'So many relationships in the room': Participant perspectives on the affordances and challenges of co-therapy in psychedelic assisted therapy.
Rachel Ham, John Gardner, Adrian Carter et al.
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
In 30 seconds
This longitudinal qualitative study explored how participants experienced co-therapy during psilocybin-assisted therapy for generalised anxiety disorder. Participants were sampled from a large randomised, open-label phase 2 trial; the qualitative analysis drew on 29 interviews with 18 participants, conducted before and after dosing sessions. Three themes concerned co-therapy’s role in safety, trust and access; its influence on therapeutic processes; and its effect on the impact and credibility of therapeutic insights. Participants’ accounts suggest co-therapy may provide support and facilitate therapy, while also raising feasibility and accessibility considerations.
Key findings
- Thematic analysis of 29 interviews with 18 participants identified three major themes related to safety and access, therapeutic processes, and therapeutic insights.
- Participants described co-therapy as potentially supporting safety and trust during dosing sessions.
- Co-therapy was reported to influence therapeutic processes and the impact and credibility of participants’ insights.
Why it matters
Co-therapy is common in psychedelic-assisted therapy, but participant perspectives have been underexplored. These findings offer a qualitative account of how a therapist dyad may shape perceived safety, therapeutic processes and insights. They also highlight that potential benefits need to be considered alongside feasibility and accessibility when designing clinical services and future research.
What to keep in mind
The qualitative findings came from 18 participants in one phase 2 trial, delivered by highly qualified, trained and supervised clinicians; transferability to other settings is uncertain.