UK psychiatrists' trial guidance asks for therapist pairs and case supervision
- The Royal College of Psychiatrists published a 15-page guidance booklet in September 2025 for psychiatrists taking part in approved and authorised research trials of psychotherapy assisted by psychedelic and related substances (PARS). It says the guidance should not be used for other purposes, such as private practice.
- The booklet states that it does not indicate an established evidence base for the treatment, and notes that the lack of systematic study of the psychotherapy in this field leaves uncertainty about best practice.
- Therapeutic contact in a session with the substance may last 6–8 hours. The booklet advises therapists to work in pairs, with breaks coordinated so that at least one therapist is present throughout.
- It calls supervision of individual cases essential and supervision of the clinical team indispensable, both drawing on session notes or recorded sessions. Several integration sessions follow, planned in the protocol and run by the same pair.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists wrote this September 2025 booklet for psychiatrists taking part in approved research trials of psychotherapy assisted by psychedelic and related substances (PARS), and for no other setting. Its opening section says it does not show an established evidence base for the treatment, and that it should not be used, for example, in private practice, which may lack the controls of a research setting.
What the booklet asks of the team
Contact with the therapist in a session with the substance may last 6–8 hours. The booklet therefore advises working in pairs and coordinating breaks so that at least one therapist is always present; material that emerged during a break is shared on return. Case supervision, with detailed discussion of session notes or recordings, is called essential. Integration sessions follow, planned in the protocol and run by the same pair. Their number is given only as "several".
Which parts travel
The booklet draws its key concepts from mainstream psychological therapies and says the psychotherapy side of this field has been little studied. Supervision built on session material, team supervision, a detailed developmental history and a briefed next service at ending read as general practice. The pair is tied by the booklet to the length of the work. For a clinician treating severe conditions, the open question is how many of the first set a service already has.
Supervision of session material and a briefed next service are general practice; the therapist pair is tied to sessions of 6–8 hours.
This is a guidance booklet, not a study, and it reports no outcome data. It is written for approved research trials only, and by its own account the psychotherapy side of this field has been little studied.