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The primary objective of this qualitative study was to explore the therapeutic trajectories of individuals undergoing psilocybin-assisted group therapy. This interpretive phenomenological analysis focused on an enriched study sample of gay-identified cisgender men (n = 9) with human immunodeficiency virus diagnosed before 1996 and clinically significant trauma symptoms. Microphenomenological interviews were carried out 1 day after participants' individual psilocybin sessions to elicit fine-grained descriptions of the psilocybin-assisted treatment. Two major thematic change processes were identified using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. During their psilocybin sessions, participants reported transitioning out of habitual, evaluative modes of processing and into mindful, experiential modes of processing (from "autopilot" to "meta-aware"). Freed from their emotionally avoidant tendencies, participants were able to process and release previously disowned feelings (grief, shame) and access relational and self-transcendent feelings and prosocial attitudes (joy, gratitude, love, care, compassion). The treatment also supported processes of meaning-making and the realization of posttraumatic growth (in psychological, relational, spiritual dimensions) as participants integrated past traumas into their life narratives and identities (from "trauma-dominant" to "growth-dominant"). These findings suggest that administering adjunctive group therapy with psilocybin may enhance the effectiveness of trauma processing by reinforcing social cohesion, safety, trust, and belonging. These data provide the first empirical suggestion of psilocybin's efficacy in alleviating trauma symptoms in a group-facilitated format and provide a deeper understanding of the potential psychological change processes involved in this novel treatment approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Introduction: Considering the relevance of the emotional state, it is necessary to understand how daily stimuli can modulate the emotions. Animated short films are common stimuli, but it is unknown how they can modulate the emotional state. The study aimed to evaluate: how participants' emotional state changed after watching animated short films with positive or negative emotional valence in an online experiment; the relationship between participants' baseline score on an Emotional Intensity Scale and their potential change in the main emotion after watching the films; and the association between the initial main emotion valence and the potential change in this emotion with participants' sociodemographic information. Methods: A sample of 2,269 participants recruited during COVID-19 pandemic were randomly assigned to either watch a negative or positive animated short film. Results: The results showed that, after watching a film with negative valence, participants were in a more negative emotional state than at baseline and compared with those who watched the film with positive valence. Also, individuals who had a negative baseline emotion and maintained the same emotion after the film had presented higher baseline emotional state scores (more negative emotion) than those who changed their emotions. In addition, the individuals who kept the baseline emotion had an association with age, marital status, level of education and psychiatric disorders, use of medication, and emotional awareness, while the individuals who changed the baseline emotion had an association with age, gender, and following or not social distancing recommendations. Conclusion: Baseline emotional state may influence the response to animated short films and sociodemographic characteristics are associated with the initial main emotion valence and its potential change in this emotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...