Matthew Oram – The Trials of Psychedelic Therapy: LSD Psychotherapy in America
John Hopkins University Press, 2018
Matthew Oram’s work is a thorough presentation of the first wave of LSD therapy trials in the U.S. in the 1950s-1970s, relying on careful research and wide-ranging engagement with primary sources. Besides the overall narrative, Oram focuses on the evolving nature and precise findings of the various trials as well as the changing regulatory landscape. He establishes such factors as the main reasons for why the research eventually died out, busting several myths and inaccurate representations in the process. The hippies were generally not to blame, nor were direct government restrictions, for the most part.
Especially Oram’s exploration of the difficulties past researchers had in applying the RCT model to psychedelics makes the book essential reading for those now involved in psychedelic trials.
123-Word Book Review by Samuli Kangaslampi, samuli@kangaslampi.net, 10/2023