Leo Zeff

Leo Zeff (born May 14, 1912 , † April 13, 1988 ) was an American psychologist and psychotherapist in the Californian city of Oakland . In the 1970s, he was a pioneer in the therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs such as LSD , ibogaine and other psychoactive substances such as MDMA .

When Alexander Shulgin introduced him to MDMA in 1977, the drug was still legal. Zeff popularized its use in psychotherapeutic circles; Shulgin's wife, Ann Shulgin, recalled a statement by a speaker at a memorial service for Zeff that he introduced about 4,000 therapists to the use of this drug, which he referred to as "Adam" because he believed it would restore you to an original state return to innocence and release neuroses . Zeff was so excited about the substance that he postponed his retirement to travel across the country introducing MDMA to hundreds of his therapist colleagues.

In 1961, while working as a psychotherapist at Jungscher Schule, Zeff became familiar with LSD and developed a method of administering it to patients during therapy. Working exclusively with carefully prepared patients, the primary goal of the first (and possibly only) session was to find the right dose of LSD for the patient. At the beginning of the session he wore an eye mask and listened to music. Zeff gave emotional support if necessary. If the inner experience became difficult, he recommended facing it and going along with the experience. Later in the session, the patients looked at photos of their loved ones and of themselves.

Before Zeff worked with psychedelics, he was a lieutenant colonel in the US Army.

See also

• Claudio Naranjo
• Stanislav Grof
• Psycholytic psychotherapy

Web links

• Myron J. Stolaroff: The Secret Chief Revealed: Conversations with Leo Zeff, Pioneer in the Underground Psychedelic Therapy Movement . Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies . 2004, 1997. ISBN 0-9660019-6-6 .
• Council on Spiritual Practices: Zeff Memorial Library . A selection of books, anthologies, articles and newsletters on entheogens .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Purdue University - Archives and Special Collections: Zeff, Leo .
2. ↑ ^{a b} Erowid: Leo J. Zeff . (With photograph.)
3. ↑ Michelle Roberts: Alexander Shulgin, 'Godfather of ecstasy', dies aged 88 . BBC. 3rd June 2014.
4. ↑ Drake Bennett: Dr. Ecstasy . In: New York Times Magazine , January 30, 2005. Retrieved June 1, 2008. 
5. ↑ ^{a b} Ethan Brown: Professor X . In: Wired . 10, No. 9, September 2002. Retrieved February 1, 2009.
6. ↑ ^{a b} Myron J. Stolaroff: The Secret Chief Revealed: Conversations with Leo Zeff, Pioneer in the Underground Psychedelic Therapy Movement . 2005.