Jennifer Pincombe, Martin Williams, Sean Carruthers, Susan L Rossell
Findings from the first workshops largely restate previous findings emphasizing the importance of clients developing a comprehensive shared understanding of the cognitive model of treatment with their therapist. People with lived experience of OCD also highlighted the importance of developing trust in their therapist's expertise and ability to understand nuances of individual cases. Findings from the second workshop produced a wide variety of ideas for how VR could support the treatment of OCD. Many of these go beyond the concept of simply enabling exposure work as seen in previous literature. Methods to increase client engagement with the cognitive model during treatment were described, and people with lived experience proposed methods of managing anxiety experienced during treatment to facilitate approach behaviors. Avenues for further development of these ideas and areas for further refinement are discussed.
BACKGROUND: Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) may be an effective intervention for a range of mental disorders. However, there appears to be a relative lack of qualitative evidence to complement emerging quantitative findings. To our knowledge, no reviews have systematically mapped the literature on qualitative studies on PAP for the treatment of mental disorders with the intent to identify opportunities for future research.
AIMS: To assess the scope of qualitative research on PAP for mental disorders, identify research trends, and highlight future opportunities.
METHODS: We conducted a systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, and PsycNET for qualitative studies of adults (18 years and older) with a mental disorder who received PAP in controlled research settings. The search was limited to peer review articles, without time limitations.
RESULTS: A total of 13 qualitative studies were identified, which included participants with depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, trauma- and stressor-related disorders, alcohol-use disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anorexia nervosa. The studies explored 12 topics, ranging from pre- to postintervention experiences. Most studies used semi-structured interviews and used interpretative phenomenological analysis or thematic analysis.
CONCLUSIONS: This review provides information to researchers and clinicians to guide future qualitative investigations that will complement and enhance the field's understanding of PAP in treating mental disorders. Opportunities include covering a broader range of mental disorders; exploring longer term outcomes, the sustainability of effects, postintervention support, and adverse experiences; comparing active and control group experiences; exploring therapist and significant other perspectives; and increasing sample sizes.