Hello! My name is Christine Lowe and I am a student in the clinical psychology doctoral program at John F Kennedy School of Psychology at National University (NU). I am conducting a study to identify the relationship between past psilocybin use and openness to new experiences. I am asking those who have used psilocybin the past for either therapeutic or self-improvement reasons to complete a survey. The results will be reported in my dissertation for my doctoral degree.
The following survey includes general demographic questions (age, gender, income, etc.) as well as questions about psychological symptoms, any psychotherapy you might have had, and about your psilocybin use and reasoning. This portion of the questions will take about 5 minutes. There will also be questions that ask you to describe your personality as you saw yourself before your psilocybin use and then again after your psilocybin use. This will take about 30-40 minutes. In total, I estimate that It should take no more than 45 minutes for you to complete the survey. To qualify for this study, you must (a) be over the age of 18, (b) be able to read at the 5th-grade level or higher, (c) have had mental health symptoms, and (d) have used psilocybin in the past for self-improvement reasons either on your own or in the context of therapy. Since these questions are personal and sensitive in nature, it is recommended that you take the survey in private, finish it in one sitting, and clear the forms from your computer’s cache and history after you have completed the survey.
Your participation in this study is voluntary. You can drop out at any time and for any reason just by exiting the survey. It would be most helpful to me, however, if you complete both forms. If you decide to participate, your responses will be anonymous - that is, recorded without any identifying information that is in any way linked to you. Moreover, you will be entered into a lottery for a $50 Amazon gift card if you complete all of the survey forms. One drawing will be held once the study has been concluded and the survey taken down. If you have any questions regarding this survey, please contact me at c.lowe0913@student.nu.edu. If you have any questions regarding your rights as a human subject and participant in this study, or to report research-related problems, you may call the Institutional Review Board at NU for information, at (858) 642-8384, or irb@nu.edu.