Psychedelic Grief Work with Rebecca Böhme

How can we work through grief that refuses to lift, years after a loss? Could the loosening of the self's boundaries, a central feature of the psychedelic experience, actually help us move forward?

Tonight's conversation

In this webinar, Filip Bromberg meets brain researcher Rebecca Böhme, associate professor of experimental psychiatry at Linköping University. Böhme leads an ongoing clinical trial investigating whether psilocybin, the active compound in psilocybin mushrooms, can help individuals with prolonged grief. So far, no controlled trials have tested psychedelic assisted therapy for this specific condition, but observational research on ceremonial ayahuasca use has already pointed to reduced grief severity, and researchers link this to how psychedelics open a window for neuroplastic change, alongside effects like acceptance, mystical type experiences, and the reappraisal of painful emotions. Together, Filip and Rebecca explore what this existing evidence suggests, how her study is designed, and why experiences of self dissolution and altered body awareness may play a therapeutic role in grief processing.

About Rebecca Böhme

Rebecca Böhme is an associate professor of experimental psychiatry with a PhD in psychology, and senior lecturer in neuroscience at Linköping University. She works at the Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, where she leads a clinical trial examining psilocybin for complicated grief, in collaboration with Region Östergötland. Böhme grew up in southern Germany, studied in Heidelberg and Tübingen, and completed her PhD in Berlin before moving to Linköping ten years ago. Her research focuses on how bodily self perception and sense of self are connected, and how these processes may be affected by psychedelic treatment.

More on her ongoing projects: https://liu.se/en/research/csan/labs/bohme-lab/projects

Practical Information

Time: September 24th, 19:00 CEST

Register for free participation. The conversation will be recorded and made available afterward to registered participants.