Interpersonal neurobiology in somatic & psychedelic assisted therapy: A somatic relational framework for psychedelic practitioners
UWA Profiles and Research Repository November 28, 2025 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.26182/fkd5-5131 via OpenAlex
Summary
A somatic psychotherapeutic framework for psychedelic-assisted therapy was developed through interviews with twelve practitioners. It proposes that psychedelics enhance somatic experiences and relational processes, incorporating three phases: somatic preparation, relational attunement during dosing, and body-based integration. Effective practice necessitates ongoing somatic work by practitioners and personal experience with liminal states. The framework provides a clinical rationale for training in somatic-relational approaches in psychedelic therapy and suggests directions for future research.
Study at a glance
| Design | qualitative study |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 12 |
| Population | practitioners of psychedelic-assisted therapy |
| Key finding | Psychedelics deepen somatic experience and amplify relational processes, necessitating a framework that includes somatic preparation, relational attunement, and body-based integration. |
Abstract
This doctoral thesis develops a somatic psychotherapeutic framework for psychedelic-assisted therapy through interviews with twelve practitioners. Using Constructivist Grounded Theory, Heuristic Inquiry, and Integral Inquiry, it suggests that psychedelics deepen somatic experience, reopen attachment critical windows, and amplify relational processes. The framework integrates three phases: somatic preparation, relational attunement during dosing, and body-based integration. Effective practice requires ongoing practitioner somatic work, personal experience with liminal states, and capacity for relational depth. The framework contributes essential clinical rationale for somatic-relational training in psychedelic-assisted therapy and others directions for future neurobiological and phenomenological research.