Ansgar Rougemont-Bücking, PD Dr. med., is a psychiatrist, EMDR practitioner, addiction specialist and researcher in the field of stress-related psychiatric disorders. Benefiting from an authorization from the Federal Office of Health, he practices therapy assisted by psychedelic substances for the treatment of some patients.
This talk will provide an overview of specific neurobiological alterations and attachment patterns that contribute to the chronic course of trauma-related disorders. Particular emphasis will be placed on the phenomenon of traumatic dissociation, which is found both in people suffering from a post-traumatic disorder and/or an addiction. The psychedelic experience appears as a tool for developing "co-consciousness", which is an important first step in achieving the realization of "what is". The neurobiological mechanisms underlying this realization, namely the recontextualization and defusing of phobic avoidance of traumatic memory, are made explicit. Once this awareness is realized, the individual experience can be integrated into a holistic view, which is necessary to overcome the trauma. However, integration is an ongoing dynamic process that takes place in both individual and collective consciousness. Therefore, efforts to improve the prevention and treatment of trauma-related disorders can only be undertaken within the framework of an interaction between individual experience and societal experience. The psychedelic movement in research and in medicine must pay particular attention to these reciprocal interactions. This is particularly important when considering whether the psychedelic experience will be part of a transformative process rather as an object or as an agent.