What Is the ACE Model And Why Is it Important in Psychedelic Therapy?
In this blog, we are going to break down the scientific article, “The use of the psychological flexibility model to support psychedelic assisted therapy” and explain why you should care, what happened in the study, and what the results of the study means for you and ketamine therapy.
By following a guide, therapists will be able to treat their patients better in psychedelic assisted therapy.
Why should I care about this scientific article?
When people get into psychedelic therapy such as ketamine infusions, they think that therapy begins the moment they walk inside the clinic. However, the patients themselves also have a very important role to play. In fact, there is much work to be done on their end even before and after the infusion.
This is where preparation and integration with a therapist comes in. Plus, by following a certain “flow” or model, a therapist is there to guide you through the different stages you pass through on your ketamine journey. This is why a study was conducted to see how significant exactly it is to use a model – specifically the Accept Connect Embody (ACE) model – to support psychedelic assisted therapy.
If you think that ketamine infusions alone are the magic potion to cure you of your depression, you may want to continue reading.
Models such as the ACE have been found to deepen and extend the benefits of psilocybin treatment.
What happened in this article?
This article discussed the integration of the Accept Connect Embody (ACE) model into psilocybin assisted therapy for depression. The ACE model was derived from the phases that 20 patients with treatment-resistant depression in an open trial experienced during the entire psilocybin treatment. That open trial consisted of two sessions of psychological preparation, two therapist-supported psychedelic sessions, and three integration sessions.
The ACE model, which is used flexibly, serves as a basis for the therapists to guide their patients during their treatment. The phases in the ACE model are: (1) let go; (2) sense; (3) feel; (4) self; (5) meaning; (6) intention.
The randomized double-blind clinical trial consisted of 4 preparation sessions, 2 psilocybin sessions scheduled 3 weeks apart, and 4-7 integration sessions. Throughout the treatment, the therapists foster a sense of openness and willingness to follow the patient rather than direct it themselves.
The results of the study suggest that psychotherapy that incorporates a model such as the ACE may serve as a means to deepen and extend the benefits of psilocybin treatment.
Integration is a crucial part in making sure that you receive the full benefits of ketamine infusion treatments.
What do the results mean for me?
This article shows the importance of preparation before treatment, and integration post-treatment for when a psychedelic experience occurs. Therapists help you bridge the gap between what you have experienced during the treatment and how it applies to your current circumstances in life. During a ketamine infusion, you may also experience things that you won’t understand. You may be left feeling confused and with more questions than answers. This is why we also encourage speaking to a therapist or someone you can trust after your infusion so that you can make sense of everything.
To learn more about about integration, read our blog “How To Prepare For And Integrate From A Ketamine Infusion”
We’re looking forward to more studies that explore what the patients actually sense and feel during their entire psychedelic journey.
Final Considerations
The ACE model states that acceptance and connecting are both equally important. This means that acceptance of all unpleasant and uncomfortable experiences are as important as connecting them to a certain meaning or insight. And this is what patients who undergo psychedelic assisted therapy go through.
The Embodiment aspect, however, is what happens during the entire acceptance and connecting phase, and acknowledges the limitations of “talk” therapies. This is something that cannot really be put into words because it involves more of sensing and feeling. We hope more studies in the future delve deeper into the embodiment aspect and describe in detail what patients feel and sense throughout their transformative journey.
In psychedelic therapy, such as ketamine infusions, speaking with a therapist can be a game-changer. In this blog post, we talk about a study that determines the importance of utilizing a psychological flexibility model, called the ACE model, for therapists to guide patients throughout their psychedelic journey.