NYC ACBS Presents:
Psychological Flexibility and Psychedelics: Using Contextual Behavioral Science to Guide Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy
Presenter: Brian Pilecki, Ph.D.
Date: Wednesday, April 19
Time: 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Cost: Professionals (includes 2 CE credits): $45 for NYC ACBS Members; $65 for Nonmembers; Students (no CE): $20
Over the last decade, psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) has emerged as a novel form of mental health treatment and is unique in using a combination of psychotherapeutic techniques with an altered state of consciousness to facilitate change and transformation. This presentation will provide a brief overview of this new form of treatment from the perspective of contextual behavioral science. In addition, evidence from recent rigorous clinical trials will be reviewed and evaluated. Finally, the presenter will examine acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) -- and contextual behavioral science more broadly -- as a framework for providing psychedelic-assisted therapy.
The presentation is intended to help clinicians have informed conversations with their clients about the use of psychedelic interventions and consider the role that ACT strategies and a pragmatic functional contextualist stance could play in providing therapeutic support for clients seeking psychedelic-assisted interventions. The utility of the psychological flexibility model in supporting psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy will be described, and specific psychological processes (e.g., cognitive defusion, self-as-context) that psychedelic-assisted therapies may influence will be identified. Ethical and legal considerations concerning the advocacy and implementation of these therapies will also be discussed.
Learning Objectives
Describe the theory and practice of the general psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy model, including hypothesized mechanisms of action
Summarize research findings and current legal status of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy
Describe the way that the psychological flexibility model, as developed in acceptance and commitment therapy and contextual behavioral science, can inform psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy
Discuss the risks, potential benefits, and ethical implications of delivering psychedelic-assisted interventions in the context of acceptance and commitment therapy
Learning Levels
Appropriate for beginner, intermediate, and advanced practitioners
About the Presenter
Dr. Brian Pilecki is a clinical psychologist at Portland Psychotherapy that specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders, trauma and PTSD, and psychedelic-assisted therapy. He graduated from Fordham University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Brian practices from an orientation based in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and has extensive experience in the areas of mindfulness and meditation that he incorporates into therapy with clients. At Portland Psychotherapy, Brian is an active researcher and a study therapist on a clinical trial investigating the use of MDMA-assisted therapy for the treatment of social anxiety disorder and understanding processes of change in how this novel form of treatment might work. He has given numerous workshops on topics related to psychedelics and is a consultant and instructor for Fluence, an organization that provides professional training in psychedelic-assisted therapy and integration. Brian is co-chairperson for the Psychedelic Special Interest Group in the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science and co-hosts a podcast called Altered States of Context about the intersection of psychedelics and psychotherapy.