Talking about the psychedelic experience: A reflexive thematic analysis of integration sessions in psilocybin-assisted therapy for Major Depressive Disorder and cancer

Psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) has shown promise for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) and psychological distress associated with cancer. Integration of the psychedelic experience into one’s daily life is thought to be a crucial mediator of these effects, yet there are no qualitative studies of integration-focused psychotherapy sessions. The present study, a reflexive thematic analysis (RTA) of transcripts of integration sessions in a clinical trial of PAT for MDD and cancer, aims to address this gap. The analysis identified three conceptually rich themes, contributing valuable empirical data to the growing literature on PAT and offering suggestions for future work.