Support Person
The inclusion of a support person can be an integrated part of the psychedelic-assisted therapy process.
A support person is someone in the client’s life who has been identified to be a positive resource that supports and provides guidance and grounding in the wellbeing and healing of the client. This individual does not have to be a family member or a significant other, but they do have to be someone that the client feels deeply supported by, such as the role of an Elder, Knowledge Keeper or Carrier, or Medicine People within Indigenous communities.
Depending on the psychedelic-assisted therapy protocol, the support person may be invited to any of the Preparation, Medicine, and Integration Sessions, depending on the client’s comfort.
We acknowledge that real and lasting change requires continued support that is multi-facilitated and care extending beyond the confines of the therapy room. We also acknowledge that healing happens in connection to the community, therefore we want to engage the clients’ community while the client is receiving psychedelic-assisted therapy services.
Depending on the psychedelic-assisted therapy protocol, the support person may be invited to any of the Preparation, Medicine, and Integration Sessions, depending on the client’s comfort.
We acknowledge that real and lasting change requires continued support that is multi-facilitated and care extending beyond the confines of the therapy room. We also acknowledge that healing happens in connection to the community, therefore we want to engage the clients’ community while the client is receiving psychedelic-assisted therapy services.
Emotion Coaching
The support person can enhance their support skills by following the basic principles of emotion coaching:
Attend to the emotion with grounded presence.
Help them to name the emotion and describe the associated body sensation.
Validate the truth of the emotion by focusing on understanding their experience from their perspective without trying to lighten or put a positive spin on their experience.
Meet the need appropriately. For example: meet sadness with comfort, anger with setting boundaries, anxiety with love and support, and fear with protection.
Problem solve which should always be the last step so that feeling felt and validated happens first (Emotion-Focused Family Therapy, n.d.).
References
Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (n.d.). Steps of emotion coaching. https://emotionfocusedfamilytherapy.org/steps-of-emotion-coaching/