Tamara D. Allen
Tamara D. Allen's article "Research in archetypal art therapy with psilocybin" appeared in MAPS V.5 no.1, Summer 1994
Abstract
Research in Archetypal Art Therapy (AAT) With Psilocybin is part of a pilot research project conducted by Dr. Rick J. Strassman at the University of New Mexico Clinical Research Center entitled, "Human Psychopharmacology and Neuroendocrinology of Psilocybin." The study, now in its second year, is close to completion. Following is a case presentation of the art works and metaphor writings of Volunteer #31, who reflects upon the four dosages of psilocybin administered to him in the study.
I will provide short commentaries of his work throughout the sessions and will conclude with my findings. This paper is intended to give a brief overview of the experience of the volunteer, and is not an in-depth archetypal case discussion.
Introduction
Image is the central focus in AAT and psychedelics are image-producing and image-altering drugs. The early works of Betty Eisner (1964), Di Leo, Grof, and Kellogg (1977), and Oscar Janiger (1989), are some of the first attempts to document image work produced in altered states with psychedelic drugs. AAT proposes that the archetype is phenomenal (Hillman, 1983) and is communicated through the language of metaphor. Archetypal Art Therapy With Psilocybin is a research project created to: document and test AAT methods; hear metaphorically what images produced in a psychedelic state have to say; and determine how this informs volunteers and researchers in the study.
As the study concludes, all 10 volunteers enrolled in the AAT part of the study were able to complete all assessments, all performed well using the metaphor writing technique, and out of 17 psychedelic sessions only one volunteer was "too altered by the drug" to create art, but was able to complete the session on a subsequent day. The volunteers' response to the art has been positive and many have stated it was enjoyable. Often they asked for photographs of their work, demonstrating that their creative efforts are of value to them. Assistance and redirection have been minimal and all volunteers have been self-motivated and cooperative throughout the sessions. All volunteers have utilized three or more of the various art materials provided, indicating a need for a variety of materials to represent their imagery.
Therapeutic Intent
Although "therapy" is not being conducted in this pilot study, a therapeutic dynamic is in place for those participating in the study. Psilocybin can produce unusual visual images for volunteers. Art making affords the volunteer a way to contain and organize this information. Writing metaphorically about the art confirms the volunteer's ability to carry out usual tasks, encourages them to find relationships in their art, and focuses them on only the information contained by the art. The art provides a place to release what was experienced during the session and can potentially capture what was euphoric or what was terrifying. When this is released into the art, the volunteer no longer has to carry or hold this information. The art also affords a tangible view of what was experienced to both the research team and the volunteer, and confirms the reality of the volunteer's experience. New perspectives can be engaged through the art process and are evidenced in the metaphor statements of volunteers. Hence, if the experience was euphoric or terrifying, the art and metaphor can present new information and deepen the understanding of euphoria or terror.
History
Volunteer #31 is a 38 year old Caucasian male who is married and is employed as an engineer. He reports 16 years of education and 21 years of art experience. He had experience with hallucinogens prior to the study. He completed both assessments - the Ulman Personality Assessment Procedure (UPAP)(Ulman, 1975), and the pre-Multi Medium Art Studio Situation (pMMASS) - and four Multi Medium Art Studio Situation (MMASS) sessions where various dosages of psilocybin were administered four to five hours prior to the session. He has reported no ill effects from his participation in the study and has sampled all doses of psilocybin. He received no placebo.
Art Process
The volunteer demonstrated good performance on the UPAP which is a drawing assessment tool to determine four factors: 1. psychological environment; 2. kinesthetics and ability to follow directives; 3. ability to play with unconscious material; and 4. choice and decision making.
Figure 1 illustrates factor #1, psychological environment. The volunteer referred to the central part of the image stating "the blue is like what DMT was... I've seen this on every trip."
Figure 1
UPAP Drawing 1, 18"x24"
The volunteer was involved in a prior research study where the drug DMT was administered. The shape, color, and form represented in this image are seen in other volunteers' work and 6 of 10 volunteers have referred to DMT spontaneously in their assessment sessions. On the consent form for the study, volunteers were asked to provide the code numbers which had been assigned to them for a previous DMT study. It is my belief that the research environment and the reminder of the code number contributed to the references to DMT. Possibly, volunteers felt some need to further process this experience.
The volunteer performed well when learning the Metaphor Technique which asks for a written statement describing only what is confirmed in an art image, using metaphors or analogies. The volunteer was then shown the art trunk which holds 14 different art mediums and completed the pMMASS assessment to create an art image and write metaphorically about this. Figure 2 shows his pMMASS image and metaphor statement.
Figure 2
"the embracing sun warms the green earth as the three dancing flowers
play on a perfect day"
pMMASS image watercolor, 8"x11"
With the pMMASS session completed, the volunteer then participated in the MMASS sessions where psilocybin was administered. Four to five hours after administration the volunteer was asked to create an image from his experience and write metaphorically about the image. This volunteer and others reported that the pMMASS session helped to establish rapport and trust with me and the art materials and was a good introduction to the MMASS sessions.
MMASS Session 1
The volunteer received a 0.056 mg/kg, low dose of psilocybin and created four images with various materials. Figures 3 through 6 illustrate these four images with his metaphor statements.
Figure 3
"the Ear of the heart encompasses the earth"
watercolor, 11"x14"
Figure 4
"the crystalline Diaspora of a muted rainbow"
watercolor with salt, 11"x14"
Figure 5
"the all-encompassing reflective blue eye sees-C-c-c see. Energy
dangles swirls out & radiates"
cut reflective and construction papers and pipe cleaners,
11"x14"
Figure 6
"the mother volcano erupts energy & the children gather around &
watch reverently"
cut and folded construction paper, 12"x15"x12"
Although this was a low dose, the volunteer demonstrated less inhibition with materials and an increase in art production. This was the group trend with the dose sessions.
MMASS Session 2
The volunteer received a 0.45 mg/kg, medium dose of psilocybin and completed one image and metaphor statement shown in Figure 4.
Figure 7
"Toltec electric cat layers of electricity Who needs a body?
with a cat like that!"
felt, cardboard, and glue, 9"x14"
The volunteer was somewhat unfocused, but was able to create an image of a cat he experienced early in the session. He commented "the cat spirit just came over me." He called the image a "mask" and demonstrated that it could be held at the tail to cover his face.
MMASS Session 3
The volunteer described the previous sessions as "pedestrian" in nature. In Session 3, he received a 0.7 mg/kg, high dose of psilocybin and completed 4 images and metaphor statements shown in Figure 5.
Figure 8
"2-6-95 the Buddha comes in primary colors heads attenuated to the
divine"
acrylic on plastic plate, 6"x6"
Figure 9
"the return of the cat. "Cool cat" its name (I asked).
Ephemeral magick playing between the interstices of Euclidean
logic"
acrylic finger-painting on shiny paper, 6"x12"
Figure 10
"Land in your Hand"
Where the artist ends & the art begins? green earth colors blue water
spirals the fiery yellows & reds burn & swirl in a sky where wispy clouds
blow their air"
acrylic finger-painting on plastic plate, 6"x6"
Figure 11
"the grinning, gold-tooth capped demons of fear guarding the gates
of transformation into the eagle of freedom"
terra-cotta and plasticine clay. 4"x5"
In this session the volunteer appeared very altered by the drug and laughed frequently. The themes introduced included spirituality, the cat, and transformative ideas regarding the earth, fear, and freedom. I will point out that the volunteer sculpted an eagle between the eyes of Image 4 and that this is difficult to see in the illustration.
MMASS Session 4
The volunteer received a 1.1 mg/kg dose of psilocybin, the largest experimental dose of the study. He completed 3 images and metaphor statements shown in Figure 6.
Figure 12
"the elves of hyperspace: the owl of the full moon hides the little
elves, whose changing form is hard to perceive directly."
acrylic on shiny paper, 17"x9"
Figure 13
"Ganeeesh- the eye of the elephant is woven across hyperspace. The
trunk becomes a swan. The eye of Osiris is invoked."
cut shiny paper, acrylic and pipe cleaners, 20"x11"
Figure 14
"the mask of dread - dark, scary, stuff but...(there's always a
but!) the dove of freedom awaits reemergence"
cut white paper and acrylic, 12"x16"
The volunteer seemed much more focused than in previous sessions and spontaneously recalled several of his previous art works. He appeared quite altered by the drug but was able to describe his experience at length and confronted the "dark" parts of the experience in his art and metaphor work and again finds freedom with the reemergence of the dove.
Final Remarks
Volunteer #31, with his eloquent metaphors and intriguing imagery, has composed for himself and the research team a glimpse into the personal essence of his psilocybin experience. His art process is interesting; he begins in the pre-psilocybin assessment working from an earthly grounded place and expands to a hyperspace where personal and collective entities are encountered, masked, transformed, and allowed to reemerge. His responses to the various doses administered show little exploration and some inhibition with materials in the assessment, enhanced creativity and increased exploration of materials with the low and medium doses, and a stretch towards abstraction and increased exploration of materials with the higher doses.
Strassman's study has been a fascinating project to work on, and my thanks go out to him, the volunteers, my supervisors, and to MAPS which gave a $600.00 grant to fund this study. Two papers are currently in preparation to include the topics of dose/response statistics and archetypal themes found in the image work of volunteers.
References
Di Leo, Francesco, Grof, Stanislav, and Kellogg, Joan (1977). The use of a mind revealing drug (DPT), music, and mandalas in psychotherapy: A case presentation. Virginia Beach: Published in the Proceedings of the 8th Annual Conference of the American Art Therapy Association, 78-86.
Eisner, Betty (1964). Notes on the use of drugs to facilitate group psychotherapy. The Psychiatric Quarterly, 38, 310-328.
Hillman, James (1983). Archetypal psychology. Dallas: Spring.
Janiger, Oscar and Dobkin De Rios, Marlene (1989). LSD and creativity. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 21, 129-134.
Ulman, Elenor (1975). A new use of art in psychiatric diagnosis. In E. Ulman and P. Dachinger (Eds.), Art therapy in theory and practice. New York: Schocken Books, 361-386.
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