Grofians Unauthorized
Discussion Group
Grofian Peyotists
Critical Situations in Psychedelic Sessions - Part III
The following excerpt is from
LSD PSYCHOTHERAPY. Grof, S. 1980
ISBN 0-89793-166-1
http://www.promind.com/bk_lps.htm
--excerpt from Chapter 5:
[NO-EXIT, FEAR OF INSANITY, AND THE CRISIS OF BASIC TRUST]
"Another situation that can become a source of considerable problems in . . . sessions is the 'experience of no exit.' Although it occurs most frequently in the context of BPM II [the second basic perinatal matrix], there exist close parallels that can be observed in advanced sessions on the transpersonal level. The transpersonal versions lack the concrete element of mechanical imprisonment and the gross biological dimension, and have a purely metaphysical quality. A person who is in a no-exit state experiences extreme distress of various kinds and is unable to see any end to this situation or any way out of it. Thinking seems to have a circular quality and subjects frequently compare their thought-processes with closed loops running on a tape recorder. A more appropriate and accurate description of this state is to liken the peculiar circularity of ideas and emotions to a moving Moebius strip that turns into itself while also involving a paradox in regard to the usual spatial and temporal configurations.
The basic strategy in dealing with the no-exit situation should be to emphasize and clarify the distinction between psychological time and clock-time. The feeling of eternal doom with no hope of escape is an 'essential experiential characteristic' of the no-exit situation. In order to work through and integrate this experience one has to accept its full content, including the feeling that it will last forever and that there is no way out. Paradoxically, a person who desperately resists and fights what he or she feels would be an experience of endless suffering, prolongs his or her tortures; conversely, if he or she capitulates and accepts staying in hell forever, the very depth of the infernal matrix has been experienced, that particular gestalt is completed, and the process will move further.
A difficult situation that seems to be related to the no-exit matrix involves 'repetitive verbal or motor behavior;' in classical psychiatric terminology this is known as verbigeration and perseveration. For a period of time that can last anywhere from minutes to hours the individual behaves like a robot whose mechanism has been broken. Subjects in this state keep repeating the same movements, sentences, or words. There is usually no meaningful contact with them, and no external intervention of any kind can break the automaton-like behavior. In most cases, the only solution is to wait until the reaction spontaneously terminates and contact with the client can be re-established. This problem seems to occur when the drug activates unconscious material with excessive emotional charge. Less dramatic forms of this pattern can accompany the emergence of a particularly traumatic biographical theme; extreme cases are almost always associated with the perinatal process. Subjects frequently have total amnesia, or very incomplete memory, regarding episodes of this kind.
One of the common problems in psychedelic sessions is 'fear of insanity,' usually associated with a feeling of losing control. It occurs most frequently in individuals who have a strong need to maintain control and are afraid of losing it even under circumstances of everyday life. The general strategy, discussed during the preparation period and reinforced verbally during the session when loss of control becomes an issue, is to encourage giving up control. The usual misconception underlying this problem is the fear that even a momentary abandoning of control will result in its permanent loss, and insanity of some type would ensue. The new concept offered to the patient is that giving up control creates a situation in which the suppressed material that has been kept in check can emerge and be worked through. After an episode of dramatic and often chaotic release of pent-up energies through various available channels, the problem loses its charge and the individual achieves effortless control. This new type of mastery does not involve stronger self-control, but no need for it, since there is nothing to control. . . .
In general, any kind of 'psychotic' experience should be encouraged during the sessions, and in specifically structured situations also in the free intervals between sessions, as long as they do not endanger the client or anyone else. We are not dealing here with experiences produced by the drug but with areas of potential psychotic activity within the client that have been chemically exteriorized. It is more appropriate to see such episodes as unique therapeutic opportunities rather than as clinical problems. Psychotic reactions that deserve special attention are those associated with 'paranoid perception.' They present particular technical difficulties since they affect the very core of the therapeutic cooperation, the relationship with the sitters. Problems in this area cover a wide range, from minor mistrust to full-blown paranoid delusions. They also occur in many varieties and can be anchored in different levels of the unconscious. During the work on the psychodynamic level they can usually be traced back to situations in childhood in which the client was actively abused and mistreated, or to episodes in early infancy involving emotional deprivation and abandonment. Important sources of paranoid feelings are BPM II and BPM III, particularly the onset of the no-exit situation. Biologically, this would correspond with the beginning of the delivery, when the intrauterine world of the fetus is invaded by insidious and intangible chemical forces and starts to collapse. Some of the paranoid feelings can be traced back to early embryonal crisis, traumatic past-incarnation experiences, negative archetypal structures, and other types of transpersonal phenomena.
Less serious forms of mistrust can be approached by reminding the clients of earlier discussions concerning basic trust, and by encouraging them to turn within and search for the sources of this distrust in the emerging unconscious material. This is usually possible only where there is enough trust left for the subject to be able to communicate about the loss of trust. In more serious forms the client will deal with the paranoid thoughts and feelings internally, and the sitters might not discover this until the experience is over and the trust bond reestablished. Extreme degrees of paranoia can involve acting-out behavior; situations where an acutely paranoid . . . subject tries to leave the room or attempts to attack the sitters are among the most difficult challenges of psychedelic therapy. Here the only resort might be to guard against irreversible damage to persons and objects, and play for time. When the reaction subsides the sitters should return the patient to the reclining position, eyeshades, and headphones, and try to facilitate complete resolution and integration of the problem. . . ." (pp. 158-160)
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