A “Bad Trip” consultation in Paris

Marmottan Hospital and the Sainte-Anne University Hospital Service are joining forces in a new care system: the “Bad Trip” consultation, dedicated to people experiencing psychological difficulties or psychiatric disorders following the consumption of psychoactive substances.

FOR WHOM?

This consultation is aimed at people experiencing psychological difficulties or psychiatric disorders following the consumption of psychoactive substances, commonly called “ bad trip ».
These difficulties may occur immediately after consumption or appear in the following days or weeksparticularly when the context, dosage or psychological or psychiatric history have weakened the experience.

WHAT FOR?

The consultation offers a specialized clinical assessment and, if necessary, a therapeutic monitoringin order to :

Understand what happened during the bad trip,
Relieve persistent or anxiety-provoking symptoms,
Prevent the onset of lasting psychological disorders.

Commonly encountered symptoms may include:

Acute anxiety or panic: uncontrollable fear that can build up very quickly.
Paranoia: feeling of being observed, judged, or that those around us wish us harm.
Fear of madness: terrifying belief that the current state is permanent and that we will never “return” to normal.
Feeling of imminent death: physical and mental certainty that one is dying.
Feeling like you’re losing control or “getting stuck”
Depersonalization: feeling of no longer being yourself or of being a spectator of your psychological functioning
Derealization
Feeling of strangeness
Hallucinations
Tachycardia: heart palpitations and feeling of tightness in the chest.
Sweating and chills: sudden variations in perceived body temperature.
Nausea or abdominal discomfort
Muscle tension: tight jaw or rigid body.

Even though these experiences are often transitory, they can be a source ofworry or of anguish. Early treatment helps limit the impact and support recovery.

This consultation also includes a research component aimed at better documenting these experiences. The objective is in particular to understand the social, contextual and psychological factors likely to favor these episodes: for example the consumption framework, the participants’ expectations, the relational environment or personal trajectories. In a context of international renewal of research on psychedelics, this work aims to better characterize these experiences and improve their prevention and treatment.