Rachel Ham: Touch in Psychedelic Therapy – Therapeutic Uses and Ethical Complexities | Webinar October 15th 2026

In psychedelic-assisted therapies, therapeutic touch is commonly used. It might involve handholding, touching the shoulder of the patient or even hugging. In research literature, a precise definition and comprehensive exploration of the role of therapeutic touch has mostly been overlooked. Gaining insight into how participants experience and interpret touch during psychedelic sessions is essential for informing safe and effective clinical practice. The topic involves important ethical questions, as highlighted by documented ethical violations in the field of psychedelic research and therapy. 

We’ll explore this topic in a webinar session on October 15th at 9AM (UTC+3). Postdoctoral researcher Rachel Ham will draw on emerging research and participant accounts of their experiences of therapeutic touch, alongside related work examining co-therapy in psychedelic therapy. We will consider how touch may be experienced and understood within the distinctive relational and embodied context of psychedelic therapy, and why its meaning and potential effects may vary across people and situations.

The lecture will also consider some of the clinical and ethical questions raised by therapeutic touch, including consent, boundaries, vulnerability, and the therapeutic relationship. Rather than taking a position on whether touch is inherently beneficial or inappropriate, the discussion will invite consideration of the conditions under which touch may support therapy, as well as those in which it may introduce risks or unintended consequences.

The webinar will take place on Thursday October 15th. The schedule differs from our regular one since we start at 9AM UTC+3. In addition to the lecture, the event includes a Q&A. The total length is one hour. 

We offer this webinar as a pay what you can event: you can participate without paying, but by paying, you can help us produce more events like this and ensure that we can keep offering them to people regardless of their financial circumstances.

0 € – register here
5–20 € – buy ticket here

If you pay for the ticket, please also remember to register for the webinar via the registration link!

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About the speaker:

Rachel Ham is a post-doctoral researcher at the Monash Bioethics Centre. She completed her Clinical Psychology PhD with the Monash Clinical Psychedelic Lab, where she also worked as a Research Officer and Assistant Therapist. Rachel’s research focuses on how psychedelic therapies can be delivered safely and responsibly. Her PhD explored participant experiences and therapeutic support in psychedelic therapy, including therapeutic touch and co-therapy, and her current research extends this work into questions of ethical risk management.