psychedelic assisted therapy

Highlights

Scientific research on the therapeutic use of psychedelics has rapidly expanded over the past decade and, over the next decade, they may be approved for clinical use. Psychedelics have been used for centuries in ritual, community, and spiritual contexts and yet the potential for a scientific approach to these drugs has possibly never been greater than it is now. Modern well controlled trials show preliminary efficacy in relation to a range of different psychological problems.

Psychedelic assisted therapy comprises three stages: Preparation, Psychedelic Session, and Integration. Preparation is key for maximising the potential of a beneficial psychedelic experience and integration is important for prolonging improvements. The psychological flexibility model (PFM) appears to be a promising one to guide psychedelic preparation and integration.

Prior research has shown that acute subjective psychedelic effects are associated with both spontaneous and intended changes in depression and anxiety. Psychedelics are also theorized to produce increases in psychological flexibility, which could explain decreases in depression and anxiety following a psychedelic experience.

Highlights
• The psychological flexibility model can guide therapeutic use of psychedelics
• The processes of change engaged by psychedelics overlap with that model
• Changes in time, place, and person are central to the impact of psychedelics
• These data fit with a hierarchical deictic approach to the perspective-taking self
• A perspective-taking self may play a more central role in psychological flexibility

Psychedelic-assisted therapy is based on the premise that psychedelic substances can act as catalysts or adjuncts to psychotherapeutic processes.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by behavioral dysregulation, emotion dysregulation, disturbances in self-identity, and social functioning. Despite the existence of evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions for BPD, these interventions have important limitations (e.g., limited treatment efficacy). Furthermore, little evidence exists for the efficaciousness of pharmacological interventions for BPD.

After two decades of quiescence, clinical psychedelic research re-started in the 1990s and is rapidly accelerating. Early evidence for effectiveness is promising, but understanding of the psychological processes of change underlying observed benefits is limited. This paper outlines contextual behavioral science (CBS) as an ideal framework for understanding psychedelic experiences and the psychological processes of change involved in psychedelic assisted therapy.