• Stocker Kurt Richard

• Stocker Kurt Richard

This block course provides a compact introduction to psychedelic psychology, an emerging field of psychological science that examines the effects and therapeutic applications of classic psychedelics such as LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, and DMT, as well as related substances such as MDMA. The course places particular emphasis on the psychological and psychotherapeutic aspects of these substances and experiences.

Core topics include the effects of psychedelics on central psychological domains (perception, cognition, emotion, mood, volition), the phenomenological and psychometric assessment of psychedelic experiences, and current approaches to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. The course also addresses questions concerning therapeutic mechanisms, clinically relevant experiential processes, and the integration of psychedelic experiences into psychotherapeutic practice.

Additional perspectives from biological psychology and psychopharmacology are introduced, as well as comparisons to other nonordinary states of consciousness (e.g., meditation). The course further discusses methodological challenges, current debates, safety-related issues, and limitations of the existing evidence base in psychedelic science and psychology.

Overall, the course offers students a structured overview of psychedelic psychology as a rapidly developing and increasingly clinically relevant field within contemporary psychological science. The course is not intended to encourage the illegal use of psychedelic substances.

Students who successfully complete this course will:

• gain a compact overview of psychedelic psychology as an emerging field within psychological science,
• gain insight into central psychological, psychotherapeutic, phenomenological, neurobiological, and pharmacological aspects of psychedelic experiences,
• understand how psychometric instruments are used to assess and differentiate psychedelic experiences in research and clinical contexts,
• be familiar with current approaches to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and related therapeutic models,
• be able to situate psychedelic experiences within the broader context of nonordinary states of consciousness and reflect on how such experiences may influence worldview
• engage critically with current debates, methodological challenges, and safety-related questions in psychedelic research and clinical application.

Liechti, M. E., Gasser, P., Aicher, H. D., Mueller, F., Hawrot, T., & Schmid, Y. (2025). Implementing psychedelic-assisted therapy: History and characteristics of the Swiss limited medical use program. Neuroscience Applied, 4, 105525. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nsa.2025.105525

Nichols, D. E. (2016). Psychedelics. Pharmacological Reviews, 68(2), 264–355. https://doi.org/10.1124/pr.115.011478

Stocker, K., Hartmann, M., Ley, L., Becker, A. M., Holze, F., & Liechti, M. E. (2024). The revival of the psychedelic experience scale: Revealing its extended-mystical, visual, and distressing experiential spectrum with LSD and psilocybin studies. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 38(1), 80–100. https://doi.org/10.1177/02698811231199112

Additional readings and lecture materials will be provided during the course.

MC Exam + written work. 

MC Exam + written work. 

MC Exam + written work. 

MC Exam + written work.