Description
This doctoral project will investigate how psychedelic experiences may facilitate attachment-related psychological changes and their relationship to mental health outcomes. The doctoral candidate will contribute to two complementary studies: a non-clinical investigation of Swedish psychedelic retreat participants and a clinical trial examining psilocybin-assisted treatment for depression in Copenhagen.
Both studies employ gold-standard attachment assessments – the Adult Attachment Interview and Patient Attachment Coding System – administered before and after psychedelic sessions. This design allows for rigorous examination of whether and how psychedelic experiences influence attachment representations.
The doctoral candidate will develop expertise in administering and coding these sophisticated interview methods, working closely with data from both naturalistic and clinical settings. This unique opportunity bridges basic attachment research with emerging psychedelic science, addressing fundamental questions about psychological change mechanisms.
The position offers training in attachment theory and assessment, psychedelic research methodology, and advanced qualitative-quantitative integration. The candidate will join an established research environment at Stockholm University while collaborating with clinical researchers in Copenhagen, contributing to an innovative research program at the intersection of developmental psychology and psychotherapy innovation.
Location
Department of Psychology, Stockholm University (Stockholm, Sweden)
Supervisors
Prof. Pehr Granqvist, https://www.su.se/english/profiles/p/pgran
Dr. Joel Gruneau Brulin, https://www.su.se/english/profiles/j/jogr8303
Secondments
Institute: Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Supervisors: Assoc Prof Dea Stenbaek
Purpose: To conduct attachment interviews and gain know-how of psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Institute: University of Groningen (Groningen, The Netherlands)
Supervisors: Prof Hanneke Muthert
Purpose: To gain supervision in qualitative methodology and familiarity with spiritual care.
General eligibility criteria
- The position is open to candidates of any nationality (European and non-European) who fulfil the requirements set for the Doctoral Candidates (DCs) funded by Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions.
- Applicants must hold a Master’s degree in a relevant academic field, allowing enrolment in a PhD program at the hiring beneficiary.
- Applicants must not previously have been awarded a PhD degree.
- Applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country in which the DC project for which they are applying is based for more than 12 months in the 3 years prior to recruitment. This excludes short stays such as holidays, compulsory national service or time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention.
- Applicants must be willing to undertake secondments at another institute of the network during the DC project, including at institutes in other countries.
- Applicants must be able to demonstrate their ability to understand and express themselves in both written and spoken English at a level that is sufficiently high to fully benefit from the network training (C1/C2 level).
- Applicants are expected to be motivated to work in the field of psychedelic therapy.
- Applicants are expected to work independently, well-structured and collaboratively in a multidisciplinary consortium.
Additional eligibility criteria
- Strong communication skills for interviews and teamwork.
Desirable but not required for eligibility:
- Knowledge of Swedish or Danish is helpful, but not an obligatory eligibility criterion.
- Licensed clinical psychologist and/or psychotherapist.
- Certified coder of Adult Attachment Interviews and/or Patient Attachment Interviews.