Anne Heche Admitted to Getting LSD Therapy: ‘The Idea That They Could Help Me Fascinated Me’

The late Anne Heche spoke about her challenges with mental health. The actor opened up about receiving LSD therapy.

Anne Heche said her ex-boyfriend introduced her to LSD therapy

In her autobiography, Call Me Crazy, Heche said an ex-boyfriend, Nick, introduced her to LSD therapy. She was curious about why they seemed to be communicating better, and he told her he was in a new type of therapy that helped him a lot. That’s when he shared with her that he had received LSD therapy.

Heche said she tried LSD before when she attended a Grateful Dead concert. She was hesitant to do it again, saying that drugs “scared” her. However, she was also intrigued by the idea of a drug being able to help her with her mental health. “The idea that they could help me, however, fascinated me,” said Heche in her book.

Heche wanted to learn more about LSD therapy, so Nick introduced her to a few friends of his who had tried it. After talking to Nick and his friends, Heche wanted to learn more. She said the therapy seemed to work for them.

According to Heche, Nick stopped drinking after undergoing LSD therapy. She also said his friends seemed like one of “the most loving, giving, honest, and straightforward” people she had ever met.

Anne Heche explained how LSD therapy worked

Heche said someone explained to her that a “low dose” of LSD could “take you into your unconscious mind” and give you the ability to see what was inside your “conscious mind.” Heche said once the pain of the past was located, it could be “released.”

According to Heche, a therapist would guide the patient on a “journey” during which LSD was used as a “tool” that would assist patients with the process of removing emotional blocks from childhood.

Heche decided to try both Reichian therapy and LSD therapy. She told the Reichian therapist about her plans to try LSD therapy. Heche said the Reichian therapist told her LSD therapy can be “helpful and healing.” However, she wouldn’t outright recommend the therapy to her because it was illegal.

Heche made it clear in her book that she knew LSD therapy was illegal and she wasn’t recommending it to others. On the other hand, Heche said this type of therapy helped her “heal” her life.

Anne Heche was not prepared for what she experienced

Heche said she and her LSD therapist, Arthur, spoke on the phone twice before meeting in person. After thinking about it for a few months, she decided to move forward with the therapy.

Before beginning the first session, Heche said Arthur led her in prayer. He then explained what would take place. She said one of the things he told her was that the therapy work was about focusing on a feeling and then “releasing” it so that you could be “free” from it.

Heche thought the experience would be fun, but she was taken aback by the first image she saw after taking LSD. She said she saw an image of herself as excrement.

“No kidding,” said Heche. “No lie. I was and saw myself as s***.” She said that she felt “gross” and “disgusting” while she saw these visions. Heche was so disturbed by what she experienced that she got up and began screaming at the therapist.

Heche said the therapist comforted her and reassured her she was OK. He told her coming to therapy was the first step on the road to living “happily and fully.”

How to get help: In the U.S., contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helpline at 1-800-662-4357.

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