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psychiatrist Jan Bastiaans used psychedelic drugs to treat successfully many difficult cases of concentration-camp survivor syndrome." caine dependence seem to occur in members of ayahuasca-using churches in Brazil.° THE FUTURES OF PSYCHEDELIC RESEARCH + 339 For example, there are several reports in the psychiatric literature describing relief of symptoms in patients with obsessive-compulsive dis- order, or OCD, after taking psilocybin-containing mushrooms. The OCD syndrome consists of irresistible urges to repeat useless behavior and thoughts that consume distressing amounts of time and energy. That sero- tonin-active drugs like Prozac help patients with OCD has focused attention on this neurotransmitter. Researchers now plan to give psilocybin in an attempt to treat patients with OCD, using serotonin-receptor physiology as their underlying model. No recourse to psychological processes really is necessary, although it may prove crucial to a fuller understanding of its beneficial effects. We also might treat conditions with deficits in psychological, rather than only neurotransmitter, health, such as post-traumatic stress disor- der, drug and alcohol abuse, and the anguish and suffering associated with terminal illness. Post-traumatic stress disorder causes feeling of being trapped in the past, endlessly rushing backward on a time machine toward horrible events. Childhood physical and sexual abuse and exposure to natural and man- made catastrophes are ever-increasing concerns in our society. Early studies by psychedelic psychotherapy researchers explored these drugs' use in post-traumatic conditions. Up until his recent death, the Dutch Many people abuse drugs and alcohol in an attempt to resolve simi- larly painful memories and emotions. Soon, however, complications of substance abuse become more troubling than the initial problems. It's been shown that membership in the peyote-using Native American Church reduces the incidence of alcoholism. Similar effects on alcohol and co- Finally, negative reactions to the pain and deterioration of terminal illness trigger a vast array of unresolved feelings. The growing number of aging and dying "baby-boomers" as well as AIDS and other epidem- ics give great poignancy to a desire for a comfortable and "good" death.