Newson, Martha ORCID: 0000-0001-7700-9562 , Haslam, Alex, Haslam, Cath, Cruwys, Tegan and Roseman, Leor (2024) Social identity processes as a vehicle for therapeutic success in psychedelic treatment: harnessing the social cure. Nature Mental Health. ISSN 2731-6076 (Online) (In Press)

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Abstract

Background: The recent surge in psychedelics research has identified promising avenues for their therapeutic use to treat conditions as diverse as anxiety, PTSD, anorexia, depression, and addiction. While psychedelic-assisted therapy is indeed promising, its medicalized form still lacks a vital ingredient: a social group dimension.
Aims: By embedding psychedelic use in group settings and capitalising on the capacity for these to tap into, and build, social identities, we argue that the effects of psychedelic-assisted therapies could be amplified in ways that mirror their potency in indigenous and community settings. This article outlines the theoretical relevance of the ‘social cure’ model to this analysis by drawing on the well-established literature on social identity and health. It draws on the strong empirical evidence base that supports this model to underscore the vital contribution of groups and group contexts to the effects of psychedelics, while also highlighting the importance of people’s social identity-based relationship to such groups.
Outcomes: We outline the practical implications of this approach for therapeutic practice and conclude by identifying future directions and key challenges for social cure research in this field. These provide an agenda for theory-informed work to investigate the effects of establishing and maintaining social identities and group connections in the context of psychedelic treatment.
Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first article that applies social cure theorising to psychedelic-assisted therapies.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	psychedelics; psychedelic-assisted therapies; social cure; social identity; mental health; wellbeing; group psychotherapy
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > Institute for Lifecourse Development Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > Institute for Lifecourse Development > Centre for Inequalities Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Human Sciences (HUM)
Last Modified:	14 Jun 2024 08:52
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/47446

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