Pat Song | “Erotic Feelings In Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy: What Practitioners Tell Us, And Implications For Practice”

Sexual boundary violations by psychedelic practitioners are a recurring and serious problem. The aim of this psychodynamic study is to identify how erotic transference and countertransference (ETCT) can emerge in psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) and how to reduce risk of harms. To this end I have interviewed, thus far, 22 PAT practitioners and participants about their experiences of ETCT.This presentation will be in four parts. First, I will briefly review a psychodynamic framework for working safely and therapeutically with ETCT and selected interview themes. Next, I will present material on how intimate relationships can, under some conditions, be strained by PAT use in one partner. The third segment will cover some of the challenges of therapeutic touch and ETCT for the practitioner. In the last segment we will think together about some implications for practice, especially in regards to management of boundaries and therapeutic touch. For example, preparation should include an assessment of the participant’s primary relationship and discussion of possibilities with erotic energy, material, and transference. Each part will be followed by group discussion where I hope we can all share ideas and learn from each other.

In preparation for Pat’s talk please watch her talk at the last Breaking Convention conference – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sydg4dbjBU

And download the paper – “Teaching Psychiatric Trainees to Respond to Sexual and Loving Feelings: The Supervisory Challenge by Nancy Bridges available here – https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3330501