"Imagine that you are a newly licensed clinician joining a group practice in psychedelic therapy. In your first few weeks, you work with participants who have vastly different experiences: One participant expresses mystical insights, another spends the day shaking and trembling, a third makes peace with a deceased father, the fourth dives deep into grief and sobs for hours, and the last feels connected to their true self for the first time in their life but isn't sure what to do about it"--
EMBARK Psychedelic Therapy for Depression: A New Approach for the Whole Person represents a critical step forward in the field of psychedelic therapy. The book is a comprehensive guide for clinicians, offering a groundbreaking therapeutic framework for administering psychedelic medicines in treating depression. Developed in response to identified gaps in existing models of psychedelic therapy, the EMBARK model addresses the need for a comprehensive, ethical, and inclusive approach. It bridges gaps from previous psychedelic therapies, such as lack of attentiveness to the body and rigorous ethical practice.
EMBARK offers a transdiagnostic and trans-drug approach adaptable to various indications and psychedelic medicines. It's built on four Cornerstones of Care: Trauma-Informed Care, Culturally Competent Care, Ethically Rigorous Care, and Collective Care, reflecting the belief that efficacious treatment is ethical treatment. The EMBARK acronym represents six Clinical Domains that commonly emerge for people in psychedelic experiences: Existential-Spiritual, Mindfulness, Body Aware, Affective-Cognitive, Relational, and Keeping Momentum.
The book provides practical instructions and suggested agendas for therapists, and offers a flexible, participant-centric approach to integration, focusing on the clinical domains that emerged for the participant. It also links theory to practice for the treatment of depression, drawing from twelve proposed psychological mechanisms of therapeutic change in psychedelic therapy, and provides a comprehensive guide to treatment factors. EMBARK psychedelic therapy is open-sourced to the clinical community for development and adaptation to other psychedelic medicines, diverse populations, and to inform the development of psychedelic practitioner trainings, making it an essential resource for those interested in the field of psychedelic therapy.
EMBARK Psychedelic Therapy for Depression: A New Approach for the Whole Person is a clinical guide that explores the innovative use of psychedelic therapy in treating depression. The book presents the EMBARK psychedelic therapy model, a comprehensive and participant-centric approach that focuses on the whole person, not just their symptoms. It delves into the preparation, medicine, and integration phases of therapy, providing practical guidelines for practitioners.
