LSD Psychotherapy (4th Edition): The Healing Potential of Psychedelic Medicine

Fascinating and insightful book into the effects of LSD. Amusing history of how LSD was accidentally discovered and all the psychological ways it can manifest during and after use. I am reading this as part of a program teaching similar effects of plant medicine. Apparently they are very similar.

Incredible book. Grof puts it all down in this book. If you want a guide on using psyches for therapy this is is.

One of the most informative resources on the topic of lsd psychotherapy. A must have for anyone interested in the field

Very interesting viewpoints on psychotherapy and LSD.

Enlightening Eye opening Educational beyond belief

The psychology world needs to see this.

Stanislav Grof's book "LSD Psychotherapy" is definitely not a light read. Its divided into 9 main sections, and also includes an epilogue, index, two appendices, and an extensive bibliography. Weighing in at over 350 pages, it's Grof's history of LSD therapy, a discussion of the circumstances/therapeutic paradigms under which LSD has been used, and most importantly, a collection of practical wisdom gleaned from the "more than three thousand sessions over the years" which Dr. Grof personally supervised. Although a book of this size and scope is obviously written for clinicians, it's nevertheless an interesting and informative read to the layperson. Dr. Grof's writing is erudite, informative, and flows surprisingly well (especially when one considers that English is actually not his native language. He was born in Czechoslovakia). He has very practical information regarding the set/setting required for this type of therapy, and lays down a clear outline of how a session should go, and what a subject (or sitter) is likely to encounter. Two points he stressed repeatedly: -- an LSD session is a transformational and decidedly internal experience. The goal isn't to see pretty colors or watch Disney cartoons in the palm of your hand; it's to undergo a great deal of introspection and apply what you learn from it. -- LSD isn't always a lot of fun, nor is it supposed to be. He spends a lot of time discussing difficult experiences, and explaining how they hold the most potential for personal growth in a subject. All in all, if you're interested in psychedelics, this book is a great read from a man who has devoted his life to researching these areas. If you like this book, I also recommend Myron Stolaroff's "The Secret Chief" (another primer on hallucinogenic psychotherapy) and Rick Strassman's "DMT: The Spirit Molecule".

Stanislav Grof is one of the pioneers in using LSD for psychotherapeutic research. Personally, I'm not sure I buy it, but I read these books more for personal amusement than for any scientific content they may have. (I give this book five stars because it's interesting, not for it's scientific content, which I believe to be virtually nil.) In this book, Grof has thrown together some of the most bizarre and far-fetched speculative nonsense in an attempt to explain a hodge-podge of LSD experiences. Grof gives a detailed picture of the various forms of therapy including, psycholitic therapy, psychedelic therapy, hypnodelic therapy, and his own holotropic therapy (which is basically hyperventilation and doesn't require LSD). Grof then goes on to explain the effects of LSD. Here, he concocts a bewildering schemata of various LSD induced states, which fit under various matrices: COEX systems (systems of condensed experiences) and basic perinatal matrices (BPM I-IV). This is where things get a little hocky, because according to Grof (and he gets this from Otto Rank) we can regress the individual to birth and then resolve various aspects of the birth trauma, freeing the individual of various neuroses, etc. He throws in a mix of eastern philosophy and mysticism to explain various aspects of this regression process. Apparently, one can go beyond even this level, into that of transpersonal experiences (here essentially all hell breaks loose and virtually anything goes). The rest of the book is pretty much devoted to explaining various aspects of the therapy sessions, the effects of various environments, stimuli, etc. on the sessions, and much anecdotal evidence of alleged cures, resolutions of conflicts, breakdown of neurotic defense systems, etc. I haven't made up my mind how much of this I buy into, and I don't see any easy way to do so without more research being done. The book concludes with an appendix on the effects of LSD on chromosomes.

I love Dr. GROF's work. This is just another exemple of his pioneer thinking in the domain of psychedelics and psychotherapy. Learned a lot, also for my personal process

Principal trablho de Stanislav Grof sobre LSD, cheio de detalhes e aprofundamento sobre a experiência lisérgica. Leitura essencial pra todos que pretendem atuar na clínica psicodélica ou para os que querem entender os processos psicodinâmicos quando sob efeito de psicodélicos.

There is not much literature out there on this topic, from my perspective at least, which is far from complete. Grof has a kind of monopoly on it, it seems. I am very thankful for his books and the insights he shared with us. Grof turned my life upside down. Unfortunately, I can't say that Grof is that great of an author. In the moment, I am working systematically on the topic of LSD Therapy, and using this book as a foundation is just a hussle. His table of content looks decent on the first sight, but when you actually read the chapters you can see, that he repeats himself thousands of times and doesn't stick to what the names of the chapters indicate at all. It's really a mess. You could easily write a book half in pages and way better organised with the same level of content. Also, many important aspects are simply missing. One chapter he writes about different approaches in the LSD Therapy, and comes to the conclusion that there has to be an integrative model because 2 of the approaches, the psycholytic (similar to regular therapy) and the psychedelic (overwhelming experience that goes beyond individual biography), have each a lot to offer. Though, he doesn't give any suggestions on what this integration of approaches could look like.