ORCID

0009-0005-6633-4841 (Nader)

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

DOI

10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1652568

Publication Title

Frontiers in Psychiatry

Volume

16

Pages

1652568 (1-4)

Abstract

[Introduction: reframing the role of setting] In recent years, renewed attention has been given to the centrality of set and setting in psychedelic-assisted therapy. The Reporting of Setting in Psychedelic Clinical Trials (ReSPCT) guidelines reflect an evolving consensus: therapeutic outcomes are not solely pharmacologically determined but are heavily shaped by both the environment and the psychological state of the participant (2). Within this evolving paradigm, music has assumed a privileged role, framed as a therapeutic constant, typically curated to be emotionally supportive or evocative, and especially emphasized during peak psychedelic states (3). The prevailing assumption is that music facilitates safety, emotional access, and therapeutic alignment (1). However, this assumption has not been subjected to the same degree of empirical or philosophical scrutiny that other elements of the setting have received.

In this opinion, I offer a contrarian view: that the inclusion of music in psychedelic therapy may not be benign or beneficial but could instead function as a confounding variable, altering, distorting, or displacing the very psychological material that therapy seeks to access. I argue that music introduces external emotional content that may obscure the patient’s natural psychological flow, their set, thereby undermining the core objective of psychedelic therapy: unmediated engagement with the self. This perspective, which I call psychedelic minimalism, challenges the default assumption that additive features of the setting, particularly music, are inherently therapeutic. Rather than continuing to ask what kind of music, or how it’s played, best supports the psychedelic experience, I suggest we ask a more foundational question: why music at all? If the therapeutic goal is to access internal, unfiltered psychological material, then any emotionally potent stimulus, no matter how well-curated, may interfere with that process. I also call for further research to fill this gap, exploring whether a minimalist setting, free of emotional modulation, offers deeper, more authentic access to the self.

Rights

© 2025 Nader.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original authors and the copyright owners are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Original Publication Citation

Nader, S. A. (2025). Psychedelic minimalism: The case against music in psychedelic therapy settings. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 16, 1-4, Article 1652568. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1652568

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