The use of the psychological flexibility model to support psychedelic assisted therapy
This theory-building paper (2020) presents the ACE (Accept, Connect, Embody) model and how it's being used in a trial (Psilodep 2) with psilocybin-assisted therapy for depression.
Authors
- Rosalind Watts
- Jason Luoma
Published
Abstract
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. This paper proposes a model that utilises the PFM as informed by a previously published qualitative study of patient accounts of change processes in psilocybin therapy that identified themes of acceptance and connection as associated with positive outcomes. This new model, the ACE (Accept, Connect, Embody) model presents the six psychological flexibility processes, renamed and rearranged in an acceptance triad (defusion, present moment focus, willingness) and a connection triad (self as context, values, committed action). This paper describes the ACE model and how it is being used in an ongoing trial of psilocybin treatment for major depression. It also describes qualitative evidence supportive of the idea that psychological flexibility may be key to characterizing the processes of change involved in psilocybin assisted therapy for depression. These and other results suggest that psilocybin may be specifically increasing psychological flexibility and point to the possibility that psychotherapy approaches incorporating the PFM may serve as a means to deepen and extend the benefits of psilocybin treatment, thus bridging the experiential gap between a potent inner experience and an outer life better lived.
Research Summary of 'The use of the psychological flexibility model to support psychedelic assisted therapy'
Introduction
Psychedelic assisted therapy typically comprises three stages—preparation, the psychedelic session itself, and integration—and effective non-drug psychotherapy around the session is considered crucial for safety and for prolonging benefits. Watts and colleagues note that, despite this consensus, specific and testable psychotherapeutic models to guide preparation and integration are sparse. They draw on findings from Psilodep 1, an open-label trial of psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, and on broader clinical experience to argue that the psychological flexibility model (PFM) is a promising organising framework for this work. This paper introduces the Accept, Connect, Embody (ACE) model, an adaptation of the PFM tailored to psychedelic-assisted therapy. The ACE model reorganises the six PFM processes into an acceptance triad and a connection triad, and places embodiment as a pervasive element. Watts and colleagues set out to describe the ACE model, show how qualitative data from Psilodep 1 converge with PFM processes, and explain how the model is being implemented in an ongoing randomised, double-blind trial (Psilodep 2) to guide preparation and integration.
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Study Details
- Study Typeindividual
- Journal
- Compound
- Topics
- Authors
- APA Citation
Watts, R., & Luoma, J. B. (2020). The use of the psychological flexibility model to support psychedelic assisted therapy. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 15, 92-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2019.12.004
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