Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project
| Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project | |
|---|---|
| Founder | Jules Evans |
| Established | September 2022 |
| Website | challengingpsychedelicexperiences ecstaticintegration |
The Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project (CPEP) is a research project studying challenging experiences (also known colloquially as "bad trips") with psychedelic drugs.[1][2][3][4] One of the aims of the project is harm reduction.[4]
The founder and director of the project is researcher and journalist Jules Evans.[1][3][5][6] When he was 18 years old in the 1990s, Evans had a very bad LSD trip that resulted in mental health difficulties that lasted for years, which later inspired him to found the project.[1][3][7] Evans also runs an online peer support group for people who have had difficult psychedelic experiences[8] as well as a prominent newsletter called Ecstatic Integration.[9][10]
The Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project was founded in 2022.[6] It is funded by various private donors.[1][10] Though aiming to help prevent and manage challenging psychedelic experiences, Evans has also been critiqued for making unsubstantiated allegations about the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and has been described by some critics as an "entrepreneur of psychedelic negativity".[11]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 Hu, Jane C. (16 February 2023). "What is a bad trip? 5 Questions for Jules Evans of The Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project". Substack. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
- ↑ Dolan, Eric W. (18 November 2023). "New study pinpoints the most common long-term challenges after psychedelic use". PsyPost - Psychology News.
"We felt that there was a research gap in the field of psychedelic science, specifically looking at whether psychedelic experiences ever led to extended difficulties lasting longer than a day," said study author Jules Evans, the director of the Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project. "If so, what sort of difficulties, and what helps people deal with them. These are important questions – millions of people are now trying psychedelics, encouraged by extremely positive media coverage of the last decade, and they have no awareness that sometimes psychedelics can lead to difficulties lasting beyond the trip."
- 1 2 3 "Delving into safety, regulation, therapeutic practices and future directions of psychedelic-assisted care". Champalimaud Foundation. 23 October 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
- 1 2 Argyri EK, Evans J (2026). "Ontologically Challenging Psychedelic Experiences: Considerations for Managing Associated Distress". Curr Top Behav Neurosci. 77: 431–450. doi:10.1007/7854_2025_609. PMID 41329316.
- ↑ Wolswijk, Floris (14 February 2023). "Exploring the Challenges of Psychedelic Integration". Lucid News - Psychedelics. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
- 1 2 "Jules Evans". Harvard Study of Psychedelics in Society and Culture. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
- ↑ Ghosh, Pallab (2 January 2026). "Should the NHS use magic mushrooms to treat mental health?". BBC Home.
Not everyone feels the same. Jules Evans, a university researcher, had a very different experience when he first took LSD, albeit for recreational purposes, back when he was 18. The trip sent him into what he describes as a "deluded" state. "I believed that everyone was talking about me, criticising me, judging me. I thought, I've permanently damaged myself; I've permanently lost my mind. "It was the most terrifying experience of my life." Today he is director of the Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project, which helps people experiencing difficulties after taking psychedelics. He says he felt socially anxious and suffered from panic attacks years after his own experience and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- ↑ Love, Shayla (6 September 2024). "The clinic for psychedelic difficulties: where people go when the trip never really ends". The Guardian.
For those who can't make it to Berlin, Jules Evans, director of the Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project, runs an online peer support group for psychedelic difficulties.
- ↑ Evans, Jules (28 April 2025), Opinion, ISSN 0362-4331, retrieved 26 June 2026
- 1 2 Evans, Jules (3 September 2022). "About". Ecstatic Integration. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
- ↑ Davis, Oliver; Casey, Sophie (10 July 2026). "The Entrepreneurship of Psychedelic Negativity: Psymposia, Trauma, Iatrogenic Harm, and Prohibition 2.0". Contemporary Drug Problems. doi:10.1177/00914509261466701. ISSN 0091-4509. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
The second chapter in the report reheats an entirely unsubstantiated allegation made by an allied entrepreneur of psychedelic negativity, Jules Evans, to the effect that MAPS had a "fundraising strategy" which involved giving people drugs then telephoning them for large donations while still in the "afterglow" state (Psymposia/Devenot et al., 2025 : 22). After this was denied by MAPS founder Rick Doblin, who emphasized the importance of ethical practice in soliciting donations, Evans was unable to produce evidence to substantiate his allegation.