A Qualitative Exploration of Women’s Lived Experience with Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy

Abstract

Psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) has reemerged as a promising therapeutic interventionaddressing a diverse set of mental health conditions. While existing research has largely focusedon quantitative studies, less attention has been given to the lived experience, particularly ofwomen. This topic remains underexplored, despite evidence that women are the largestconsumers of psychedelics. The purpose of this qualitative dissertation was to exploreexperiences among women who have participated in PAT to understand how womenexperienced the protocol of PAT’s legalized process and what it meant to them. This researchwas methodologically examined using The Listening Guide (LG), a voice-centered approach.Participants included five women who engaged in PAT, recruited through licensed Oregon PATfacilitators. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews, conducted in 2025. Datafrom the interviews were analyzed using LG to identify key patterns of meaning across thewomen’s narratives. The main themes included a transformation of self, relational and bodilyreconnection and healing and the impact of the legal process to their experience. Participants’narratives revealed tensions between the internalized social narratives and emerging innerauthority, illuminating the complexity of women’s experiences within PAT contexts. Thesefindings suggest the set and setting play a role in shaping women’s experiences of PAT. Thisresearch contributes to scholarship on psilocybin-assisted therapy by highlighting the efficacyand potential it has to impact and transform women’s mental health. By centering women’s voices and lived experiences, this study offers insights that may inform future clinical practice,research, and policy related to PAT.