life that are highly objectionable and guilt-provoking. As a result of this, the pre-existing guilt feelings can be rationalized, since they become attached to actual external events and appear to be congruent with the objective situation. The above are just a few concrete examples of very common mechanisms that can present considerable difficulties in the therapeutic situation, as well as in the patient's everyday life. It is absolutely essential for a successful course of psychedelic therapy that the therapist is familiar with this phenomenon and capable of handling it appropriately." (pp. 202-204)
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