Queerness and psychedelics have all the time been intertwined in complicated methods. From their historic exploitation in analysis to develop coercive so-called “conversion therapies”, to their naturalistic function in facilitating non secular, artistic and group experiences (together with inspiring the Pleasure flag itself), these substances have carried each hurt and hope for LGBTQIA+ communities.
Regardless of this, educational analysis into queer psychedelic experiences stays sparse, usually targeted on danger and pathology relatively than id, therapeutic or liberation. Additional, the illustration (or lack thereof) of queer individuals in trials of psychedelic-assisted therapies is unsure, resulting from lack of standardised recording of this demographic.
Bartlett and colleagues (2024) got down to discover what the “significant, non-pathologising” inclusion of queer voices may appear to be, in psychedelics analysis. Their overview requested:
- How have queer experiences of psychedelics been represented within the literature?
- Who’s being studied, what motivates queer psychedelics use, and what outcomes are described?
This overview aimed to focus on gaps and level the best way ahead for psychedelics analysis, which higher consists of and represents queer communities.
Strategies
The authors searched seven main databases, utilizing a variety of psychedelic- and queer-related phrases. There have been no restrictions on publication date. They screened greater than 74,000 information, which included qualitative research, case studies, commentary items and a few scientific trials.
The authors determine a purposive choice method:
A part of the method taken on this scoping overview was to take care of a wholesome skepticism of the heteronormative method to analysis, together with questioning the dominant analysis ideological framework and methodology, each traditionally and in fashionable analysis.
To be included, research needed to discover psychedelic use in ways in which centred queer views, identities and group, and averted additional stigmatisation. Publications that talked about queer folks solely in passing, or framed psychedelic use solely in unfavourable phrases, had been excluded – to yield a complete of 18 research spanning from the late Sixties to 2022, protecting substances equivalent to MDMA, LSD, psilocybin and ayahuasca.
Questioning typical analysis narratives – the examine included 18 papers spanning the late Sixties to 2022, chronicling queer experiences of psychedelic use.
Outcomes
Wanting on the definition of ‘psychedelics’ throughout the 18 included research, one examine coated ‘psychedelics’ as a category of drugs, whereas others particularly referred to MDMA (7), and fewer generally LSD (4), psilocybin (3) and ayahuasca (2). In-keeping with the Nixonian social insurance policies that influenced each its use and its later management as a scheduled drug: all however one LSD-focused articles had been written on queer experiences within the Sixties – two discussing psychedelic conversion remedy. The rest of the extracted publications had been written inside the final 20 years, shifting to a non-LSD psychedelic focus.
By way of the inhabitants cohort, the authors comment:
A defining power of the queer group is the varied, ever evolving, and ever-expanding prospects of self-identity with which one can align and specific. Sadly, this heterogeneity and richness shouldn’t be mirrored within the queer psychedelic literature
Many of the literature reviewed, recognized a give attention to the psychedelic use of homosexual and cisgender males, usually white and English-speaking. Queer ladies, trans and non-binary folks remained largely absent in analysis, however a small variety of research supplied some wealthy insights, as id categorisation was usually much less inflexible than ‘homosexual’, ‘bisexual’ and so on, however extra flexibly ‘Queer’ or ‘non-Queer’ (Bryant, 2016; Jadali 2022), relatively than breakdowns by gender id and sexuality.
Intersectional particular person and collective identities (equivalent to race, class, and incapacity), experiences and practices (equivalent to these linked to faith or spirituality) had been hardly ever explored – however Jadali’s 2022 examine on how non-binary Islamic youth concceptualised and associated to God by means of psychedelic use, was recommended on this regard. General, given geographical and group unfold, with some research figuring out non-western divergent gender and sexual identities as properly (Stauffer et al; 2022 (Tumtum); Bryant, 2016 (Two-spirit)), demographic reporting requirements had been variable.
The literature identifies that motivations for psychedelic use and analysis have shifted over time. Whereas naturalistic use of psychedelics has been part of queer id integration, in Indigenous communities (Stephen, 2002) all through historical past, within the mid-Twentieth century, psychedelics had been typically proposed to be used in makes an attempt to suppress queer id, with LSD and mescaline administered in so-called “psychic shock” conversion therapies (Dubus, 2020).
Then again, more moderen accounts are starting to re-frame each naturalistic and therapeutic psychedelic use. Settings ranged from scientific trials and ceremonial rituals to raves and personal gatherings. The context usually formed the result: for some, a supportive group house fostered therapeutic, whereas for others, solitary use in nature prompted profound non secular insights. That is in line with the generally cited ‘set and setting’ paradigm of psychedelics analysis.
The one included experimental scientific trial (Anderson et al., 2020) on psilocybin-assisted remedy for long-term HIV survivors, reported decreased demoralisation, PTSD signs and complex grief. Each psilocybin (Agin-Liebes et al., 2021, in a scientific trial) and MDMA (Ching, 2020, as autoethnography) had been recognized to supply queer individuals a path to self-acceptance, id exploration, group connection and non secular progress.
In some research, individuals described psychedelics as serving to them course of minority stress, confront internalised stigma, and construct resilience. Importantly, each classical and non-classical psychedelics equivalent to Ayahuasca (Cavnar, 2011; Cavnar, 2014), and MDMA in even bigger research (Coveney, 2005; McElrath, 2005) had been particularly recognized in qualitative research as enhancers of sexual expertise, and a manner for folks to discover their non-heterosexuality and normalise their journey of ‘popping out’ as queer, suggesting potential to analysis a bidirectional relationship between using psychedelics and queerness.
Love, Intercourse and Goals: though most research captured the experiences of homosexual cisgendered males, the wide selection of examine designs captured the ‘turning into’ of queer individuals into their identities, the exploration and acceptance of their gender and sexuality, and in addition how they associated to their goals and spirituality.
Conclusions
Bartlett and colleagues present that queer voices in psychedelic analysis are nonetheless uncommon – and that when current, they’re too usually filtered by means of a slim lens.
The research that do centre queer views recommend these substances can play a robust function in self-discovery, therapeutic and connection. That is broadly inkeeping with views on the aim of naturalistic psychedelic use, however might have explicit group significance within the “set and setting” of queer communities and lived expertise.
To additional realise the potential of psychedelic use in experimental analysis and therapeutics – researchers want to return to the drafting board, and draw on the wealthy expertise of queer tradition and historical past, in co-producing research immediately with queer communities, utilizing inclusive and intersectional strategies, and reporting demographic information transparently and robustly.
Queer tradition presents very important classes for extra inclusive psychedelic analysis and remedy.
Strengths and limitations
A serious power of this overview is its broad search technique and clear, affirming inclusion standards, which keep away from perpetuating stigma. The authors additionally deliver lived expertise to their evaluation, permitting for vital reflection on doable heteronormative bias within the area.
Critically, one newer literature overview, by Haft et al. in 2025, has tried to cowl “participant variety in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy trials” extra broadly, Bartlett’s examine is extra distinctive and impactful in growing an inclusive search technique – proactively uplifting under-represented queer voices and their experiences of psychedelics, with robust experiential accounts in educational autoethnographies and case research, positioned alongside findings of bigger structured qualitative analysis or experimental trials. This permits for a extra sturdy exploration of naturalistic psychedelic use and queer experiences, which ought to present new avenues for researchers looking for to assist queer communities, led by the group’s personal priorities.
One doable limitation is that the analysis query itself might have been biased by selecting to focus completely on optimistic experiences of psychedelics, as this may occasionally overlook the opportunity of there being particular unfavourable results that queer folks expertise in isolation, or disproportionately.
For instance, post-psychedelic integration and the significance of safeguarding for weak teams are a spotlight of discourse in psychedelic analysis areas. The overview might have been enriched by additionally contemplating these elements, though the authors do explicitly state their goal was to forgo together with literature that additional perpetuates unfavourable stereotypes or stigmatization of psychedelic use and queer people. The pool of included research was additionally small, making it tough to generalise findings.
This examine paved new floor by amplifying self-led first- and second-person case research and autoethnographies on queer individuals’ naturalistic use of psychedelics, alongside formalistic analysis and experimental trials on their therapeutic use with queer individuals.
Implications for follow
For clinicians, the message is that psychedelic experiences may be deeply significant for queer folks, however this have to be recognised and revered in therapeutic settings. For researchers, there’s an pressing must broaden the vary of identities represented and to take intersectionality severely. Funders and policy-makers ought to assist work that strikes past danger and prognosis to discover id, group and pleasure.
This overview suggests there’s extra to be achieved to deal with queer individuals who use medication as energetic companions in psychedelics analysis. For follow and future research, step one is to maneuver away from an “outsider wanting in” mannequin. That will imply shifting from recruitment that depends on comfort samples and broad promoting in direction of in-reach methods that embed researchers within the areas the place queer communities already collect – and might also imply growing representativeness in groups who develop and lead analysis, past individuals. Methods to facilitate this, embrace collaborating in analysis growth with trusted group organisations, queer-led hurt discount companies, and peer networks, and guaranteeing they’re resourced to co-develop recruitment supplies and protocols.
Addressing the absence of queer ladies, trans, non-binary, and marginalised intersecting individuals requires intentional oversampling and focused outreach. This might contain forming advisory teams made up of underrepresented sub-communities earlier than the examine begins, after which tailoring recruitment to their wants and areas. For instance, work with QTIPOC (Queer, Trans, Intersex Individuals of Color) networks, disabled queer collectives, and faith-based LGBTQIA+ teams can attain people whose voices are normally lacking from analysis. Researchers also needs to funds for sensible helps equivalent to journey vouchers, childcare, and translation companies, which may make participation possible for folks dealing with financial or accessibility limitations. You will need to notice additionally that the NIHR now requires well being fairness to be a consideration actively made when submitting funding purposes.
There are examples outdoors psychedelics value emulating. The Trans PULSE Canada survey used a nationwide community of community-based organisations to succeed in over 2,800 trans, non-binary individuals, many from racially minoritised backgrounds. In HIV and sexual well being, the Optimistic Voices examine in England has demonstrated how partnership with grassroots organisations can ship massive, various samples that mirror group realities. Comparable collaborative frameworks may underpin future psychedelic analysis, guaranteeing that these most marginalised are central to the examine design.
Finally, follow on this space ought to undertake a “nothing about us with out us” stance: queer communities have to be actively concerned in deciding the analysis questions regarding their group, shaping strategies, deciphering findings, and sharing outcomes again in accessible codecs. This isn’t nearly illustration, however about producing proof that’s credible, related, and genuinely helpful to these it goals to serve.
The door to exploration could also be open – however queer communities can’t be doorstops for exterior psychedelics researchers, to resolve intra-community analysis designs and priorities.
Assertion of pursuits
Stephen has additionally accomplished a briefing for the UK Parliament focussed on psychedelic-assisted remedy for psychological well being situations. Stephen additionally researches substance use in homosexual and bisexual males, particularly focussing on chemsex.
Shubhangi has labored as a public science communicator in Eire, giving talks on the historic and political panorama and pressures on the scheduling of psychedelics, and the exclusion of marginalised teams in psychedelics analysis.
Reflexivity: Stephen identifies as a cisgender pansexual man, with lived expertise of the subject being researched. Shubhangi identifies as QTIPOC, with lived expertise of the subject being researched.
References
Main paper
Bartlett A, Christ C, Martins B, Saxberg Ok, Ching THW. The library is open: a scoping overview on queer illustration in psychedelic analysis. Entrance Public Well being. 2024;12:1472559. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2024.1472559
Different references
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studies of mindfulness, posttraumatic progress, and social connectedness in psilocybin-assisted group remedy: an interpretive phenomenological evaluation. J Humanist Psychol. (2021) 64:564–91. doi:
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Anderson, BT, Danforth, A, Daroff, PR, Stauffer, C, Ekman, E, Agin-Liebes, G, et al. Psilocybin-assisted group remedy for demoralized older long-term AIDS survivor males: an open-label security and feasibility pilot examine. **EClinicalMedicine. (2020) 27:100538. doi:
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Bryant, WL. Minority pathways: LGBQ transformations into wholeness. Lethbridge,
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