Wellbeing and Sensory Experiences of Naturalistic Psychedelic Use among Autistic Adults Engaged in Therapeutic Psychedelic Use

Abstract

Psychedelic research focused upon Autistic adults is a growing niche within the literature, with existing findings suggestive of therapeutic potential in psychedelic use for this population. Nevertheless, clarification of risks and affordances remains a work in progress, with some research suggestive of elevated adverse outcomes amongst Autistic adults despite therapeutic potential (Stroud et al., 2025). Our exploratory study findings using Global Psychedelic Survey (GPS) 2023 data indicated elevated prevalence of persisting hallucinations amongst Autistic adults engaged in therapeutic psychedelic use compared to the broader sample of naturalistic psychedelic users. This follow-up study will utilise confirmatory analyses with an independent sample of Autistic adults engaged in therapeutic psychedelic use from GPS 2025 data and will use other naturalistic psychedelic users specifically with therapeutic motivations as a comparison group. Exploratory analysis of other wellbeing-related outcomes will be undertaken to further expand understanding of risks and affordances in the Autistic adult population. Furthermore, an under-explored feature of psychedelic use amongst Autistic adults is the sensory experience – a pertinent consideration given sensory processing differences inherent to autism, and the sensory amplification that can occur through the psychedelic experience. Exploratory analysis of acute sensory-based features of the psychedelic experience will be undertaken to address this gap. This research aims to: 1) Confirm prior findings regarding persisting hallucinations arising from naturalistic psychedelic use amongst Autistic adults who engage in therapeutic psychedelic use and analyse potential moderation through sensory sensitivity towards differences from the broader population of naturalistic psychedelic users with therapeutic motivations. 2) Characterise multisensory features of the acute psychedelic experience amongst Autistic adults who engage in therapeutic psychedelic use and analyse any meaningful differences from the broader population of naturalistic psychedelic users with therapeutic motivations. 3) Explore further risks and affordances of naturalistic psychedelic use amongst Autistic adults who engage in therapeutic psychedelic use and analyse any meaningful differences from the broader population of naturalistic psychedelic users with therapeutic motivations.

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