Common Factors of Psychotherapy in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (PAT)
Background In the first phase of clinical research into psychedelic substances in the 1960s, psychedelic therapy was embedded in a psychotherapeutic rationale. In Europe, therapists such as Hans Carl Leuner and Jan Bastiaans tended to favor a psychoanalytical approach. In the US, newly developed humanistic therapy approaches prevailed. This method was developed primarily by Stanislav Grof. However, both treatments had in common that the use of psychedelics was seen as part of psychotherapeutic treatment. In the present day, the necessity or at least the intensity and frequency of psychotherapeutic support for PAT has been questioned, and the fundamental question has been raised as to how much of the psychedelic effect is caused by neurobiological-pharmacological factors and how much by psychotherapeutic factors. These questions have been answered controversially (Goodwin, 2024, Gründer, 2024). Since the work of Sigmund Freud, there has been over 100 years of research on the question of effective factors in psychotherapy. In 1936, author Saul Rosenzweig published a paper describing that, in addition to the specific technical means and methods of psychotherapy, there are also general factors that are common to the various therapies. He called these “common factors.” They include trust building, empathic attention, authenticity and others. Common factors research has been continued by numerous authors. However, it has not received consistent attention.
Methods In his presentation, the speaker provides a historical and scientific overview and then describes his own long-standing experience in clinical research and therapy with psychedelics. He specifies what common factors are in PAT and what important therapist characteristics and qualities are. Part of the presentation will therefore deal with therapeutic identity and therapeutic narcissism.
Conclusion The speaker believes that the aspect of common factors has received too little attention in the discussion about the effective factors of PAT. Especially during the acute phase of the psychedelic effect, there are often prolonged nonverbal moments when structured therapeutic interventions from psychotherapeutic treatment methods are not possible or not appropriate. Here, knowledge of the non-specific factors is important, and attention to one's own therapeutic persona in a state of heightened perception on the part of the patient/client/subject is of particular importance.
