Metamodernism and Psychedelics: The good, the bad, and the ugly

Authors

  • Michael R. Montgomery Author
  • Noah Cebuliak Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.65828/zybtsk71

Keywords:

Psychedelics, metamodernism, existentialism

Abstract

This paper examines how psychedelic therapy reflects metamodern sensibilities – navigating between scepticism, hope, science and subjectivity. Rather than prescribing outcomes, it explores how patients engage psychedelic experiences as meaning-making processes within complex cultural and psychological landscapes, inviting new perspectives on healing, integration and the role of consciousness in existential therapy.

Full text available
Complete access to the full archive of articles is available with SEA membership. Existing members: please log in with your membership password to view full text. Non-members can buy a single article or issue by registering an account on this website, then selecting a padlocked full text button to purchase.

References

Abramson, S. (2014). The metamodern era: A guide to navigating the millennial shift in art, literature, culture, and philosophy. HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com. [Accessed on 23rd August 2025]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1kk65np.21

Akker, R. van den & Vermeulen, T. (2017). Periodising the 2000s; or, the emergence of metamodernism. In Akker, R. van den & Vermeulen, T. (eds.) Metamodernism: Historicity, affect and depth after postmodernism. New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5040/9798881819477.ch-1

American Psychedelic Practitioners Association (2023). Professional Practice Guidelines for Psychedelic Assisted Therapy – August 2023. https://tinyurl.com/mvb4k69 [Accessed on 30th July 2025].

Anderson, L.R. (2023). Polymodernity: Meaning and hope in a complex world. Copenhagen: Nordic Bildung.

Bourriaud, N. (2002). Relational Aesthetics. Dijon: Les presses du réel.

Bremler, R., Katati, N., Shergill, P., Erritzoe, D. & Carhart-Harris, R.L. (2023). Case analysis of long-term negative psychological responses to psychedelics. Scientific Reports. 13 (1): 15998. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-41145-x

Burn, S. J. (ed.) (2012). Conversations with David Foster Wallace. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt24hzc6

Carhart-Harris, R.L. & Friston, K.J. (2019). REBUS and the anarchic brain: Toward a unified model of the brain action of psychedelics. Pharmacological Reviews. 71 (3): 316-344. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1124/pr.118.017160

Carhart-Harris, R.L. & Goodwin, G.M. (2017). The therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs: Past, present and future. Neuropsychopharmacology. 42 (11): 2105-2113. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2017.84

Dember, G. (2018). Metamodernism: A brief introduction. In What Is Metamodern? https://www.whatismetamodern.com [Accessed on 11th January 2025].

Dember, G. (2020). How metamodernism reconciles irony and sincerity. In What Is Metamodern? https://www.whatismetamodern.com [Accessed on 11th January 2025].

Dember, G. (2024). Say Hello to Metamodernism!: Understanding today's culture of irony, felt experience and empathic reflexivity. Boise: Exact Rush Multimedia Publishing.

Dempsey, B. G. (2023). Metamodernism: Or, the cultural logic of cultural logics. York: ARC Press.

Dow, M. & Levy, R. (2022). The Ketamine Breakthrough: How to find freedom from depression, lift anxiety and open up to a new world of possibilities. London: Hay House.

Durham, W. (2025). Atomic scientists adjust 'Doomsday Clock' closer than ever to midnight. Reuters. 30 January. https://www.reuters.com/world/atomic-scientists-adjust-doomsday-clock-closer-than-ever-midnight-2025-01-28/ [Accessed on 30th July 2025].

Eshelman, R. (2008). Performatism, or the End of Postmodernism. Aurora: The Davies Group Publishers. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003329527-8

Griffin, A. (2025). The Tell: A memoir. New York: The Dial Press.

Griffiths, R.R., Richards, W.A., McCann, U. & Jesse, R. (2006). Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance. Psychopharmacology. 187(3): 268-83; discussion 284. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-006-0457-5

Grof, S. & Halifax, J. (1977). The Human Encounter With Death. Syracuse, NY: E.P. Dutton.

Heidegger, M. (1962). Being and Time. Trans. Macquarrie, J. & Robinson, E. London: Harper & Row.

James, C.D. (2023). Decolonizing Our Bodies and Psychedelic Liberation. Audio podcast episode. https://www.everand.com/listen/podcast/669531488 [Accessed on 30th July 2025]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350374911

Jameson, F. (1991). Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv12100qm

Jungaberle, H., Thal, S., Zeuch, A., Rougemont-Bücking, A., & Majić, T. (2021). Psychedelics and psychodynamic therapy: Clinical perspectives on the therapeutic potential of altered states of consciousness. Frontiers in Psychology. 12: 653715.

Kalsched, D. (2013). Trauma and the Soul: A psycho-spiritual approach to human development and its interruption. London: Routledge.

Kierkegaard, S. (1980). The Sickness Unto Death: A Christian psychological exposition for upbuilding and awakening. Trans. Hong, H.V. & Hong, E.H. Princeton, NY: Princeton University Press.

Leary, T. (1994). Chaos and Cyber Culture. Oakland, CA: Ronin Publishing.

Letheby, C. (2021). Philosophy of Psychedelics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/med/9780198843122.001.0001

Letheby, C. & Gerrans, P. (2017). Self unbound: Ego dissolution in psychedelic experience. Neuroscience of Consciousness. 2017 (1): nix016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/nc/nix016

Lilla, M. (2017). The Once and Future Liberal: After identity politics. New York, NY: Harper.

Ly, C., Greb, A.C., Cameron, L.P. et al. (2018). Psychedelics promote structural and functional neural plasticity. Cell Reports. 23 (11): 3170-3182. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2018.05.022

Lyotard, J.F. (1984). The Postmodern Condition: A report on knowledge. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1772278

Montgomery, M.R. (2017). Radical existentialism: The outsider. Existential Analysis: Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis. 28.1: 4-19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.65828/3hxwkc24

Nealon, J.T. (2012). Post-Postmodernism: Or, the cultural logic of just-in-time capitalism. Redwood City, CA: Stanford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9780804783217

North Star (2025). The Pledge. https://northstar.guide/ethicspledge/ [Accessed on 30th July 2025].

Nour, M.M., Evans, L., Nutt, D. & Carhart-Harris, R.L. (2016). Ego-dissolution and psychedelics: Validation of the ego-dissolution inventory (EDI). Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 10: 269. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00269

Orwell, G. (1971). Animal Farm. London: Penguin.

Parnas, J. & Henriksen, M.G. (2016). Disorders of self-awareness: Phenomenological perspectives on schizophrenia. In Stanghellini, G. Broome, M., Raballo, A., Fusar-Poli, A.V., Fernandez, P.D. & Rosfort, R. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Phenomenological Psychopathology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 559-582. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198803157.001.0001

Pollan, M. (2018). How to Change Your Mind: What the new science of psychedelics teaches us about consciousness, dying, addiction, depression, and transcendence. London: Penguin Press.

Quast, C. & Sisti, D. (2024). Should philosophers play a role in psychedelic-assisted therapy? Journal of Psychedelic Studies. Advance online publication. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.2024.00355

Richards, W.A. (2017). Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and religious experiences. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7312/columbia/9780231174060.001.0001

Rowson, J. (2025). Metamodernism and the perception of context: The cultural between, the political after and the mystic beyond. Perspectiva. https://systems-souls-society.com/ [Accessed on 7th December 2025]

Sartre, J-P. (1956 [1943]). Being and Nothingness. Trans. Barnes, H.E. New York, NY: Philosophical Library. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2182625

Severan, A. & Dempsey, B.G. (2021). Metamodernism and the Return of Transcendence (Metamodern spirituality). Integral imprint.

Sjöstedt-Hughes, P. (2023). On the need for metaphysics in psychedelic therapy and research. Frontiers in Psychology. 14: 1128589. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1128589

Tillich, P. (1952). The Courage to Be. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12987/9780300170023

Turner, L. (2011). Metamodernism Manifesto. https://www.metamodernism.org [Accessed on 23rd January 2025].

Twain, M. (2003 [1869]). The Innocents Abroad/Roughing It. New York, NY: Library.

Vermeulen, T., & Akker, R. van den (2010). Notes on metamodernism. Journal of Aesthetics and Culture. 2 (1): 5677. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3402/jac.v2i0.5677

Wilber, K. (2000). A Theory of Everything: An integral vision for business, politics, science, and spirituality. Boulder, CO: Shambhala.

Wilber, K. (2024). A Post-Truth World: Politics, polarization and a vision for transcending the chaos. Boulder, CO: Shambhala.

Williams, R. (1977). Marxism and Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Winkelman, M. (2014). Psychedelics as medicines for substance abuse rehabilitation: Evaluating treatments with LSD, peyote, ibogaine and ayahuasca. Current Drug Abuse Reviews. 7 (2): 101-116. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2174/1874473708666150107120011

Wolfson, P.E. & Hartelius, G. (eds.) (2016). The Ketamine Papers: Science, therapy, and transformation. Santa Cruz: MAPS.

Yalom, I.D. (1980). Existential Psychotherapy. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Yao, Y., Guo, D., Lu, T.S., Liu, F.L., Huang, S.H., Diao, M.Q., Li, S.X., Zhang, X.J., Kosten, T.R., Shi, J., Bao, Y.P., Lu, L. & Han, Y. (2024). Efficacy and safety of psychedelics for the treatment of mental disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychiatry Research. 335: 115886. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2024.115886

Published

2026-01-01

Cite This Article

Metamodernism and Psychedelics: The good, the bad, and the ugly. (2026). Existential Analysis: Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis, 37(1), 135-153. https://doi.org/10.65828/zybtsk71
Download: RIS · BibTeX

Articles by the same author(s)

Related articles

Search for similar articles ›