Transdiagnostic Effects and Mechanisms of Psychedelic Therapy | Dr. med. Susanne Prinz

OVERVIEW Could psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) transform the way people relate to themselves, their emotions, others, and the world? Psychedelic experiences may help loosen rigid patterns of perception and emotional responding, potentially opening a window for new learning, reappraisal, and integration. This talk explores the transdiagnostic effects and mechanisms of PAT, focusing on changes that may cut across diagnostic categories and symptom clusters. Particular attention will be given to experiences of connectedness, shifts in self-perception and self-relation, increased emotional access, a broader emotional range, and changes in meaning-making and psychological flexibility. Alongside current conceptual and clinical perspectives, preliminary data from a real-world setting, brief case vignettes, and anecdotes will illustrate how these processes may unfold in real therapeutic practice and how they may contribute to meaningful psychological change. SPEAKER Dr. med. Susanne Prinz is a psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and senior physician at the Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich. She is deputy head of the Center for Depression, Anxiety Disorders and Psychotherapy and leads its outpatient services, including a clinical program offering psychedelic-assisted therapy under Switzerland's medical-access framework. Alongside her clinical work, she conducts research on psychedelic-assisted therapy and its implementation in psychiatric care.