Psilocybin and the Meaning Response

Exploring the Healing Process in a Retreat Setting in Jamaica

Bibliographic Data

ID7192004
AuthorsMaría De Ángeles Equihua Orozco (0000-0001-8990-891X, University of Central Florida, corresponding author), Shana Harris (0000-0002-1532-5057, University of Central Florida)
Year2022
Volume34
Issue1
Pages130-160
Publication date2022-08-14
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnthropology of Consciousness (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1053-4202 • E-ISSN: 1556-3537
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/anoc.12162
OpenAlexW4291378437
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited56

In the past decade, the consumption of psilocybin mushrooms has become a popular therapeutic tool for people looking to deal with mental and emotional health issues. The emerging interest in psilocybin therapy in the global north has led to the development of retreat centers in locations where psilocybin is legal or unregulated. Drawing on ethnographic research at a psilocybin retreat center in Jamaica, this article examines the emotional and somatic reactions attributed to psilocybin that influence the social interactions and the mental and emotional state of the guests at this retreat center. We argue that guests go through a symbolic healing process that involves the construction of a meaning response based on internal and collective experiences of altered consciousness via psilocybin. Additionally, we emphasize how both attending the retreat and the psychedelic experience there can be considered a liminal state that leads to different modes of relation while in Jamaica

Aesthetics · Art · Consciousness · Ethnography · Hallucinogen · Liminality · Meaning (existential · Mental health · Psilocybin · Psychiatry · Psychoanalysis · Psychotherapist · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Anthropology · Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research · Neuroscience · Psychedelics and Drug Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology

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