Psychedelic Integration: Premise & Promise

Course Description:

This training is designed for clinicians and healthcare providers who want to learn more about current psychedelic research and clinical practice, including how to work with patients who have a history of psychedelic use or have expressed an interest in using psychedelics.

We start with the premise that your patients are curious about psychedelic research, and so are you! The early part of our program gives some background on psychedelic compounds, their history, and current research with MDMA and Psilocybin-assisted therapy. We then discuss recent and current clinical trials, outcomes, legal status, and what it all means for the future of addiction and trauma treatment. We then move to the practicalities of defining integration and how it can occur in a clinical setting. We focus on translating research findings into clinical practice, including working with patients who are considering using psychedelics, actually using psychedelics, or have used them in the past. This program includes discussion of assessment and integration techniques, resources, and legal and ethical issues. Program participant clinicians will complete the training with a conceptual and practical understanding of how to engage clients in discussions about psychedelics that are balanced, reduce potential for harm, and increase the potential for benefit from these experiences.

Learning Objectives:
At the end of this program, participants will be able to:

• Name one early model of psychedelic therapy that informs modern clinical research with psilocybin

• Identify at least 3 indications for which psilocybin-assisted therapy has been researched in modern clinical trials

• Name at least two key figures in modern clinical research with MDMA

• Explain one reason why MDMA-assisted therapy is thought to be a good fit for treatment of PTSD

• Explain how current MDMA-assisted therapy combines non-drug psychotherapy sessions with MDMA sessions

• Discuss the historical justifications for psychedelic clinical research

• Describe key theoretical approaches to psychedelic-assisted therapy

• Discuss the state of psychedelic clinical research, rescheduling efforts, and how psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy works with clients

• Compare psychedelic integration psychotherapy to integration in peer and shamanic settings

• List key “red flags” that indicate someone should seek specialized psychiatric care after a psychedelic experience

• List principles of psychedelic-assisted therapy in a basic/initial assessment of clients who report psychedelic use

• List contraindications and discuss high risk cases of individuals who are contemplating psychedelic use

• Describe the role of the therapist in an individual’s integration psychotherapy process