Psychoanalytic Clinical Consultation Group

Each week, one member of the group will present clinical material; usually this will mean material from patients in treatment, but other subjects of presentation are welcome, such as material from a non-clinical setting or direct personal experience.

This group presumes basic familiarity with psychedelic integration therapy, as taught through Fluence, as well as a solid grounding in psychoanalytic/dynamic therapy. PPCG will contain elements of peer supervision, if appropriate, but will also invite the practice of analytic listening, exploration of reverie, discussion of transference and countertransference processes, fantasy and imagination as well as embodied affect. We are hoping that transference to psychedelic medicines, themselves, will be a frequent topic of discussion: in our patients, in ourselves and in our culture.

This group will meet weekly, and will keep the same members of the 12-week period. We will, together, strive to create a supportive, safe, creative and expressive environment with the same confidentiality parameters as a psychotherapy group. While we invite personal sharing, as usual, we ask that any clinician’s underground work giving medicines be kept out of group discussion completely. The group is open to practicing clinicians of all persuasions, but will emphasize psychoanalytic and psychodynamic perspectives.

A limited number of Diversity Fund scholarships are available, please complete this application, in addition to the course application.

• Assess and reflect on the motivations for which patients seek Psychedelic Integration Therapy
• Assess and verbalize the complex motivations of patients to seek out and use psychedelics
• Rate the variety of subjective experiences and emotions patients report with psychedelics with nonjudgmental curiosity
• Describe and acknowledge therapist reactions to patients who are seeking psychedelic experiences
• Rate in equal esteem psychedelic experiences that are thoughtful and growth oriented and ones that are recreational, spontaneous, or dissociative
• Assess and articulate how psychedelics can amplify transference
• Assess and articulate how transferences to psychedelics can become fused with therapist transferences
• Prepare for shifts in language, meaning, and self-concept that may accompany experiences with psychedelics
• Explain openly (in appropriate settings) about emotional responses (countertransference) to patient reports as they relate to the therapist’s own relationship to psychedelic therapy
• Describe states of psychic disruption that suggest a need for more intensive treatment
• Describe extended support services for the patient, including family or community resources
• Plan the guidance and support of non-drug self-transformation efforts as part of Psychedelic Integration Therapy