Gramling R., Bennett E., Curtis K., et al. “Developing a Direct Observation Measure of Therapeutic Connection in Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy: A Feasibility Study.” J Palliat Med, Aug. 2023.

Authors

Robert Gramling, Emily Bennett, Keith Curtis, William Richards, Donna M Rizzo, Francesca Arnoldy, Logan Hegg, Jon Porter, Heather Honstein, Susanna Pratt, Elise Tarbi, Maija Reblin, Paul Thambi, Manish Agrawal

Originally published in The Journal of Palliative Medicine as Developing a Direct Observation Measure of Therapeutic Connection in Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy: A Feasibility Study.

Published Date: December 26, 2023

Abstract

Context

Measuring therapeutic connection during psilocybin-assisted therapy is essential to understand underlying mechanisms, inform training, and guide quality improvement. 

Purpose

To evaluate the feasibility of directly observing indicators of therapeutic connection during psilocybin administration encounters. 

Methods

We evaluated audio and video data from a recent clinical trial for observable expressions of therapeutic connection as defined in proposed best-practice competencies (i.e., empathic abiding presence and interpersonal grounding). We selected the first four 8-hour encounters involving unique participants, therapists, and gender pairs. Each video was independently coded by three members of an interprofessional six-person team. Using a structured checklist, coders recorded start-stop times, the audible (i.e., speech prosody or words) and visible (i.e., body movements, eye gaze, and touch) cues marking the event, and the qualities of the interaction (e.g., expression of awe, trust, distress, and calmness). We assessed feasibility by observing the frequency, distribution, and overlap of cues and qualities coders used to identify and define moments of therapeutic connection. 

Results

Among the 2074 minutes of video, coders recorded 372 moments of therapeutic connection. Eighty-three percent were identified by at least two coders and 41% by all three. Coders used a combination of audible and visual cues to identify therapeutic connection in 51% of observed events (190/372). Both the cues and qualities of therapeutic connection expressions varied over the course of psilocybin temporal effects on states of consciousness. 

Conclusion

Direct observation of therapeutic human connection is feasible, sensitive to changes in states of consciousness and requires evaluation of audible and visual data.