Emotional Discovery and Psychedelics: Validation of the Emotional Discovery Inventory
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Abstract
Bottom:
Psychedelic therapy is gaining recognition, and it has been discovered that the very nature of the psychedelic experience mediates subsequent long-term psychological changes. Much emphasis has been placed on the occurrence of mystical-type experiences in determining long-term responses to psychedelics, but here we demonstrate the importance of another component, namely: emotional advancement.
Methods:
Three hundred and seventy-nine participants completed online surveys before and after a planned psychedelic experience. The items related to emotional advancement were completed one day after the psychedelic experience, as were the items that make up the already validated Mystical Experience Questionnaire and the Challenging Experience Questionnaire. Emotional outcomes, the Mystic Experience Questionnaire, and the Challenging Experience Questionnaire were used to predict changes in well-being (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale) in a subsample of 75 participants with low baseline well-being scores (≥45).
Results:
Factor analysis revealed six items of emotional disruption with high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.932) and supported our earlier hypothesis that emotional disruption is a distinct component of the psychedelic experience. Emotional advancement scores behaved in a dose-dependent manner and were higher if the psychedelic was taken with planning and therapeutic intent. The combined scores for emotional breakthrough, mystical experience questionnaire, and challenging experience questionnaire significantly predicted subsequent changes in well-being. r = 0.45 p = 0.0005 n = 75), with each scale contributing a significant predictive value. Scores on the Emotional Discovery and Mystical Experience Questionnaire predicted increases in well-being, while scores on the Challenging Experience Questionnaire predicted fewer increases.
Conclusions:
Here we validated a six-item 'Emotional Disclosure Inventory'. Emotional advancement is an important and distinct component of the acute psychedelic experience that appears to be a key mediator of subsequent long-term psychological changes. Implications for psychedelic therapy are discussed.
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