Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Psychedelic Science of Spirituality and Religion: An Attachment-Informed Agenda Proposal
Stockholm University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Personality, Social and Developmental Psychology.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-9114-4290
Stockholm University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Personality, Social and Developmental Psychology.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-7123-8348
Stockholm University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology.
Show others and affiliations
Number of Authors: 62023 (English)In: The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, ISSN 1050-8619, Vol. 33, no 4, p. 259-276Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

In this paper, we set an agenda for a psychedelic science of spirituality and religion based on attachment theory. 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 or predictive models, 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/God/the universe, 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. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Taylor & Francis Group, 2023. Vol. 33, no 4, p. 259-276
Keywords [en]
psychedelic science, spirituality, religion, attachment theory
National Category
Psychology
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-213103DOI: 10.1080/10508619.2022.2148061ISI: 000893760700001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85144032691OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-213103DiVA, id: diva2:1721135
Note

Cherniak’s work was supported by a 2021 SRF Source Award from the Source Research Foundation.

Available from: 2022-12-21 Created: 2022-12-21 Last updated: 2024-01-11Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full textScopus

Authority records

Cherniak, Aaron D.Gruneau Brulin, JoelGranqvist, Pehr

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Cherniak, Aaron D.Gruneau Brulin, JoelGranqvist, Pehr
By organisation
Personality, Social and Developmental PsychologyDepartment of Psychology
Psychology

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
urn-nbn
Total: 201 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf