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A Mindfulness Expert Talks Psychedelics: Dr. Ron Siegel
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Dr. Ron Siegel is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School, where he has taught for over 40 years. As a clinical psychologist in private practice, he has worked with low-income children and families, treated adults with chronic pain and stress disorders, and provided mindfulness-oriented psychotherapy. Dr. Siegel has written and edited several books, including Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, The Mindfulness Solution, Sitting Together, and Wisdom and Compassion in Psychotherapy.
In this episode…Psychedelics offer the potential to address the brain’s evolutionary tendencies that contribute to emotional distress. While essential for survival in early human history, these propensities often lead to modern challenges like anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. Mindfulness and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy provide tools to counteract these harmful patterns. How can psychotherapists leverage these practices to combat ingrained mental habits and improve psychological well-being?
Mindfulness-based psychotherapist Dr. Ron Siegel describes the four survival-driven tendencies as danger avoidance, negativity bias, a fixed self-concept, and social comparison. Psychedelics disrupt negative thought cycles, enabling individuals to connect with deeper aspects of their consciousness and identity. By integrating mindfulness practices, individuals can maintain the insights gained from psychedelic experiences, grounding them in a broader awareness of the present moment rather than harmful thought streams. This combination helps reframe emotional struggles as transient and fluid, reducing their perceived permanence.
In the latest episode of Living Medicine, Dr. Sandy Newes hosts Dr. Ron Siegel to talk about integrating mindfulness practices with psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Dr. Siegel explains the difference between fight or flight and somatic interventions, how the brain has evolved through human existence, and how to expand traditional notions of consciousness.
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