Welcome to a free public lecture hosted by Nätverket för psykedelisk vetenskap in collaboration with the Department of Psychology at Stockholm University! We are proud to be visited by Roberta Murphy and Ashleigh-Murphy Beiner of Imperial College London, two of the world's most prominent researchers on the role of the therapist within psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.

The lecture location is Albanovägen 12, lecture hall 2.

Biography:

Dr Roberta Murphy is an Irish psychiatrist based in London, currently training as a medical psychotherapist. She is a member of the Imperial Centre for Psychedelic Research. She worked as a study doctor and therapy guide on trials of psilocybin for healthy volunteers, severe depression and eating disorders; and has subsequently helped to train other research teams. She is particularly interested in the role of the therapist in psychedelic assisted therapy. She has been involved in writing ethical frameworks and clinical guidelines for the work; and co-facilitates reflective groups on ethical and clinical issues in psychedelic therapy for practitioners. She has published a recent paper exploring the impact of the therapeutic alliance on the acute psychedelic experience and clinical outcomes. Roberta is interested in alternative approaches to severe and enduring mental health issues. She has trained with Open Dialogue UK, The Institute of Group Analysis, The Institute of Psychoanalysis and in Ecotherapy. Her work is informed by experiences of Holotropic Breathwork.

Ashleigh Murphy-Beiner is a Psychologist based in London, specialising in the treatment of complex trauma. Ashleigh is also a member of the Imperial Centre for Psychedelic Research where she is carrying out qualitative and psychotherapy process research. Her research relates to therapists experiences of using psychedelic assisted therapy with people with complex trauma histories, and patients’ experiences of psilocybin treatment for depression and anorexia. Ashleigh worked as a therapy guide on Imperial’s clinical trial of psilocybin-assisted therapy for depression, and previously published research exploring changes to cognitive flexibility and mindfulness following ayahuasca use. She has co-designed and published an ethics framework; and facilitates educational and reflective groups on ethical and clinical issues in psychedelic therapy to support practitioners, clinicians and academic staff. Ashleigh is trained to work flexibly with a range of psychological models including psychodynamic, systemic and cognitive -behavioural therapies and has undertaken a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy).