Transference Dynamics in Psychedelic Therapy: A Relational Perspective

Abstract

Are there unique transference dynamics elicited in psychedelic psychotherapy? If so, how might they be managed? From the point of view of psychedelic theorists, this may be an odd question. Published literature on psychedelic therapy deals largely with a subject’s inner experience and not how that experience is relationally co-created. Although the psychedelic client is on a powerful hallucinogen while the therapist is not, psychoanalytic theory suggests that relational engagement happens, at least unconsciously, even when a client may be deeply regressed. Moreover, sensitivity to the intersubjective field is understood as critical for helping clients through altered states. Via a hermeneutic, qualitative investigation, this thesis brings psychoanalytic thought to bear on psychedelic theory to explore and elucidate transference dynamics within the psychedelic session.