Ansgar Rougemont

Psychiatrist and psychotherapist, specialist in addictions. University of Fribourg

Talk date & time :

Saturday 17:30-18:30

Substance-augmented Psychotherapy (SAP) is receiving increasing interest among clinicians and researchers. This talk will present three major pathways contributing to healing of trauma-related suffering: One is the overcoming of the phobic avoidance of the traumatic memory; another is the normalization of the contextualisation deficit. Finally, the most challenging mechanism of healing is the overcoming of the traumatic attachment patterns. Whereas the two first mechanism can be conceptualized by means of pharmacological properties of psychedelics, the last can only be achieved within a therapeutical relationship: Only by experiencing full acceptance, trust and compassion while confronting the trauma the victim is able to leave the prison of guilt and shame in which she/he was forced to enter when adapting to severe and repeated mistreatment. This means that therapists wishing to practice SAP must be ready to engage personally in an authentically shaped therapeutic relationship in which there is openness for exploring transpersonal evidence related to evolving both, patient and therapist, within the conditio humana.

Ansgar Rougemont-Bücking, MD, Priv.-Doc., is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, scientist and book author. Originally from Germany, he is living in the French-speaking part of Switzerland for more than 20 years. He has conducted research at various universities, including Harvard, on the neurobiological mechanisms that contribute to the development of post-traumatic disorders and of addiction. As a clinician, he is specialized in the treatment of post-traumatic and of addictive disorders for many years. Currently, he is conducting a research project at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) on the topic of burnout. With a special authorization from the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health he is conducting psychedelic-assisted therapies with substances such as LSD, Psilocybin, MDMA as well as with Ketamine.