Invoking the Soul of Psychology: Theurgy as Framework for Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy

Abstract

Mainstream psychology has tended to steer clear of religion and mystical experiences.
Depth psychology, however, and particularly the work of Carl Jung and James Hillman,
has not shied away from these elusive, difficult-to-define topics. With an explosion of
interest in the non-ordinary states of consciousness involved in the use of psychedelic
drugs in psychotherapy, where it has been found that these experiences profoundly alter
the metaphysics of the user, the work of these two figures becomes highly useful material
for helping to make sense of what are arguably mystical states. Toward this end, this
study challenges and deepens Jung’s and Hillman’s ideas by highlighting a particular
strain of Neoplatonic ritual philosophy called theurgy found in their work. By revisiting
their theories with a deeper understanding of the Platonic metaphysics that runs
throughout their work, psychology is provided with a rich vein that might be mined in the
formulation of a possible optional and additional framework for making sense of altered
states of consciousness in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP). This study employs
the alchemical hermeneutic research method. Results of this dissertation include
directions for possible future research, as well as an exploration of possible benefits of
the mystical experience occasioned by these drugs, such as healing of the individual and
collective psyches, increasing creativity, gaining philosophical insights—specifically
around the mind–body problem—developing greater understanding of the field of depth
psychology, and deepening one’s experience of one’s faith.