Interpersonal neurobiology in somatic & psychedelic assisted therapy: A somatic relational framework for psychedelic practitioners

A doctoral thesis proposes a somatic psychotherapeutic framework for psychedelic-assisted therapy based on interviews with twelve practitioners. The framework suggests that psychedelics deepen somatic experience, reopen attachment critical windows, and amplify relational processes. It 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 provides clinical rationale for somatic-relational training in psychedelic-assisted therapy and suggests directions for future neurobiological and phenomenological research.

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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.