An early researcher in the use of the psychedelic, LSD, Czech/American psychiatrist Stanislav Grof developed holotropic breathwork after the use of LSD was declared illegal in the 1960s. This non-drug psychotherapy combines controlled breathing techniques with loud feelingful music to trigger the release of repressed early childhood, infantile, pre and peri-natal material, along with transpersonal and spiritual experiences.
Holotropic breathwork, Grof claims, can release the same repressed material as LSD. An interesting account of how LSD was used in therapy is recounted in Dr. Grof's book LSD Psychotherapy. The material in this book would be meaningful to anyone interested in any form of regressive abreactive therapy.
- Primal therapy is contrasted with holotropic breathwork in my article, From Primal to Holotropics and Back.
- Become a member of the holotropic breathwork community.
Lots of information, articles etc.
- Dr. Stan Grof's website.
- Stan and Christina Grof Photo Archive
- A Holotropic Breathwork Experience at the 1999 International Primal Association Convention by John A. Speyrer
- Mysticism and Psychedelics: The Case of the Dark Night by Christopher M. Bache, Ph.D.
- Breakingdown, Breakingthrough- Book Selections [Holotropic Breathwork] by Margaret Coyne
- Breathwork Experience, The: Exploration and Healing in Nonordinary States of Consciousness - by Kylea Taylor - Book Review by John A. Speyrer
- Examining the Effects of Holotropic Breathwork In the Recovery from Alcoholism and Drug Dependence by Byron A. Metcalf, Ph.D.
- The Future of Psychiatry:
Conceptual Challenges to Psychiatry, Psychology, and Psychotherapy article by Stanislav Grof M.D.
- Beyond Death - The Gates of Consciousness
by Stanislav and Christina Grof - Book Review by John A. Speyrer
- Birth Trauma and Its Relation to Mental Illness, Suicide and Ecstasy article by Stanislav Grof, M.D.
- H. R. Giger and the Zeitgeist of the Twentieth Century article by Stanislav Grof, M.D.
- Dark Night, Early Dawn by Christopher M. Bache - Book Review by John A. Speyrer
- Ken Wilbur's Spectrum Psychology article by Stanislav Grof, M.D.
- The Stormy Search For the Self
by Christina and Dr. Stanislav Grof - Book Review by John A. Speyrer
- The Ultimate Journey: Consciousness and the Mystery of Death by Stanislav Grof, M.D. - Book Review by John A. Speyrer
- A Reappraisal of Teresa of Avila's Supposed Hysteria article by Christopher M. Bache, Ph.D.
- An Interview With Chris M. Bache, Ph.D.
- A Perinatal Interpretation of Frightening Near-Death Experiences: A Dialogue with Kenneth Ring, article by Christopher M. Bache, Ph.D.
- Holotropic Breathwork by Drs. Christina and Stanislav Grof - Book Review by John A. Speyrer
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The material below is linked to the Psychedelics and Psychotherapy Section of The Psychedelic Library:
Material From Dr. Stanislav Grof's books:
- Preface to Dr. Stanislav Grof's, LSD Psychotherapy, (1994 edition)
- Appendix I from Dr. Stanislav Grof's LSD Psychotherapy (1994 edition) Crisis Intervention in Situations Related to Unsupervised Use of Psychedelics
- Appendix II from Dr. Stanislav Grof's LSD Psychotherapy (1994 edition) The Effects of LSD on Chromosomes, Genetic Mutation, Fetal Development and Malignancy ©1980, 1994 by Stanislav Grof.
- Chapter 8 of LSD Psychotherapy by Stanislav Grof, M.D. - Non-Therapeutic Uses of LSD
©1980, 1994 by Stanislav Grof.
- Epilogue from Dr. Grof's LSD Psychotherapy, (1994) entitled The Future of LSD Psychotherapy
- Chapter 1 of LSD Psychotherapy History of LSD Therapy by Stanislav Grof, M.D. , ©1980, 1994 by Stanislav Grof.
- LSD Psychotherapy and Addictions Chapter from: The Human Encounter With Death, by Dr Stanislav Grof and Joan Halifax (1977).
- Chapter 5 of Dr. Stanislav Grof's Beyond the Brain: Birth, Death and Transcendence in Psychotherapy,Dilemmas and Controversies of Traditional Psychiatry .
- Preface from Realms of the Human Unconscious by Stanislav Grof, M.D. in which he describes his arrival in the United States in the mid-1960s to join the research activities of the Research Unit of Spring Grove State Hospital in Maryland.
- An excerpt from Chapter 1 of Realms of the Human Unconscious -- Heuristic Value of LSD Research by Stanislav Grof, M.D. ©1975 Stanislav and Joan Halifax Grof.
- Chapter 2 from The Human Encounter With Death, The History of Psychedelic Therapy with the Dying, By Dr. Stanislav Grof & Joan Halifax, 1977.
- Become a member of the holotropic breathwork community.
Lots of information, articles, etc.
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