“So many relationships in the room”: Participant perspectives on the affordances and challenges of co-therapy in psychedelic assisted therapy
September 26, 2025 R. Ham, John Gardner, Adrian Carter et al. preprint
In psychedelic-assisted therapy, two therapists often work together to support participants through preparation, dosing, and integration sessions. This qualitative study examined how participants experienced this cotherapy model within a trial of psilocybin-assisted therapy for generalized anxiety disorder. Interviews with 18 participants revealed three major themes: cotherapy on dose day provided safety, trust, and highlighted access issues; cotherapy influenced therapeutic processes; and cotherapy shaped the impact and credibility of therapeutic insights. Overall, participants valued cotherapy, which served both as a safety and supportive measure and as a potentiator of therapeutic processes. These findings can guide clinical practice and future research to enhance feasibility and accessibility while preserving safety and therapeutic benefits.