The Healing Journey: New Approaches to Consciousness

NY: Random House, 1973. First edition. Octavo. Xix, 235pp.; index. Ochre cloth boards, gold lettering to spine and front panel; dust jacket. Cloth softened/bumped at spine ends, slight forward cocking. Else fine in a near fine, unclipped (“$6.95”) jacket with a scrape and small hole on the front panel. Preface by Stanislaus [Stanislav] Grof.

First edition of a book widely acknowledged as the first to seriously consider the effectiveness of MDMA and related drugs as facilitators in the psychotherapeutic process. MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, E, or molly, is a psychoactive drug first synthesized in Germany in 1912. During the 1970s, it gained significant traction as a therapeutic aid, with Naranjo, a Chilean psychiatrist and early LSD experimenter, positioning himself at the forefront of the drug’s proponents. MDMA remained legal until 1985, when its rising use as a party drug brought it under the scrutiny of Reagan-era DEA regulators. In addition to MDMA, Naranjo also here evaluates the clinical potential of MDA, harmaline, and ibogaine. An important if somewhat overlooked work, one that feels particularly timely given the renewal of interest in recent years in MDMA and other psychoactive substances as treatment modalities for depression, PTSD, and other disorders.