Analysing self‑reports posted on Reddit, the authors found that nearly three‑quarters of people who stutter reported overall positive effects from classic psychedelics—notably reduced stuttering and greater speech control—while about 10% reported negative behavioural effects. These preliminary findings suggest classic psychedelics may merit formal investigation as an adjunct in psychedelic‑assisted speech therapy.
Stuttering is a neurodevelopmental communication disorder that can lead to significant social, occupational, and educational challenges. Traditional behavioral interventions for stuttering can be helpful, but effects are often limited. Classic psychedelics hold promise as a complement to traditional interventions, but their impact on stuttering is unknown. We conducted a qualitative content analysis to explore potential benefits and negative effects of psychedelics on stuttering using publicly available Reddit posts. A combined inductive-deductive approach was used whereby meaningful units were extracted and codes were initially assigned inductively. We then deductively applied an established framework to organize the effects (i.e., codes) into five subthemes (Behavioral, Emotional, Cognitive, Belief, and Social Connection), each of which was grouped under an organizing theme (positive, negative, neutral). Results indicated that the effects of psychedelics spanned all subthemes. Nearly 75% of participants reported overall positive effects. Nearly 60% of participants indicated positive behavioral change (e.g., reduced stuttering, increased speech control), 40% reported positive emotional benefit, 15% reported positive cognitive changes, 12% reported positive effects on beliefs, and 7% indicated positive social effects. Approximately 10% of participants reported negative behavioral effects (e.g., increased stuttering, reduced speech control). Psychedelics may help many stutterers improve communication, cultivate a healthier outlook, and promote psychological well-being. These preliminary results indicate that future clinical trials investigating psychedelic-assisted speech therapy for stuttering are warranted.
Papers cited by this study that are also in Blossom
Andersen, K. A. A., Carhart-Harris, R. L., Nutt, D. J. et al. · Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica (2020)
Anderson, B. T., Danforth, A. L., Daroff, R. et al. · EClinicalMedicine (2020)
Bouso, J. C., Fábregas, J. M., Antonijoan, R. M. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2013)
Carhart-Harris, R. L., Friston, K. J. · Pharmacological Reviews (2019)
Stuttering is a neurodevelopmental disorder marked by intermittent disruptions in speech production and by accessory behaviours such as eye blinking and head jerking. Beyond speech motor symptoms, affective and cognitive reactions—particularly anxiety, fear, shame, anticipatory worry and repetitive negative thinking—play a central role in the lived experience of stuttering and often undermine the durability of gains achieved in behavioural speech therapy. Earlier research establishes that while many children recover, about 20–25% continue to stutter into adulthood, leaving approximately 1% of adults affected and in need of more effective, durable interventions that address both speech and the broader psychosocial consequences of stuttering. This study set out to explore whether classic psychedelics reported in naturalistic use might influence stuttering and related emotional, cognitive and social domains. Gold and colleagues used publicly available posts on Reddit to characterise self‑reported positive, negative and neutral effects of classic psychedelics (psilocybin, LSD, DMT) on people who identify as stutterers, with the aim of informing whether formal clinical trials of psychedelic‑assisted interventions for stuttering would be warranted. The authors framed effects using a five-domain schema (Behaviour, Emotion, Cognition, Beliefs, Social Connection) derived from prior work on psychedelic effects.
The researchers conducted a qualitative content analysis of publicly available Reddit posts. Keyword searches combined terms for stuttering or speech with names of psychedelic drugs (including psilocybin, mushrooms, LSD, DMT; MDMA was used as a search term but posts exclusively about MDMA were excluded). Data comprised posts in English that described first‑hand experiences of classic psychedelics' effects on stuttering; duplicate or third‑hand accounts and posts focused only on non‑classic compounds were removed. Included posts were published between 2012 and 2022. Because the material was public and anonymous, the study was exempt from institutional review board approval; the investigators did not obtain participant demographics. Analysis followed Reflexive Thematic Analysis using a combined inductive–deductive approach. Gold and colleagues first familiarised themselves with the corpus, extracted meaningful units (distinct utterances relevant to psychedelics and stuttering) and excluded unrelated text. Two authors independently coded all meaningful units using the constant comparative method, iteratively refining code labels; two additional authors independently coded a subset for investigator triangulation and the team resolved discrepancies through discussion. In total, 250 meaningful units were identified and assigned codes. After inductive coding, the team applied a deductive framework drawn from van Elk and Yaden to group codes into five subthemes—Behaviour, Emotion (altered and affective states), Cognition, Beliefs, and Social Connection—and to assign overarching valence categories (positive, negative, neutral) to codes and to whole posts. Posts were also rated holistically as positive, negative, neutral or mixed depending on the overall emphasis of the content. The extraction process and coding procedure are reported in the paper; the extracted text does not clearly report whether software assisted coding or the interrater agreement statistics beyond the described consensus process.
The final dataset comprised 114 distinct Reddit posts from unique users, totalling 709 sentences and 250 meaningful units. Across those units the team assigned 77 unique codes and 275 total code instances (units could receive more than one code). Codes were grouped by valence: 216 codes (78.5% of the code sample) were judged positively valenced, 28 codes (10.2%) negatively valenced, and 31 codes (11.3%) neutral. At the participant (post) level, 71.9% of the 114 individuals reported an overall positive experience, 11.4% an overall negative experience, 12.3% a neutral experience, and 4.4% a mixed experience. Positive effects were distributed across five subthemes. Positive behavioural changes were reported by 58.8% of individuals (67/114) with 83 positive behavioural codes; the most common single report was reduced stuttering (54 individuals, 47.4%), with 27 reporting reductions only during the acute psychedelic experience, 17 reporting reductions that persisted beyond the acute effects, and 10 not specifying duration. Additional positive behavioural reports included improved speech (5 individuals), self‑described cures (2 individuals), reduced speaking effort, reduced avoidance, increased speech control (5 individuals), and improved speech flow (7 individuals). Select participant language illustrated the effect, for example some reporting being "the most fluent that [they've] ever been." Positive emotional effects were observed in 41.2% of individuals (47/114) and accounted for 81 codes; these included reductions in anxiety (12 individuals), stress (3), depression (1), increased confidence (7), reduced negative emotional reactions (5) and improved overall wellbeing (10). Positive cognitive effects were present in 18.4% of posts (21/114; 31 codes) and encompassed increased introspection, clarity, reduced self‑consciousness, fewer intrusive thoughts about speech, enhanced cognitive flexibility and other changes in attention or cognitive control. Positive effects on beliefs were reported by 12.3% (14/114; 16 codes), most commonly increased acceptance of one’s identity as a person who stutters (7 individuals) and greater self‑understanding (5). Positive social effects were uncommon (4.4% of individuals; five codes) but included reduced social anxiety and ease of completing conversations. Negative effects were less frequent but notable. Thirteen participants (11.4%) reported increased stuttering or speech difficulty, recorded within negatively valenced behavioural codes contributed by 17 participants overall; four of these increases were described as acute during the psychedelic state and three instances involved carry‑over effects lasting hours or into the morning after. Other negative reports included increased concern or worry about stuttering (3 individuals), cognitive problems such as reduced focus or impaired language formulation (6 individuals), and social difficulty (one individual). The authors report that no participants described persistent long‑term negative effects. Neutral reports included 16 individuals (14.0%) who said psychedelics had no effect on stuttering and 14 individuals (12.3%) who stated psychedelics did not "cure" their stuttering. The dataset also included 45 miscellaneous codes capturing contextual factors: for example, 10 individuals reported microdosing and six emphasised that effects varied by type of psychedelic; some noted reduced effectiveness with repeated use and uncertainty about causation.
Gold and colleagues interpret these findings as preliminary evidence that classic psychedelics, as used in naturalistic contexts, are associated more often with reported improvements than with harms for people who self‑identify as stutterers. The majority of posts described benefits spanning behavioural, emotional, cognitive, belief and social domains, with nearly 50% of participants reporting reductions in stuttering and about 60% reporting positive behavioural change. The authors propose several mechanisms that might underlie these reported benefits: psychedelics may reduce the involvement of top‑down cognitive control processes that can interfere with automatized motor speech, and they may promote psychological states—reduced anxiety, lowered self‑focus, increased acceptance and openness—that make it easier to use speech strategies in real‑world social situations. The investigators emphasise that the majority of negative reports were acute and transient, occurring during the psychedelic experience, and that no long‑term negative side‑effects were described in the sample. Nonetheless, they acknowledge uncertainty about why some individuals experienced worsened speech or tension, noting that individual vulnerability factors (for example, a family or personal history of psychosis or bipolar disorder) and the immediate social and physical context of use (set and setting) are likely important moderators. The authors further point out limitations tied to the data source: posts were anonymous, demographics and clinical histories were not systematically available, and use occurred in uncontrolled naturalistic environments. These constraints limit causal inference and generalisability. On the basis of their analysis, the authors recommend pursuing controlled clinical research using established psychedelic‑assisted psychotherapy models, which include preparatory and integrative therapy and supervised dosing in a therapeutic setting. They suggest that therapist expertise, careful attention to set and setting, and possibly group therapy formats—already a known beneficial modality in stuttering treatment—could be incorporated into future trials. The investigators frame their results as hypothesis‑generating and call for safety and feasibility studies to evaluate psychedelic‑assisted interventions for stuttering in clinical contexts.
People who stutter lack FDA‑approved pharmacotherapies and continue to need treatments that address both speech disruptions and associated psychological distress. Based on this qualitative analysis of Reddit reports, Gold and colleagues conclude that classic psychedelics are commonly reported to produce positive effects on stuttering and wellbeing, and they argue that these preliminary observations warrant formal clinical trials testing psychedelics as adjuncts to traditional stuttering therapies.
Stuttering is a neurodevelopmental condition typically characterized by intermittent disruptions in speech production, including within-word repetitions and audible and inaudible sound prolongations, as well as accessory non-speech behaviors such as eye blinking, physical tension, and head jerking. Living with stuttering can have detrimental consequences on one's quality of life as it is linked to adverse listener reactions, negative stereotypes, and significant educational and occupational disadvantages. The condition is common in early life, with about 5-8% of children exhibiting stuttering during the preschool years. While most individuals recover spontaneously during early childhood, 20-25% of children continue to stutter into adulthood, making stuttering a common, lifelong condition that is present in about 1% of the adult population. While speech-related behaviors associated with stutteringare most noticeable, affective and cognitive reactions such as anxiety, fear, and shame are primary contributors to the stuttering experience. This is due to negative listener reactions to stuttering (e.g., teasing, mocking, confusion), which contribute to social anxietyas stutterers learn to expect these reactions in their daily interactions. These expectations strengthen the anticipation of stuttering -the speaker's ability to sense upcoming stutteringwhich is linked to repetitive negative thinking or rumination(e.g., "I won't be able to get this word out"; "People will think I'm stupid"). Such mental habits can lead to increased word or situational avoidancefurther amplifying one's negative affective state. This complex interplay between social mistreatment and the behavioral, affective, and cognitive components of stuttering shapes the stutterer's sense of self and identitywhich is critical to address in therapy. Indeed, a significant component of clinical intervention for stuttering is based on counseling psychology and psychotherapeutic approaches, targeting affective-and cognitive-related aspects of stuttering and aiming to facilitate the change of maladaptive or rigid patterns of stutterers' thoughts and behaviors. Stuttered speech is amenable to change in speech therapy, but such behavioral change is often not durable and old relics of tension, struggle, and avoidance while speaking often re-emerge. In order for speech change to be durable, stutterers must also shift the way they identify with stuttering, which can involve exploring concepts such as openness and acceptance. Thus, new ways to achieve holistic improvement in stutterers' well-being and quality of life, as well as increased ease of communication are critically needed. In recent years, clinical trials have shown that psychedelic compounds have the potential to treat an array of psychiatric conditions that involve affective symptomatology (e.g., anxiety, depression) or rigid habitual behavioral patterns (e.g., addiction, obsessive-compulsive disorder). Classic psychedelics are a group of pharmacological agents defined by their high affinity for the 5HT2A serotonin receptor and include drugs such as psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and dimethyl trypatime. Although the mechanisms of psychedelic-assisted treatments remain speculative, these drugs are thought to induce an acute period of psychological and cognitive flexibilitybut see, neural plasticity (de la Fuente, increased positive affect, and change in rigid patterns of maladaptive behavior. In their review,proposed that the psychological effects associated with classic psychedelics comprise five categories: behavior (e.g., habit and behavior change); altered and affective states (e.g., ego dissolution, enhanced perceptions of emotions); cognition (e.g., cognitive flexibility, mindfulness); beliefs (e.g., metaphysical beliefs, suggestibility); and social connection (e.g., connectedness, empathy). Taken together, the evidence suggests that psychedelic compounds might complement existing behavioral therapies for stuttering with a specific emphasis on cognitive and affective symptomatology. However, with their potential benefits, psychedelics-assisted interventions carry potential psychiatric risks including acute mood instability and distortions in sensory perception, and long-lasting mania or psychosis. Such effects may be especially prevalent when dosing occurs in the absence of careful professional supervision and guidance. Notably, numerous recent studies that examined the safety profile of psychedelics reported encouraging results. To date, there are no data regarding the safety profile of psychedelics in the context of stuttering. Here, we investigated the types of experiences that individuals who stutter have when taking psychedelics in naturalistic settings. This was done in order to evaluate the potential therapeutic effects, and harmful effects, of classic psychedelics as a complement to traditional stuttering therapy. Psychedelics are being extensively used recreationally, and there is a lively online community that discusses various aspects of psychedelic use. In such online forums, individuals voluntarily share their experiences with psychedelic substances making them publicly available. We have utilized these resources to conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses of self-reported experiences of stutterers who have used psychedelics via posts on the online messaging forum Reddit.
We conducted a qualitative analysis by reviewing publicly available internet posts on the social news website, Reddit. Reddit is a well-known web-based platform where users post and have discussions about a wide variety of topics. Qualitative analysis was justified because we sought to develop a rich understanding of experiences with psychedelics and effects on stuttering among people who stutter, per their own report. We supplemented the qualitative analysis with descriptive statistics to assess how common various experiences with psychedelics are in this community. Such work may provide a foundation for future clinical trials on the efficacy of classic psychedelics on stuttering. Because all information was publicly available by an internet search, this study was exempt from Institutional Review Board approval. Participant demographics and related information were not obtained because Reddit is an anonymous forum.
Following a constructivist epistemology, our view is that truth and meaning in qualitative research cannot be completely independent of the authors' experiences. Therefore, it is critical that all investigators reflect upon and report their positionality related to the research topic so readers can make their own inferences about potential influence. The first author is a research coordinator working on clinical trials utilizing psilocybin for the treatment of alcohol use disorder and other psychiatric indications. He has prior experience as a research assistant in a lab researching stuttering, and is a person who stutters. The second author is a post-doctoral fellow investigating the cognitive learning mechanisms that underlie psychiatric symptom expression. He is particularly interested in the cognitive mechanisms through which psychedelics extract their beneficial clinical effect. He is not a stutterer. The third author is a speech-language pathologist and researcher who studies how identity is influenced by living with stuttering using qualitative and quantitative methodologies. She is not a stutterer, and she has no prior personal or research experience with psychedelics. The last author is an Assistant Professor, speechlanguage pathologist with 15 years of experience and expertise in stuttering intervention, lab director, and person who stutters. His lab focuses on the variability of stuttering events, or the intermittency with which stuttering events occur, and the social-cognitive processes that drive this variability. He has been involved with stuttering and self-help communities since 2006, at which time he co-founded and co-hosted a podcast about stuttering which had the goal of reducing stigma associated with stuttering and normalizing stuttering.
Self-report was used in the current study insofar as users self-identified as stutterers in their Reddit posts. Self-report is commonly used to identify stutterers in stuttering research (e.g.,. Combinations of the keywords, "stuttering," "speech," "psychedelics," "psilocybin," "mushrooms," "LSD," "DMT," and "MDMA," were used in the Reddit search. The keyword searches used the name of each psychedelic drug combined with either "stuttering" or "speech." Although posts related to the effects of MDMA were not included in the analysis, MDMA was included as a search term because MDMA-related posts often included information about the use of classic psychedelics. While reviewing results within a Reddit discussion thread, both the original post as well as responses to the original post were reviewed for relevance to psychedelics and stuttering. Numerous replying posts (other Reddit users replying to the original post) included similar or shared experiences to that of the original post, so many of these were also included in the analysis. Posts were included for further review if they were 1) in English and comprehensible; and 2) included an account of direct first-hand experience on the effects of classic psychedelics on stuttering. Posts were copied in their entirety into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for analysis by the research team. All included data were posted on Reddit between 2012 and 2022.
Procedures fromReflexive Thematic Analysis were used to analyze and summarize meaning in the data. Reflexive Thematic Analysis relies on a constructivist epistemology and allows for inductive and deductive analysis approaches. The authors first familiarized themselves with the dataset. During this process, the first, second, and final authors extracted meaningful units from each post, or distinct utterances that were related to the question (i.e., the impact of classic psychedelics on stuttering). Text that was unrelated to the research question was excluded from the analysis. In addition, posts were removed if they did not describe experiences with the classic psychedelics (i.e., psilocybin, LSD, DMT), did not discuss personal, first-hand experiences, or included third-hand accounts or hearsay from another individual. Further, any duplicate posts (or those telling the same account, identified by the poster's Reddit username) were removed. While MDMA was included in the original search terms because it sometimes yielded posts about classic psychedelics, meaningful units including only MDMA or other non-classic psychedelics were also excluded. After all meaningful units had been identified and extracted, the first and last authors independently coded each meaningful unit with one or more codes using the constant comparative method. The constant comparative method involves iteratively comparing each meaningful unit to existing codes before assigning new ones, and updating code labels as nuance in the data becomes more apparent. The initial coding was inductive, in that it was not hypothesis driven, and we aimed to capture both semantic (i.e., explicit) and latent (i.e., implied) meaning. Once both authors assigned one or more codes to all meaningful units they met to compare, discuss, and reach agreement on codes that best captured the content of each meaningful unit. As an additional effort to promote investigator triangulation, the second and third authors were invited to independently code the same meaningful units, and coding schemes were discussed once again until the authors agreed that all relevant meaning had been best captured with the codes. Because we were interested in exploring positive, negative, and neutral effects of psychedelics on the experience of stuttering, we used these three categories as organizing themes as we continued to analyze the data. After the initial coding process was complete, we used a deductive approach to group codes into sub-themes, drawing from van Elk and Yaden's (2022) framework on the five effects and therapeutic potential of psychedelics for theme content and organization (Behavior, Altered and Affective States [henceforth, Emotion], Cognition, Beliefs, and Social Connection). For example, the codes "reduced stuttering" and, "improved speech" were grouped into the "Behavior" sub-theme, which fell under the broader theme of "Positive Effects," whereas, "increased anxiety" and "increased confidence" were grouped into the "Emotions" sub-theme, which fell under the broader theme of "Negative Effects." While certain code's effects could be deemed positive vs. negative vs. neutral differently according to subjective preference of who is judging, valence was determined based on the third and fourth author's clinical expertise in terms of what stutterers and the general public would deem as a positive or "beneficial" effect to someone who stutters. For example, reduced stuttering would be perceived by most individuals as a positive effect, increased anxiety as a negative effect, and no impact of psychedelics would be perceived as a neutral effect. Tableincludes examples of meaningful units, their associated codes, and their broader thematic categories.
To get a sense of the overall quality of individuals' experiences with psychedelics, we included an additional level of analysis which coded the valence of each individual post holistically. For example, if most of the codes associated with a post were deemed positive, or the benefits of psychedelics were judged to be the focus of the post, despite their being some negative effect, the post was judged to be "positive." Posts were judged to be "mixed" if there was approximately the same emphasis on positive and negative effects.
Our final sample included 114 different Reddit posts from distinct Reddit users, totaling 709 sentences. Each of the 114 individuals contributed at least one meaningful unit, with 250 meaningful units in total. We assigned 77 unique codes across meaningful units, with 275 total codes assigned as meaningful units could have more than one code to describe effects of psychedelics. We developed three organizing themes, each with one or more subthemes, presented below.
Two-hundred and sixteen codes were positively valenced (78.5% of our entire code sample), comprising the positive effects organizing theme. These meaningful units were further sub-grouped into five sub-themes described below. Tableincludes all positive codes and their frequencies. INSERT TABLE3.1.1 Subtheme 1a: Positive Behavioral Changes Positively valenced effects on behavior were observed in 58.8% of individuals (67 out of 114 total individuals), who contributed a total of 83 codes (30.18% of the entire 275 code sample). The most commonly reported effect across all participants was a reduction in stuttering, reported by 54 individuals (47.4%). In addition, five individuals (4.4% of all individuals) commented on general improvements in their speech, and two individuals reported that psychedelics completely cured their stuttering. Individuals in our sample commonly cited that psychedelics caused reductions in their stuttering both in an acute manner while actively experiencing psychedelic effects as well as for varying amounts of time after. Twenty-seven individuals reported acute reductions only, 17 specified that they saw reductions persisting after their acute psychedelic effects wore off, and 10 reported reductions in stuttering without clearly specifying the length of this effect). Several individuals emphasized how they were "the most fluent that [they've] ever been" (P23 and P97). Another participant commented on being completely fluent, and attributed this to not being concerned about how they are perceived by others: Individuals also described that psychedelics helped to reduce their effort in speaking (4.4% of all individuals) and avoidance behaviors (2.6% of all individuals), and five individuals (4.4% of all individuals) reported increased control of their speech. In addition, seven individuals reported that psychedelics helped to improve their "flow" in speaking (6.1% of all individuals). For example, they cited that words "flowed out" (P9) easier, and they were able to "roll overwith much more ease" (P59). Other less commonly reported effects were increased body relaxation, and a change in "how" one stutters.
Positively valenced effects on emotions were observed in 41.2% of individuals (47 out of 114 total individuals), who contributed a total of 81 codes (29.5% of the entire 275 code sample). Twelve individuals described reduced anxiety, three described reductions in stress, and one described reductions in depression following psychedelic use. These reductions in psychological distress were both related directly to their stuttering, and also reported as more general improvements in their psychological state. For example, one individual (P93) reported a "lingering sense of calmness / lower anxiety after a trip, which does positively contribute to [their] fluency." Another user (P34) reported that their "inherent anxiety around speaking was simply gone. [They] distinctly remember how the absence of anxiety felt." Seven individuals cited increased feelings of confidence following their psychedelic experience, and five reported reduced negative emotional reactions. Ten users described that psychedelic use resulted in improvements in their general wellbeing. Another commonly reported effect was an improved sense of perspective (7.9% of all users). For example, one individual reported that psilocybin has been a: "key factor in what not only has increased my fluency as a speaker, but just overall who I am as a person the lens that I see life through… helped me in my journey allowing me to love and appreciate my struggles … including my stutter … I began to see that my value as a person has nothing to do with the way I talk, but who I really was deep down" (P16). Four individuals described how psychedelics reduced their sense of ego. Three individuals reported reduced concern about their stuttering, two reported reduced feelings of anticipating that they might stutter, and two reported personal growth not necessarily related to speech. Additionally, two individuals emphasized how their psychedelic use was "liberating," (P94, P97) three individuals described an increased sense of agency, and three individuals (P82, P90, P109) reported that psychedelics seem to "help" them more broadly (i.e., improve their wellbeing). Other less commonly reported positive effects on general wellbeing were, mood improvements, reduced fear, increased mindfulness, increased naturalness, increased comfortability, reduced emotional reaction, reduced helplessness, reduced suffering, reduced trauma, and reduced uncertainty.
Cognitive effects comprised changes in attention or cognitive control, as well as cognitive flexibility (i.e., the ability to adapt to changing demands or circumstance to reach a goal). Positively valenced effects on cognition were observed in 18.4% of individuals (21 out of 114 users), who contributed a total of 31 codes (11.27% of the entire 275 code sample). Five individuals (4.4% of all users) reported that their psychedelic experience helped to facilitate introspection, and three individuals (2.6% of all individuals) reported an increased sense of clarity (e.g., "the barrier between thought and speech was completely broken down, but yet (at least on the comedown) I was completely cogent"; P50). Four individuals (3.5% of all users) described how their psychedelic use decreased their self-consciousness. Three individuals (2.6% of all users) reported that psychedelics helped to reduce interfering, unwanted thoughts related to their speech and stuttering. For example, one individual stated that "psychedelics will make you not think about the small things like speech when there are way trippier things around you" (P24). Two individuals (2.6% of all individuals) reported that psychedelics have potential to help them change their patterns of behavior. Moreover, at least one individual reported each of the following experiences: increased awareness of speech in a helpful way, improved language ability, increased awareness of behavioral patterns, increased ability to identify accessory behaviors to stuttering (i.e., eyeblinking, facial twitches, etc.), a helpful distractedness away from stuttering, increased objectivity, increased mindfulness, improved organization of thoughts, ability to "let go" the need for control, greater ability to move past mental hang ups, and that psychedelics help to prevent a "snowball effect" of bad experiences of stuttering.
Changes in beliefs comprised changes to the beliefs system including worldview and self-identity. Positively valenced effects on beliefs were observed in 12.3% of individuals (14 out of 114 total users), who contributed a total of 16 codes (5.8% of the entire 275 code sample). The most common effect reported in this category was an increase in acceptance of one's identity as a stutterer, which was reported by seven individuals (6.1% of all individuals). For example, one individual stated that "there is no cure, it is about accepting yourself as someone who stutters and then trying to control that as much as possible" (P47). Another individual described positive effects from their psychedelic experiences, and a corresponding broad hopefulness at the possibility of seeing positive effects from psychedelics in the future. Additionally, five individuals (4.4% of all users) reported that psychedelics helped to increase their understanding of themselves and their stuttering. Less commonly reported positive effects from psychedelics on beliefs were an increased appreciation of life, a loss of one's stuttering identity, an increase in authenticity, and a sense of hopefulness.
Positively valenced social effects were observed in 4.4% of individuals, who contributed a total of five codes (1.8% of the entire 275 code sample). Two individuals reported a decrease in social anxiety following their psychedelic experience. For example, one individual stated that they were "...more at ease in social settings and less self conscious. Stuttering less, and when [they] do [they're] experiencing less negative thoughts around [themself]" (P102). Two participants reported that psychedelics were able to improve their ability to communicate with others, and help them make their points successfully and with less effort. Another individual stated that they have been able to "complete so many conversations and people have actually understood what [they're] saying without repeating [themself]... it's been such an experience" (P10). Less commonly reported positive social effects from psychedelic use were reduced feelings of time pressure in social interactions, and a beneficial opportunity to have a mutual psychedelic experience with similar others who stutter.
Twenty-eight codes out of the sample of 275 were negatively valenced (10.2%). Tablesummarizes these negatively valenced codes and their frequencies.
Negatively valenced effects associated with behavior were observed in 14.91% of individuals (17 out of 114 total individuals), who contributed a total of 18 codes (6.55% of the entire 275 code sample). These thirteen individuals commented on psychedelics causing an increase in their stuttering (11.4% of all individuals), with four of those instances being only acute or transient increases (i.e., during the psychedelic experience), and one describing "worsened" stuttering until the "morning after" (P84). Another participant said that "psychedelics make it soooo hard forto have a conversation" (P79). Four individuals described how psychedelics made it difficult for them to speak or say words. For example, one individual said that they "oftentimes couldn't speak at all" while on a psychedelic (P15) One individual reported feeling an increase in physical tension (in their jaw) during their psychedelic experience (e.g.,"I usually do more LSD than shrooms but usually it increases my stuttering from the the jaw tension it causes" [P48]).
Negatively valenced effects on emotions were observed in 2.6% of individuals (three out of 114 total individuals), who contributed a total of four codes (1.1% of the entire 275 code sample). One individual commented on an increase in their concern and worry about their stuttering during their psychedelic experience. One individual (P42) described negative after effects from their psychedelic use during their "comedown" and their stuttering returning to baseline levels, while another (P61) described negative side-effects described broadly as "damage."
Negatively valenced effects related to cognition were observed in 5.3% of individuals (6 out of 114 total individuals), who contributed a total of 6 codes (2.2% of the entire 275 code sample). Two individuals described experiencing reduced focus during their psychedelic experience, and two individuals reported impaired language ability. For example, P69 stated that they "...[they] can't put a word or sentence together to save [their] life." One individual described an increase in self-consciousness on psychedelics (i.e., "I was very self conscious about my speech"; P15).
Negatively valenced social effects were observed in one individual who contributed one code which described that psychedelics make it "soooo hard forto have a conversation."
There were 31 codes, 11.3% of our code sample, characterized as neutral. Tablesummarizes these neutrally valence codes and their frequencies.
Neutrally valenced effects associated with behaviors were observed in 14.0% of individuals (16 out of 114 total individuals), who contributed a total of 16 codes (5.8% of the entire code sample). Sixteen individuals (or 14.0% of our entire sample) reported that their psychedelic use had no effect on their stuttering.
One individual described a neutral effect on cognition, i.e., that during their psychedelic experience, they "did not have a specific moment/realization" that they could pinpoint that gave them insight about their stuttering, although they highlighted how it was an "amazing experience" (#53).
Neutrally valenced effects associated with beliefs were observed in 12.3% of individuals (14 out of 114 total users), who contributed a total of 14 codes (5.1% of the entire code sample). All individuals who reported neutrally valenced effects on beliefs (14 individuals) noted that their psychedelic experience did not "cure" their stuttering. For example, one individual stated: "I don't think it's a magic cure but it may help with side effects of stuttering like depression. You discover yourself and might even realize that it doesn't matter that you stutter which might make speaking a little easier" (#87). Oftentimes, these codes were accompanied by similar praise of psychedelics helping their speech somewhat, or their outlook/psychological state related to their stuttering, but that their psychedelic experience was not a "cure all."
In this section, we summarize other codes, or information that was potentially relevant (e.g., whether effects were acute or longer term; demographic information; an individual's goals prior to using a psychedelic), but did not directly describe the effects of psychedelics on themselves and their experience with stuttering. There were a total of 45 other codes. Ten individuals described that they have "microdosed," while six individuals emphasized how they experience different effects dependent upon the type of psychedelic that they take. Other less commonly reported effects not directly relevant to the research question include reduced effectiveness over repeated use, the individual having a high motivation to address their stuttering going into their psychedelic experience, the placebo effect, and uncertainty of correlation vs. causation of psychedelics generally.
Valences were assigned at an individual participant level for each overall post (positive, negative, neutral, or mixed). Of 114 participants, 71.9% indicated an overall positive experience; 11.4% indicated an overall negative experience; 12.3% indicated an overall neutral experience; and 4.4% indicated a mixed experience with roughly equal positive and negative components. Mixed experiences included approximately the same emphasis on positive and negative effects (e.g., "When I have taken mushrooms in the past, my stuttering is non existent…the feeling of coming down and the stuttering coming back is pretty terrible though"; P42).
We conducted qualitative and quantitative content analysis of Reddit posts related to stutterers' experiences with classic psychedelics. To our knowledge, this is the first study of any kind to systematically investigate possible effects, therapeutic or otherwise, of psychedelic compounds on stuttering. The majority of participants (approximately 72%) reported positive overall effects of psychedelics on their experience with stuttering, including changes across behavioral, emotional, cognitive, belief system, and social domains. This preliminary evidence suggests that testing the safety and feasibility of classic psychedelics in the context of stuttering could be an important step in the search for new treatments, or treatment adjuncts, for stuttering. Approximately 60% of participants reported positive change in the behavioral domain, which included reduced stuttering, reduced effort, "improved" speech, and increased control. Reduced stuttering was reported by nearly 50% of the participants. All of these behavioral effects relate to increased functioning or facilitation of speech motor control, but it is unclear how psychedelics would facilitate these kinds of changes. One possible mechanism could be reduced involvement of cognitive control processes during speech production. Recent work points to overactivation in the cognitive control network of stutterers prior to stuttered vs. fluent speech. Moreover, internally-versus externallydirected focus is known to disrupt simple or automatized motor movements, and there is some evidence that this is the case in stuttering. This is analogous to the centipede effect or Humphey's law, whereby "consciously thinking about one's performance of a task that involves automatic processing impairs one's performance of it". Psychedelics have been suggested to reduce the involvement of control processes across a variety of cognitive and perceptual domains. It could be that psychedelics dampen hyperactivation in these right hemisphere areas, which reduces stuttering or more likely makes it easier to move through stuttering events potentially by limiting interference of cognitive control on the speech-motor system. More than half of the participants reported positive affective change, including reductions in anxiety and other emotional reactions to stuttering and listener reactions to stuttering. It is well known that anxiety negatively impacts quality of life in stutterers, who often report uncertainty and fear related to how they will be perceived by others (e.g., as unintelligent, not confident), and how stuttering will impact their success in professional and personal relationships.propose that some psychopathologies such as depression and anxiety may develop because of maladaptive thoughts and behaviors, and associated negative selfperception, and/or fearful and pessimistic outlooks that become entrenched and resistant to change. Their theory can be applied to stuttering therapy. For example, cognitive restructuring is a critical component in the therapeutic process for stuttering. It involves developing alternative ways of thinking about one's situation in order to facilitate a more agentic lifestyle. However, these changes can be difficult to achieve due to strong feelings of shame, embarrassment, anger, and fear. According to, strongly held beliefs or entrenched ways of thinking become more flexible under psychedelics. This may allow for individuals to be open or receptive to new ideas, and not only to ideas that have been systematized through life experience. Stutterers often learn to expect negative reactions from listeners based on previous experiences, particularly during childhood, e.g., when they were teased or bullied for stuttering. Indeed, participants in the current study reported reduced anxiety, depression, stress, worry, and fear, improved overall wellbeing, increased confidence and better ability to cope with uncertainty, and an improved outlook on life under psychedelics. Thus, psychedelics may facilitate the therapeutic process for stutterers by allowing them to be more open and receptive to thinking about themselves, their stuttering, and their speaking partners in different, and more constructive ways. Anxiety is also a primary contributor to the difficulty associated with implementing speaking strategies in "real world" settings. Stuttering is significantly reduced when social demands are low, such as speaking to one's self or speaking to an infant. Anecdotally, stutterers report being able to use speaking strategies during therapy sessions in which social demands are low, but often have significant difficulty when outside of therapy (e.g., at work, with potential romantic partners). Anxiety and repetitive negative thinking may reduce one's ability to focus on physical speaking strategies in these more "real" situations. For example, many speaking strategies aim to facilitate the transition from the onset to the nucleus of a word (i.e., where stuttering occurs). This involves developing a deep awareness and focus on the placement and movement of the articulators. This awareness of the articulators allows for the modification of tensing or pressure, so that one can move through stuttering events, physically, more easily. Anxiety, repetitive negative thoughts, uncertainty, and fear, for example, make it difficult to focus on lessening tension during (or before) moments of stuttering-similar to how these cognitive states can make performing any motor task more difficult. Reducing anxiety, concern, and fear about stuttering, while increasing awareness, reducing interfering thoughts, and increasing mindfulness may make it easier to focus on modifying articulatory movements. Moreover, reduced ego, increased acceptance, and reduced self-consciousness may alleviate negative thoughts the stutterer has about how they are being perceived, which could also increase one's ability to focus on speaking strategies. Despite a large proportion of positive effects reported by the participants in our sample, a portion of participants reported negative effects. Thirteen participants or 11% of the sample reported increased stuttering or increased tension, and overall difficulty speaking. It is not currently understood why psychedelics would increase stuttering or overall speaking difficulty. Interestingly, 10 of the 13 participants reported acute effects, i.e., only during the psychedelic experience. The three participants who indicated carry-over difficulty reported effects that lasted for several hours after the experience or the following day. No participants reported longer-term negative effects. Knowledge regarding the individual traits that may increase the probability of experiencing adverse effects in response to psychedelic substances is lacking. Gold-standard clinical practice considers a family history of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder as a risk factor for long-term adverse effects. However, the exclusion of such participants from most modern clinical trials has limited the quantification of such risk. In the current study, which was based on reports "from the wild," participants did not report their background conditions systematically. It could be the case that some of the individuals contributing data for this study had a background of increased risk that might explain some proportion of the variance in individual responses. In addition, the environmental and social conditions in which the drug was taken, often referred to as set and setting, are known to heavily influence the qualities of the psychedelic experience. Early theories suggest that psychedelics may amplify the contents of consciousness in a nonspecific manner. To this end, psychological preparation and coordination of expectations as well as the physical and social conditions wherein the drug is consumed can dramatically shape the effects of the acute experience. In the online sample discussed here, several participants pointed to the set or setting being the primary factor in determining whether there were negative effects. For example, one participant indicated that the frequency of stuttering was reduced with friends, but increased at a music festival at which he did not know anybody. This has important implications for potential psychedelic-assisted treatment such that the setting and the expertise of the therapist will play a critical role. That no participants indicated longerterm negative side effects further supports the notion that psychedelics may not be harmful to those who take them in a controlled setting and with a knowledgeable guide (i.e., therapist/facilitator).
We propose that the psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy model commonly used in modern clinical trials for an array of psychiatric conditions could be used for stuttering. In this model, participants undergo preparatory and integrative psychotherapy before and after receiving a dose of psilocybin (or other psychedelic compounds) in the presence of trained and licensed therapists. Participants in the current study took psychedelics in uncontrolled and non-therapeutic contexts.It is our hope that augmenting participants' safety and providing the proper social and psychological support, in accordance with the gold-standard clinical practice, could maximize the potential of psychedelic-assisted therapy for stuttering. Such treatment, provided by a trained clinician will optimize experience integration and may capitalize on the induction of neurobehavioural flexibility to promote meaningful, potentially longterm clinical benefit. Recent clinical trials have begun using a psychedelic-assisted "group" therapy model, whereby individuals partake in combined or group therapy sessions. In a recent study investigating older long-term HIV/AIDS survivors, participants reported strong praise for the group therapy components of the intervention. The benefits of group therapy for stuttering are well known (e.g.,. Given the significant negative impact on communication, and that people who stutter often deal with shared and/or similar common experiences and difficulties, a group therapy model with psychedelic-assisted therapy may be particularly beneficial for this population.
People who stutter are in need of more effective treatments to manage intermittent disruptions in speech communication and also provide relief from distress that accompanies their social experiences, such as anxiety and depression. To date, there are no FDA approved pharmacotherapies approved to treat stuttering. Considering the promising results from our qualitative analysis which demonstrates that the vast majority of individuals reported positive experiences of psychedelics on their stuttering and psychological well being, we believe that a future clinical trial investigating the efficacy of psychedelics as a complement to traditional therapies in this population is warranted. a function of attentional focus. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology:. Epidemiology of Stuttering: 21st Century Advances. Journal of Fluency, 66-87.
Create a free account to open full-text PDFs.
Carhart-Harris, R. L., Roseman, L., Haijen, E. C. H. M. et al. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2018)
Davis, A. K., Barrett, F. S., Griffiths, R. R. · Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science (2020)
De La, M., Revenga, F., Zhu, B. et al. · Cell Reports (2021)
Doss, M. K., Považan, M., Rosenberg, M. D. et al. · Translational Psychiatry (2021)
Goldberg, S. B., Shechet, B., Nicholas, C. R. et al. · Psychological Medicine (2020)
Gukasyan, N., Nayak, S. · Preprints (2020)
Holze, F., Caluori, T. V., Vizeli, P. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2021)
Johnson, M. W., Richards, W. A., Griffiths, R. R. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2008)
Leger, R. F., Unterwald, E. M. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2021)
Ly, C., Greb, A. C., Cameron, L. P. et al. · Cell Reports (2018)
Malcolm, B., Thomas, K. · Psychopharmacology (2021)
Quednow, B. B., Kometer, M., Geyer, M. A. et al. · Neuropsychopharmacology (2011)
Schmidt, A., Müller, F., Lenz, C. et al. · Psychological Medicine (2017)
Shao, L-X,, Liao, C., Gregg, I. et al. · Neuron (2021)
Strassman, R. J. · Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease (1984)
Trope, A., Anderson, B. T., Hooker, A. R. et al. · Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (2019)
van Elk, M., Yaden, D. B. · Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews (2022)
Vollenweider, F. X., Csomor, P. A., Knappe, B. et al. · Neuropsychopharmacology (2007)
Wießner, I., Olivieri, R., Falchi, M. et al. · European Neuropsychopharmacology (2022)