Psychedelic Analogs: Medicalization vs Holistic Integration

Ayahuasca Vine, the spirit of which is often called Mother Aya

Editorial Note: This post continues the conversation started in a previous blog entry comparing ketamine infusions to ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP). As new compounds like non-hallucinogenic LSD analogues gain traction, we explore the deeper question: what do we lose when the psychedelic journey is stripped of the journey itself? This article reflects on that tension and invites readers to consider the value of integrative, experience-centered healing models.

The recent development of a non-hallucinogenic LSD analogue, known as JRT, by researchers at the University of California, Davis, marks a significant shift in the application of psychedelics within psychiatric medicine. This compound retains LSD's capacity to enhance neuroplasticity without inducing the characteristic psychedelic experience.

While this advancement offers promising therapeutic avenues, it also raises concerns about the potential sidelining of the profound experiential aspects traditionally associated with psychedelic therapy.

This evolution in psychedelic science reflects a broader trend: the push to align psychedelic substances with the established medical model. And while this has its practical benefits, it also prompts reflection on what may be lost when we reduce these powerful agents of transformation to mere chemical interventions.

🧪 Medicalization of Psychedelics: The Rise of Non-Hallucinogenic Compounds

The creation of JRT exemplifies the pharmaceutical industry's inclination to isolate the neurobiological benefits of psychedelics while eliminating their psychoactive effects. This fits squarely into the growing field of psychoplastogens—compounds that enhance neural plasticity without altering consciousness (Cameron et al., 2024).

While attractive from a systems-design perspective, this approach risks reducing psychedelics to symptom-focused interventions, bypassing the spiritual, emotional, and symbolic dimensions that have made them so effective in healing trauma and existential despair.

Critics argue this trend reflects a reductionist approach reminiscent of the early SSRI era: manage the symptoms, but leave the person untouched at their core (Yaden et al., 2021).

In privileging convenience and predictability over depth and transformation, the medical model may be missing the forest for the trees (Langlitz, 2013).

🌱 The Holistic Approach: Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy (PAP/KAP)

In contrast to the medical model, psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) embrace the full spectrum of the psychedelic experience. These approaches treat the altered state not as a liability but as a central mechanism of change—opening doors to repressed memories, emotional catharsis, spiritual reconnection, and profound insight.

KAP combines carefully calibrated ketamine dosing with psychotherapeutic support—turning a dissociative anesthetic into a powerful portal for transformation (Dore et al., 2019).

A growing body of evidence demonstrates that KAP yields longer-lasting and more integrated results than ketamine infusions alone—particularly for treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, and anxiety (Wilkinson et al., 2022).

🧘‍♀️ Set and Setting: The Core of Safe, Effective Healing

The therapeutic potential of psychedelics lies not only in their pharmacology but in the conditions under which they are used. The concepts of set (mindset) and setting (environment) are vital to the success of psychedelic therapy (Hartogsohn, 2016).

Key elements of effective set and setting include:

✅ Preparation sessions – to build trust, clarify intentions, and develop psychological flexibility

✅ Therapeutic space – warm, grounded, and sensory-friendly with symbolic objects and music

✅ Curated playlists – to help shape emotional and psychological flow

✅ Integration sessions – to help metabolize, contextualize, and apply the experience

Without these components, the risk of emotional overwhelm or missed insight increases—especially in sterile, medicalized environments (Carhart-Harris et al., 2018).

🏥 Infusion Clinics vs. Therapeutic Models: A Side-by-Side Look

In many ketamine infusion clinics, patients receive IV treatments in a clinical setting with minimal emotional support or integration guidance. These environments focus on pharmacological efficiency—often at the cost of depth and meaning (Mathai et al., 2020).

KAP, by contrast, recognizes that the journey itself is the medicine.

Therapists serve not only as monitors but as witnesses, co-regulators, and guides. Clients are invited to explore their inner landscapes with curiosity and compassion (Gorman et al., 2021).

The contrast is stark: One model favors symptom relief. The other aims for transformation.

🌍 Cultural and Ethical Considerations: What Are We Losing?

The trend toward non-hallucinogenic psychedelics mirrors a broader history in Western medicine: isolate the “active ingredient” and discard the ceremonial, communal, or spiritual context.

Willow bark becomes aspirin. Poppy sap becomes morphine. Ayahuasca becomes DMT. And now, LSD becomes JRT.

What gets lost is not just cultural heritage—but a holistic vision of healing rooted in wholeness, relationship, and sacred experience (Tupper, 2009).

As venture capital pours into the psychedelic space, the risk of commodification increases. Will these substances become just another treatment line item—or will they remain catalysts for true inner change?

🔮 Conclusion: Honoring the Full Journey

The development of compounds like JRT may offer value for some—but they should not become the default. If we hope to preserve the transformative power of psychedelics, we must also protect the ritual, insight, and relational support that make them healing.

PAP and KAP offer a more integrated path—one that honors the emotional, spiritual, and psychological dimensions of transformation. By protecting the fullness of the journey, we safeguard not only individual healing but the integrity of this field as a whole.

📚 References

(Use the Wix blog's collapsible text or lightbox tool for reference formatting if needed)

• Cameron, L. P., et al. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(19), e2416106122.

• Carhart-Harris, R. L., et al. (2018). Journal of Psychopharmacology, 32(7), 725–731.

• Dore, J., et al. (2019). Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 51(2), 189–198.

• Gorman, I., et al. (2021). Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 710059.

• Hartogsohn, I. (2016). Journal of Psychopharmacology, 30(12), 1259–1267.

• Langlitz, N. (2013). Neuropsychedelia. University of California Press.

• Mathai, D. S., et al. (2020). CNS Drugs, 34(9), 889–899.

• Tupper, K. W. (2009). Critical Public Health, 19(3-4), 297–314.

• Wilkinson, S. T., et al. (2022). Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 45(1), 59–72.

• Yaden, D. B., et al. (2021). JAMA Psychiatry, 78(5), 465–466.