EMBARK Psychedelic Therapy for Depression
April 23, 2024
Bill Brennan, Alex Belser
AbstractChapter 1 introduces the concept of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) and the EMBARK psychedelic therapy model, a new approach to PAT and psychological support. The chapter serves as an orientation to the book, outlining its structure and intended audiences. It discusses the growing interest in psychedelic medicines for treating mental health disorders, particularly depression. The...
EMBARK Psychedelic Therapy for Depression
April 23, 2024
Bill Brennan, Alex Belser
AbstractChapter 6 focuses on the medicine sessions of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT), where the psychedelic medicine is administered. The chapter outlines the therapist’s role in these sessions, emphasizing the importance of support, responsiveness, and skillful following, ensuring the participant’s physical well-being, maintaining appropriate boundaries, and providing mindful,...
EMBARK Psychedelic Therapy for Depression
April 23, 2024
Bill Brennan, Alex Belser
AbstractChapter 8 concludes the book with a reflection on the intense and meaningful journey of providing psychedelic-assisted therapy. It acknowledges the book’s aim to provide a comprehensive guide to practicing psychedelic therapy, rooted in the best available evidence and ethical considerations. The chapter points to future opportunities in the field, including a shift from a...
EMBARK Psychedelic Therapy for Depression
April 23, 2024
Bill Brennan, Alex Belser
AbstractChapter 4 provides a comprehensive guide to the considerations and treatment factors that should be attended to prior to initiating psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT). It discusses the importance of therapists’ credentials, competencies, skills, personal growth, experiential training, personal psychedelic experiences, and personal commitment to receiving supervision, peer supervision,...
EMBARK Psychedelic Therapy for Depression
April 23, 2024
Bill Brennan, Alex Belser
AbstractChapter 3 describes proposed psychological mechanisms of change within the EMBARK psychedelic therapy model for the treatment of depression. Twelve mechanisms of therapeutic change are described across the six EMBARK clinical domains: Existential–Spiritual: (a) spiritual self-development, (b) mystical experiences; Mindfulness: (c) freedom from rumination, (d) a more flexible identity,...
EMBARK Psychedelic Therapy for Depression
April 23, 2024
Bill Brennan, Alex Belser
AbstractChapter 2 provides a rationale for the EMBARK approach, a therapeutic framework for administering psychedelic medicines. The authors assess previous PAT models, highlighting their strengths and shortcomings. They identify gaps in areas such as attentiveness to the body, attending to the therapeutic relationship, counseling for spiritual experiences, and ethical considerations. The...
EMBARK Psychedelic Therapy for Depression
April 23, 2024
Bill Brennan, Alex Belser
AbstractChapter 5 outlines a preparation phase consisting of three 90-minute nondrug sessions. Preparation lays the groundwork for potential benefits across the six EMBARK domains. The therapist’s aims in this phase include building trust, understanding the participant’s experience of depression, identifying participant intentions, and providing psychoeducation about psychedelic therapy. The...
EMBARK Psychedelic Therapy for Depression
April 23, 2024
Bill Brennan, Alex Belser
AbstractChapter 7 underscores the pivotal role of integration sessions in psychedelic therapy, where insights from medicine sessions are woven into the fabric of daily life. It presents the EMBARK model’s flexible, participant-centric approach to integration, focusing adaptively on the clinical domains that emerged for the participant. It provides guidelines and goals for the practitioner in...