Q&A: Psychedelics and soul care

In 2017, Jaime Clark-Soles participated in a Johns Hopkins University study on psychedelics and spirituality and underwent two sessions using psilocybin. The experience launched years of research leading to her forthcoming book, Psychedelics and Soul Care: What Christians Need to Know (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., January 7, 2027). Clark-Soles is professor of New Testament at Perkins School of Theology. Here are excerpts from a recent conversation about the book.

What misperceptions do you think Christians have about psychedelics?

I don't think most Christians have much awareness at all. I don’t think they understand that psychedelics are being used in carefully controlled clinical settings as well as in spiritual settings, where people seek an encounter with God, aided by psychedelics. I talk to everyone from bishops to laypeople and they’re typically surprised.

Most Christians also don’t know that psychedelics are offering real hope to people with intractable mental health issues. We don't have good, long-lasting cures for PTSD, anxiety or major depressive disorders. A horrendous number of veterans with PTSD are dying by suicide. Many people who turn to psychedelics have already tried everything. The established treatments didn’t work for them. Psychedelics are helping many people, and in some cases, saving lives.

Another misperception is that psychedelics are addictive. However, classic psychedelics – like mescaline, DMT and psilocybin -- actually have low toxicity and low potential for addiction.

What misperceptions do you see on the spiritual side?

Some view the use of psychedelics as an avenue to encountering God as somehow “cheating.” From the Bible until now, Christians have used various means, including fasting, music, dance, incense and ingesting communion elements. It’s also worth noting that when you dismiss psychedelics as “cheating,” you’re impugning entire religious traditions, like the Native American Church as well as various indigenous traditions that have used psychedelics as part of their sacred religious rites for millennia.

Another misperception is that psychedelics are always used hedonistically -- that people take them just to get high or to escape reality. In truth, some people have some very difficult experiences. A psychedelic journey can make you face something that you might otherwise avoid. 

A third concern is that divine encounters during a psychedelic journey are not “real.” 
As a young woman, I had a compelling conversion experience at a retreat that radically altered the trajectory of my vocational calling as a minister and Bible scholar. A retreat is a curated experience. We take people out of their ordinary lives and put them in nature. They sleep in a different place. They meet different people. There’s carefully chosen music. Retreats intentionally create a space where you might have a certain kind of encounter with God—one that goes beyond the merely rational. Would we say such encounters are not “real”? Probably not. We simply recognize what aids the human soul in its spiritual quest. 

You write for Christians, but also for chaplains, therapists and researchers who interact with them. What do you most want that second audience to understand about Christian soul care?

I would like to see more therapists trained in Christian cultural competence and better equipped to help patients navigate the spiritual aspects of psychedelic treatment.

It’s not uncommon for people undergoing psychedelic treatment for mental health conditions to have SERT (spiritual, existential, religious or theological) experiences. This has happened even to atheists. Patients didn't go into treatment trying to meet God, but they have this experience. And that spiritual experience is often not just an aside but actually helps them heal.

A patient’s spiritual background and religious affiliation should be part of the intake process any time someone enters treatment using psychedelics. People seeking mental health treatment are asked a lot of questions, about adverse childhood events, about their psychosocial background. Rarely is anyone assessing their spiritual life or asking about how their specific religious tradition might affect the experience. We need to assess if a person is ready spiritually for the experience, and to understand what kind of support they might need if they have a challenging experience. I’d like to see chaplains and trained professionals at the intake and the session itself. Most therapists aren’t trained in spirituality, so why not bring in a second person who is?

Right now, many therapists and clinicians are getting some kind of competence training in areas related to ethnicity, race, sexuality and gender. But most medical programs don't touch spirituality. We need to develop assessment tools to help practitioners place the client on the map spiritually. Just knowing a patient is “Christian,” for example, isn’t enough. Practitioners also need to understand the person’s religious experiences. Has the patient experienced religious trauma? Many people have. Depending on the person’s Christian faith, a practitioner’s assumptions could destabilize or trigger the patient. It's an issue of cultural competence -- better serving the patient at the individual level towards holistic care.

Is there a scriptural tradition around healing that you think gets overlooked in these conversations?

There are many examples in the Bible that suggest altered states of consciousness.  In my essay, “Psychedelics, the Bible and the Divine,” I consider the apostle Paul’s embodied mystical experiences, especially 2 Corinthians 12:1–10, as examples of biblical resources that can inform psychedelic mystical encounters that contemporary Christians might experience. 

Paul talks about his visions and revelations of the Lord. He declares he was “caught up to the third heaven – whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know.” He also writes about healing, which can differ from a medical cure. Paul talks about pleading three times with God to remove a “thorn in the flesh.” But God said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I find this particularly relevant for psychedelic treatments. Sometimes people do get an amazing cure. But sometimes what people get is not a medical cure but rather a different relationship to their condition – that’s healing.

What's the difference between genuine spiritual transformation and something that only looks like it?

I would measure any spiritual experience, whether it’s a psychedelic journey or a Bible study, by the fruit of the Spirit cited in Galatians 5:22-23. Does it actually make you a deeper follower of Jesus Christ? Is the experience bearing fruit towards building up the “double love of God and neighbor” that Augustine calls for? Is it helping you follow the greatest commandment: to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself?

If the church were more aware about psychedelics, what do you see as the key opportunities to serve? 

I would like to see the church working collaboratively with therapists, just as we’d work with a medical team, offering prayer and support for a patient undergoing surgery. How might we help support someone before, during and after their experience? For instance, someone might want their clergy person in the room while they undergo a psychedelic journey. I hope clergy might get the training needed to provide that support. Beyond the clinical context, I’d love for the church to be a resource for helping people both in the church and beyond to make meaning of their experiences. We have a long history of doing so. 

This is a rapidly unfolding situation. Some states have already legalized psychedelics to varying degrees and many others are considering psychedelic-related legislation. There are enormous opportunities to help people. It’s time for the church to join in this conversation toward the gospel goal of healing and wholeness for this world that God so loves.