Psychedelics, Art, Creativity and Art Therapy References

(Please let us know of other references that you think belong in this list–email us at info@psychedelicarttherapynetwork.org)

Ablett, John (2021).  Integration using mandalas. In Tim Read and Maria Papaspyrou, Eds., Psychedelics and Psychotherapy: The Healing Potential of Expanded States. Simon & Schuster.

Aixala, M. (2022). Psychedelic integration: Psychotherapy for non-ordinary states of Consciousness.  Synergetic Press.

Allen, T. D. (1994). Research in archetypal art therapy with psilocybin. MAPS Bulletin, 1, 39-40.

Allen, T. D. (1995). Archetypal art therapy: Hearing psilocybin in the art & metaphor work of volunteer no. 31. MAPS Bulletin, IV(1), 23–26.  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369143482_v06n1_25- 28_archetypalarttherapy

Baggott, M. J. (2015). Psychedelics and creativity: a review of the quantitative literature. PeerJ PrePrints, 3, e1202v1.

Bathje, G. J., Majeski, E., & Kudowor, M. (2022). Psychedelic integration: An analysis of the concept and its practice. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 824077.

Boone, G. M. (2010). Mandalas and the dead.  Essays on live improvisation: The Grateful Dead in concert, 25-42.

Bourzat, F. (2019). Consciousness medicine: Indigenous wisdom, entheogens, and expanded states of consciousness for healing and growth. North Atlantic Books.

Butler, J. A., & Sola, E. (2024). Coming home: Psychedelics, symbolic images, and the innate intelligence of the psyche. In J. A. Butler, G. Herzberg, & R. L. Miller (Eds.), Integral Psychedelic Therapy. Routledge.

Carhart-Harris, R. L. (2019). How do psychedelics work? Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 32(1), 16-21.

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.

Cavarra, M., Falzone, A., Ramaekers, J. G., Kuypers, K. P., & Mento, C. (2022). Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy—A systematic review of associated psychological interventions. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 887255.

Celidwen, Y., Redvers, N., Githaiga, C., Calambás, J., Añaños, K., Chindoy, M. E., Vitale, R. Rojas, j.N, Mondragon, D, Rosalio, Y.V., &  Sacbajá, A. (2023). Ethical principles of traditional Indigenous medicine to guide western psychedelic research and practice. The Lancet Regional Health–Americas, 18.

Cervelli, R. L. (2009). An Intuitive Inquiry Into experiences arising out of the Holotropic Breathwork Technique and its integral mandala artwork: The potential for self-actualization (Doctoral dissertation, Institute of Transpersonal Psychology).

Czamanski-Cohen, J., & Weihs, K. L. (2016). The bodymind model: A platform for studying the mechanisms of change induced by art therapy. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 51, 63-71.

De Freitas, J. C. C. (2023). Entheogenic creativity: Shamanism and entheogens in the visionary art of Alex Grey. Kalagatos: Revista de Filosofia, 20(1), 17.

Di Leo, F., Grof, S., & Kellogg, J. (1977). The use of a mind-revealing drug (DPT), music, and mandalas in psychotherapy: a case presentation. In Proceedings of the Conference of the American Art Therapy Association (pp. 78-86).

De Rios, M. D. (2009). The psychedelic journey of Marlene Dobkin de Rios: 45 years with shamans, ayahuasqueros, and ethnobotanists. Simon and Schuster.

De Vos, C. M., Mason, N. L., & Kuypers, K. P. (2021). Psychedelics and neuroplasticity: a systematic review unraveling the biological underpinnings of psychedelics. Frontiers in psychiatry, 12, 724606.

Forster, D. L. (2021). Schelling and Huxley : Exploring an aesthetic interpretation of the psychedelic experience. Cosmos and History: The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy, 17(3), 283–298. Retrieved from https://cosmosandhistory.org/index.php/journal/article/view/938

Franklin, M. A. (2016). Essence, art, and therapy: A transpersonal view. In D. E. Gussak & M. L. Rosal (Eds.), The Wiley Handbook of Art Therapy. John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Gandy, S., Bonnelle, V., Jacobs, E., & Luke, D. (2022). Psychedelics as potential catalysts of scientific creativity and insight. Drug Science, Policy and Law, 8, 20503245221097649.

Gardner, D. & Noble, S. (2024) A psychedelic-assisted therapy learning framework: Comprehensive behavioral health learning objectives for practitioners.  Beckley Academy.

Garnet, M. (2023, May 30). Exploring the role of expressive arts therapy in psychedelic integration: Benefits and considerations. https://www.mariyagarnet.com/post/exploring-the-role-of-expressive-arts-therapy-in-psychedelic-integration-benefits-and-consideration

Golden, T. L., et al. (2022). Effects of setting on psychedelic experiences, therapies, and outcomes: A rapid scoping review of the literature. In Barrea, F. S., & Preller, K. H. (Eds.), Disruptive Psychopharmacology. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences (Vol. 56). Springer, Cham.

Gran, Emma, 2021, September.  Equity in psychedelic therapies as psychoactive substances gain therapeutic evidence, Assistant Professor Cody Wenthur aims to reverse underrepresentation of minorities in clinical studies..  https://pharmacy.wisc.edu/2021/09/12/equity-in-psychedelic-therapies/

Greń, J., Gorman, I., Ruban, A., Tylš, F., Bhatt, S., & Aixalà, M. (2024). Call for evidence-based psychedelic integration. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology. 2024 Apr;32(2):129-135. doi: 10.1037/pha0000684. Epub 2023 Nov 27

Grey, A. (2017). The mission of art. Shambhala Publications.

Grof, B., (2024).  Holotropic art: Images from hidden worlds.   Ubiquity University Publishing

Grof, C., & Grof, S. (2017). Spiritual emergency: The understanding and treatment of transpersonal crises. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 36(2), 5.

Grof, S., (2014).  Holotropic breathwork: A new experiential method of psychotherapy and self-exploration. Journal of Transpersonal Research, 6(1), 7-24.

Grof, S., (2010, 11/30). Mandalanature.com  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDqEH1fVm-M

Harman, W. W., McKim, R. H., Mogar, R. E., Fadiman, J., & Stolaroff, M. J. (1966). Psychedelic agents in creative problem-solving: A pilot study. Psychological reports, 19(1), 211-227.

Harman, W. and Rheingold, H. 1984. Higher creativity: Liberating the unconscious for breakthrough insights. J. P. Tarcher.

Harner, M. (2013). Cave and cosmos: Shamanic encounters with another reality. North Atlantic Books.

Harris, R. (2023).  Swimming in the sacred.  New World Library. 

Herman, J. L. (2015). Trauma and recovery: The aftermath of violence – from domestic abuse to political terror. Basic Books

Hillman, J. 1996. The Soul’s Code: In search of character and calling. Random House.

Hinkle, J. T., Graziosi, M., Nayak, S. M., & Yaden, D. B. (2024). Adverse events in studies of classic psychedelics: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA psychiatry

Hocoy, D. (2005). Art therapy and social action: A transpersonal framework. Art Therapy, 22(1), 7-16.

Hoffman, M. (2019).  Inner Landscapes.  With Preface by Stanislav Grof.  Solancee.

Husum, C (2025).  Psychedelics and art therapy: A manual for somatic self-discovery.  Routledge.

Janiger, O., & De Rios, M. D. (1989). LSD and creativity. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 21(1), 129-134.

Jung, C. G. 1956. “Symbols of transformation.” Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Vol. 5, Bollingen Series XX.  Princeton University Press.

Jung, C.G. 1959 b. Mandala Symbolism. Translated by R.F.C. Hull. Bollingen Series.

Jung, C.G. (1965). Memories, dreams, reflections. Ed. Aniela Jaffe. Trans. Richard and Clara Winston.  Random House.

Jung, C. G. 1990. “The Archetypes and the collective unconscious.” Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Vol. 9, Bollingen Series XX.  Princeton University Press.

Jung, C. G. (2009). The red book: Liber novus. WW Norton & Co.

Kagan, M. (2021). Discovering the effects of treating anxiety disorders for adults through creative arts therapy during a non-ordinary state experience (Doctoral dissertation, Pratt Institute).

Kalweit, H. (2000). Shamans, healers, and medicine men. Shambhala Publications.

King, J. L., Kaimal, G., Konopka, L., Belkofer, C., & Strang, C. E. (2019). Practical applications of neuroscience-informed art therapy. Art Therapy, 36(3), 149-156.

King, J. (2024). Neuroscience-informed art therapy: The development and testing of a knowledge translation toolkit for the treatment of psychological trauma.  https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/son_dnp/147/

Knill, P. J. (1994). Multiplicity as a tradition: Theories for interdisciplinary arts therapies—An overview. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 21(5), 319–328. https://doi.org/10.1016/0197-4556(94)90059-0

Koch, S. C. (2017). Arts and health: Active factors and a theory framework of embodied aesthetics. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 54, 85–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2017.02.002

Krippner S. (1968) The psychedelic state, the hypnotic trance, and the creative act. Journal of Humanistic Psychology 8: 49-67.

Krippner S. (1985) Psychedelic drugs and creativity. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 17: 235-245

Krippner, S. (2017). Ecstatic landscapes: The manifestation of psychedelic art. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 57(4), 415-435.

La Marco, N. A. in Psychedelic Therapy Blog, 2023. https://psychedelic.support/resources/art-in-psychedelic-therapy/

Malhotra, B., Jones, L. C., Spooner, H., Levy, C., Kaimal, G., & Williamson, J. B. (2024). A conceptual framework for a neurophysiological basis of art therapy De Foe, A. (2023). Considerations in the application of psychedelic-augmented psychotherapy: A commentary on clinical mechanisms. Psychoactives, 2(2), 162-173.

Malik, S. (2022) Using neuroscience to explore creative media in art therapy: a systematic narrative review, International Journal of Art Therapy, 27:2, 48-60, DOI: 10.1080/17454832.2021.1998165

Marks, M., Brendel, R. W., Shachar, C., & Cohen, I. G. (2024). Essentials of Informed Consent to Psychedelic Medicine. JAMA psychiatry.

Martindale, C., & Fischer, R. (1977). The effects of psilocybin on primary process content in language. Confinia Psychiatrica. Borderland of Psychiatry. Grenzgebiete Der Psychiatrie. Les Confins de La Psychiatrie, 20(4), 195-202.

Martinovic, J. (2023). When art therapy went chemical: Alfred Bader, pharmacology, and art brut, c. 1950-1970s. História, Ciências, Saúde-Manguinhos, 29, 93-108.

Mason, N. L., Kuypers, K. P. C., Reckweg, J. T., Müller, F., Tse, D. H. Y., Da Rios, B., Toennes, S.W., Fielding, A., & Ramaekers, J. G. (2021). Spontaneous and deliberate creative cognition during and after psilocybin exposure. Translational psychiatry, 11(1), 209.

Masters R. E. L. & Houston J. (1968). Psychedelic art. Grove.

Masters, R.E. L. , & Houston, J. (2000). The varieties of psychedelic experience: The classic guide to the effects of LSD on the human psyche. Simon and Schuster.

Maté, G. (2021). Psychedelics and psychotherapy: The healing potential of expanded states. Simon and Schuster.

Maud, K. (2025). Use cases for art therapy intervention in clinical psychedelic praxis. https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_theses/837/

McCulloch, D. E. W., Grzywacz, M. Z., Madsen, M. K., Jensen, P. S., Ozenne, B., Armand, S., Knudsen, G.M., Fisher, P.M., & Stenbæk, D. S. (2022). Psilocybin-induced mystical-type experiences are related to persisting positive effects: a quantitative and qualitative report. Frontiers in pharmacology, 13, 841648.

McQueen, A. Honoring what matters most: The ritual of art-based psychedelic integration. Medicinal Mindfulness. https://medicinalmindfulness.org/honoring-what-matters-most-the-ritual-of-art-based-psychedelic-integration/

McNiff, S. (1991). Ethics and the autonomy of images. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 18(4), 277–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/0197-4556(91)90067-k

McNiff, S. (1992). Art as medicine: Creating a therapy of the imagination. Shambhala

Metzner, R., (2017). Ecology of Consciousness: The Alchemy of Personal, Collective and Planetary Transformation. Reveal Press.

Metzner, R., (2017) Overtones and Undercurrents: Spirituality, Reincarnation and Ancestor Influence in Entheogenic Psychotherapy. Park Street Press.

Michaels, T.I., Purdon, J., Collins, A. et al. (2018). Inclusion of people of color in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: a review of the literature. BMC Psychiatry 18, 245. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-018-1824-6.

Morrison, A. (2021). Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: How psychedelics could catalyze conventional therapeutic approaches for treating trauma-related conditions.  http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12648/11335

Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies Integration Station Workbook. https://maps.org/integration-station/

Neitzke-Spruill, L. (2020). Race as a component of set and setting: How experiences of race can influence psychedelic experiences. Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 4(1), 51-60.

Noorani, T., Garcia-Romeu, A., Swift, T. C., Griffiths, R. R., & Johnson, M. W. (2018). Psychedelic therapy for smoking cessation: Qualitative analysis of participant accounts. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 32(7), 756-769.

O’Callaghan, C., Hubik, D. J., Dwyer, J., Williams, M., & Ross, M. (2020). Experience of music used with psychedelic therapy: A rapid review and implications. Journal of Music Therapy, 57(3), 282–314. hAps://doi.org/10.1093/jmt/thaa006

Ojeda Sánchez, D. (2019). La asimilación artística de la experiencia sicodélica: el arte visionario de Cix. Retrieved from https://repositorioinstitucional.uaslp.mx/xmlui/handle/i/6129

Pahnke, W.N. and Richards, W. Implications of LSD and experimental mysticism (1966). Journal of Religion and Health, (5)3, 175-208.

Papaspyrou, M., Baldini, C., & Luke, D. editors (2019).   Psychedelic mysteries of the feminine: Creativity, ecstasy, healing. Park Street Press.

Passie, T. History of the use of hallucinogens in psychiatric treatment. In Handbook of Medical Hallucinogens; The Guilford Press: New York, NY, USA, 2021; pp. 95–118.

Peng, M. L. (2023). Exploring the impact of psychedelic art and its implication in the field of medicine and health: A pilot trial (Doctoral dissertation, Yale University). ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. https://www.proquest.com/openview/bf537fd9dd26758f0f656e84bf1aad0/1?pqorigsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y

Phelps, J. (2017). Developing guidelines and competencies for the training of psychedelic therapists. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 57(5), 450-487.

Pollan, M. (2018). How to change your mind: What the new science of psychedelics teaches us about consciousness, dying, addiction, depression, and transcendence. Penguin.

Read, T. & Papaspyrou, M., (2021). Psychedelics and psychotherapy: The healing Potential of Expanded States.  Simon & Shuster.

Pilecki, B., Luoma, J. B., Bathje, G. J., Rhea, J., & Narloch, V. F. (2021). Ethical and legal issues in psychedelic harm reduction and integration therapy. Harm Reduction Journal, 18(1), 40.

Richards, W.A. (2016).  Sacred knowledge: Psychedelics and religious experience. Columbia University.

Shulgin, Alexander and Ann (1990).  Pihkal: A Chemical lovestory. Transform Press.

Shulgin, Alexander and Ann (2002).  Tihkal the continuation. Transform Press.

Shulman, Z. (2023). Can art therapy be used as an integration modality for repressed trauma and mystical experiences with psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy clients? [Graduate Research Paper]. https://zoeshulmanstudio.com/research

Strang, C. E. (2024). Art therapy and neuroscience: evidence, limits, and myths. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1484481.

Strasberg, S. (2024, Mar. 9). Using art in psychedelic practice. In Scarlet Masius (Moderator), A Holistic Approach to Psychedelic Training [Panel presentation] South by Southwest 2024, Austin, TX, United States. https://schedule.sxsw.com/2024/events/PP134440

Strassman, R. (2022). The psychedelic handbook: A practical guide to psilocybin, LSD, Ketamine, MDMA, and Ayahuasca. Simon and Schuster.

Taylor, K, (2002) SoulCollage®: An art process to use with breathwork. The Inner Door, 14(3)1,4-5.

ten Berge, J. (1999) Breakdown or breakthrough? A history of European research into drugs and creativity. Journal of Creative Behaviour 33: 257-276.

ten Berge J. (2002) Jekyll and Hyde revisited: paradoxes in the appreciation of drug experiences and their effects on creativity. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 34: 249-262.

Tobin, B.  (2021).  Art therapy and psychedelic Integration.  In Eds. Tim Read and Maria Papaspyrou Psychedelics and Psychotherapy: The Healing Potential of Expanded States.  Pg. 229.  Simon & Shuster.

Tobin, B. (2001). What does the picture mean? Toward a theory of interpretation of client art. Canadian Art Therapy Association Journal, 14(2), 3-14.

Wenthur, C. J. (2023, February 23). Psychedelic outcomes: Intersection of environment, self-identity, and success (The POIESIS Study) [Conference Presentation]. MAPS: Psychedelic Science 2023, Denver, CO, United States.  https://2023.psychedelicscience.org/sessions/psychedelic-outcomes-intersection-of-environment-self-identity-and-success-the-poiesis-study/

Wießner, I., Falchi, M., Maia, L. O., Daldegan-Bueno, D., Palhano-Fontes, F., Mason, N.L., Ramaekers, J. G., Gross, M. E., Schooler, J. W., Feilding, A., Ribeiro, S., Araujo, D. B., & Tófoli, L. F. (2022). LSD and creativity: Increased novelty and symbolic thinking, decreased utility and convergent thinking. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 36(3), 348–359. https://doi.org/10.1177/02698811211069113

Wilkinson, R. A. (2025).  Psychedelics, art, creativity and art therapy resources.  https://psychedelic-network.org/art-therapy-conference-2024-resources/

Wolfson, E. Psychedelic-supportive psychotherapy: A psychotherapeutic model for, before and beyond the medicine experience. J. Psychedelic Stud. 2023, 6, 191–202.

Yaden, D. B., Earp, D., Graziosi, M., Friedman-Wheeler, D., Luoma, J. B., & Johnson, M. W. (2022). Psychedelics and psychotherapy: cognitive-behavioral approaches as default. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 873279