Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) in the Treatment of Alcoholism: An Investigation of Its Effects on Drinking Behavior, Personality Structure, and Social Functioning

LSD is the only new treatment for alcoholism which has been introduced in recent years; on that basis the authors justify this latest volume on LSD therapy. It gives a very brief, yet scholarly review of the neurophysiological, behavioral, and psychological effects of LSD as well as proposed mechanisms of action, assesses previous therapeutic work with LSD, weighs it in the balance, and finds it wanting. It reports a study that attempts to correct the flaws in previous studies by using random assignment, double-blind technique, placebo and routine therapy controls, and careful, independent assessment with psychometric and interview techniques before, and 6 and 18 months after, treatment. The authors distinguish two types of LSD therapy—psycholytic, which uses many LSD interviews employing a psychoanalytic model to achieve the release of unconscious material, and psychedelic, which usually employs a single LSD session, embedded in a matrix of supportive psychotherapy. The authors employ