Applied Mindfulness for Psychedelic Therapists

Mindfulness-based interventions are an established part of psychotherapy and healthcare. A new and exciting avenue to apply mindfulness by clinicians is in the emerging field of Psychedelic Therapy. With practice there can be benefits for the client and the therapist.  The combination supports learning from non-ordinary states of consciousness using specific practices and techniques for improved outcomes. For therapists practicing psychedelic therapy or Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration (PHRI), mindfulness practices can be used to enhance awareness, curiosity, insight and self-care. This self-paced program teaches the application of mindfulness practices to the psychedelic therapy and PHRI environments with inclusion of practices such as Noble Listening, Inquiry and the use of visual art. Participants will be encouraged to develop their own mindful awareness through a series of recorded meditation practices intermixed with course lectures, written materials, video demonstrations, and trainer debrief interviews.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this course, the participant will be able to:

• Describe how mindfulness can be used during psychedelic therapy and Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration (PHRI) sessions by clinicians.

• Name three types of communication that are attended to in Noble Listening.

• Define the terms reflect, validate, and empathize in the context of Noble Communication.

• Describe how to conduct a personal values card sort exercise with a client.

• Demonstrate the use of inquiry in a psychedelic therapy or PHRI session.

• Demonstrate the use of the Ask-Tell-Ask format in a psychedelic therapy or PHRI session.

• Apply knowledge of the State-to-trait model to the psychedelic integration process with clients.

• Articulate the rationale for the use of visual art as a psychedelic integration practice.