Being no one, being One: The role of ego-dissolution and connectedness in the therapeutic effects of psychedelic experience
This mixed-methods systematic review of 15 studies (n = 2,182) found that both ego-dissolution and connectedness predict improved outcomes after psychedelic experience, with ego-dissolution tending to trigger rapid but transient psychological change and connectedness being more sustained and linked to enduring positive therapeutic feelings. The authors suggest emphasising ego-dissolution during preparation and fostering connectedness during integration to refine models of psychedelic therapy.
Abstract
Background and aims Despite promising findings indicating the therapeutic potential of psychedelic experience across a variety of domains, the mechanisms and factors affecting its efficacy remain unclear. The present paper explores this by focusing on two psychedelic states which have been suggested as therapeutically significant in past literature: ego-dissolution and connectedness. The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of ego-dissolution and connectedness on the therapeutic effects of the psychedelic experience.
Methods
The investigation was carried out as a mixed methods systematic review, with the data from four databases analysed thematically and results presented through narrative synthesis.
Results
The analysis and synthesis of findings from 15 unique studies (n = 2,182) indicated that both ego-dissolution and connectedness are associated with a higher chance of improvement following a psychedelic experience. However, there seem to be differences in the way the two experiences affect individuals psychologically. Ego-dissolution appears to trigger psychological change but does not typically exceed the psychedelic experience in its duration, while connectedness can be more sustained and is associated with several positive, potentially therapeutic feelings.
Conclusions
Moreover, the findings of this review have implications for further theory-building about the mechanisms which enable therapeutic effects in psychedelic experience. This in turn might lead to improved models for psychedelic therapy practice. Emphasis on ego-dissolution during the preparation phase and on connectedness during integration is one suggestion presented here, alongside overarching implications for the mental health debate and general practice.
Research Summary of 'Being no one, being One: The role of ego-dissolution and connectedness in the therapeutic effects of psychedelic experience'
Introduction
Kałużna and colleagues situate this review within the recent revival of scientific interest in classic, serotonergic psychedelics (5-HT2A agonists) and the growing evidence that psychedelic-assisted experiences can reduce symptoms across conditions such as depression, anxiety, addiction and end-of-life distress. Prior literature emphasises the importance of ‘‘set and setting’’ and of experiential content in determining therapeutic outcomes, yet specific subjective states that might mediate benefit remain incompletely characterised. Two candidate experiential constructs receive particular attention: ego-dissolution, a reduction in self-referential awareness, and connectedness, a sense of unity or relatedness with others, nature or the universe. The authors note that connectedness can be parsed into connection with others, with the world, and with the self; this review concentrates on the first two types that overlap conceptually with constructs like oceanic boundlessness and oneness, while excluding ‘‘connectedness with self’’ because it does not map cleanly onto those terms. The review sets out to determine the extent to which ego-dissolution and connectedness predict therapeutic outcomes after classic psychedelic experiences, whether the two phenomena are associated with each other, and whether their associations vary across psychological outcome domains. The paper was pre-registered and restricted to human studies of classic psychedelics, excluding non-classic agents such as MDMA or ketamine. The working hypotheses were that both ego-dissolution and connectedness would correlate positively with improvements in mental health and wellbeing, and that the two experiences would be positively correlated with each other.
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Kałużna, A., Schlosser, M., Gulliksen Craste, E., Stroud, J., & Cooke, J. (2022). Being no one, being One: The role of ego-dissolution and connectedness in the therapeutic effects of psychedelic experience. Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 6(2), 111-136. https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.2022.00199
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