PAP Research Methodology
Since there are two major groups to this audience (millennials and baby boomers), I would create a survey either by email or social media posts, for asking the audience’s initial thoughts and opinions of psychedelics and their views or knowledge of PAP therapy, and if they’d like to learn more. I would find participants by asking people I know, people they know, their parents, grandparents, and post a poll on my Instagram story asking if they’d be interested in participating in my survey. Since my topic deals with educating and fighting taboos, I want to share it with everyone I can. Keeping it COVID-19 friendly, everything would be done virtually and on social media to reach a large number of people from diverse backgrounds and ages. I could potentially open a Zoom call with participants to create a discussion, have a “Trip of Compassion” watch party and discuss thoughts afterward, but this would need permission from participants if anonymity isn’t an option.
In the survey/discussion questions, I could include propaganda from the 1950s and show where taboos formed to address older audiences. I could ask participants to include examples of what they’ve seen or what they know about psychedelics i.e. maybe movies examples/negative views of how drugs are experienced. To contrast the older views and knowledge, I’d show recent experiences with drugs and data collected from medical practices. Then I’d explain the benefits, pros, and cons found from actual patients and psychologists. I could also include personal stories from patients and psycho-therapists (with permission).
If anonymity is not needed, virtually interviews could be arranged, but I could be open to sharing it with anyone interested anonymously online. This could increase the number of participants dramatically. To include even deeper-understanding questions, I could reach out to people at the SoundMind Center in Philadelphia to see if I could interview them, and understand the logistics questions better. To track participants' initial, and ending opinions of the subject, I would really be interested in creating a diary for them to track their process. This could be another social media post or an open text box at the end of the survey for virtual interaction, or this could be a printed and distributed version.
What I want to learn from this research is what people currently think of psychedelics and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. There’s the possibility that these preconceived taboos are shifting out of mind, or they could potentially have gotten worse with all the crazy medical events that have happened recently. This needs to be taken into consideration for the progression of the research, as well as what knowledge is missing or more appealing to viewers. All the language in this survey/diary would be friendly, fun, and enjoyable. I want to make this as appealing as possible and really get my audience interested in this valuable research, not weigh them down with textbook tangents. This practice isn’t new, but this new research is something revolutionary that should be shared, celebrated, and continued.
Anonymous Survey Questions:
Explain my purpose and my privacy policy.
1. What is your age? (18+ only)
2. Gender?
3. Ethnicity?
4. What are your initial thoughts/opinions of psychedelic drugs?
5. On a scale of 1–5 how interested are you in participating in psychedelic drugs? (1 being low, 5 being high)
6. Have you ever consumed psychedelic drugs?
7. If yes, was this for recreational use or for therapeutic benefits? If other, explain.
8. If no, what turned you away from participating?
9. Have you seen psychedelics in the media? Ex: certain movies, memes, etc. If so, list.
10. Do you know what psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) is?
11. Did you know several controversial psychedelic drugs now show promise as powerful therapeutic treatments for depression, anxiety, and PTSD?
12. If yes, are you or someone you know affected by mental health issues such as anxiety, depression or PTSD?
13. On a scale of 1–5 how important do you think this research is? (1 being low, 5 being high)
14. Would you be interested in learning more about PAP research and findings? If so how? (exhibition space, online showing, Instagram feed, etc.)
Potential SoundMind Center Interview Questions:
1. Is there a screening process for becoming a patient at your clinic? What does this entail?
2. Is there much diversity in your clients? (age, race, etc.) If not, what is it primarily?
3. What do your courses and workshops offer that is most beneficial to participants?
4. What are the most common misconceptions about PAP that you have experienced in your clinic?
5. Would you be open to sharing personal experiences with psychedelics or PAP?
6. What else, Bree?
