Event Date: 12 May 2023
Event Time: 4pm – 5pm BST | 11am – 12pm ET
Booking fee: £10-20 based on income
Learning outcomes/ summary:
Drawing on my experience of working in psilocybin assisted psychotherapy trials at Imperial College London I will explore the unique opportunities and challenges this approach presents for clients, therapists and health services. The emergence of deep psychic material from the psychedelic experience needs containing and integration within a therapeutic frame and alliance that are tightly constrained by the demands of clinical research. The intense attachment dynamics stirred by the work add a further layer of complexity to be navigated and worked through, presenting powerful opportunities for growth and healing, as well as risks. Evidence supporting the importance of the therapeutic relationship in this work from the recent paper ‘Therapeutic Alliance and Rapport Modulate Responses to Psilocybin Assisted Therapy for Depression’ will be presented.
Speaker bio:
Dr Roberta Murphy is an Irish psychiatrist based in London. She is currently training as a medical psychotherapist in South West London and St George’s NHS Trust. She is a member of the Imperial Centre for Psychedelic Research. She worked as a study doctor and therapy guide on trials of psilocybin for healthy volunteers, severe depression and eating disorders. She has helped to train other research teams and offers support around issues pertaining to screening. She is interested in alternative approaches to severe and enduring mental health issues. She has published a recent paper exploring the impact of the therapeutic alliance on the acute psychedelic experience and clinical outcomes. She has trained with Open Dialogue UK, The Institute of Group Analysis, The Institute of Psychoanalysis and in Ecotherapy. Her work is informed by experiences of Holotropic Breathwork.
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