From Isolation to Social (and Psychedelic) Integration: A Sociology of Collective Effervescence and Therapeutic Community in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy

There is a disparity between contemporary scientific investigations into psychedelic phenomena and their 20^th-century counterparts, notably the lack of examination of psychedelic experiences within group settings. Whereas early research studies from the 1950s to the 1970s explored communal settings in psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT), today's resurgence of scholarship in the field primarily considers individualised, often clinical, settings. Consequently, there is an absence of empirical research and theoretical innovation on collective psychedelic contexts, for example, how social connectedness occurs relationally and what its impacts are. This paper addresses this gap by revisiting and applying Emile Durkheim's theory of "collective effervescence." By analysing interview data from participants of a group-based weeklong PAT retreat and supplementing it with ethnographic data, this study highlights the usefulness of incorporating sociological theory to examine and explain the social dynamics and therapeutic outcomes of collective psychedelic experiences. In doing so, this research study contributes to bridging the divide between psychedelic science, psychedelic studies and the social sciences by offering sociological insight into the transformative yet hitherto neglected potential of group-based psychedelic events for therapeutic benefits.