What should I look for in a psychedelic training course?
As psychedelic therapeutic practices move towards above-ground legal practice and underground psychedelic use increases, interest in education and training around psychedelics and their therapeutic use is high. So it’s no surprise the number of course on offer have exploded to meet demand.
Which one to choose, though?
Here is a non-exhaustive list of factors to consider when selecting course of training or education in psychedelic practice or therapy.
Teaching format and course structure
Are the classes face to face online, or blended/hybrid? If they are online, is the delivery synchronous (the whole class is online in class at the same time) or asynchronous (you’ll likely be watching pre-recorded videos and completing assessments at your own pace)? Don’t just choose based on convenience - choose based on your own learning style and what you’re most likely to successfully complete.
Is the overall program of study broken up into separate units? Do you have any choice about the pace and timing of completing these, and is this compatible with your work/family/caring responsibilities?
Content and assessment
What should be in a PAT course is a whole article of its own (one that I haven’t written yet). Very roughly, in my opinion, a good program of study for psychedelic work would include:
Assessment and screening: how to assess potential clients for contraindications, medical or psychological risks and medication interactions
Ethics, especially informed consent: understanding the potential risks and benefits and how to communicate this clearly to clients so they understand too. Understanding the ethical need for boundaries, awareness of power dynamics, and client-centred practice. (Very few PAT course offerings deal with ethics as comprehensively as I’d like. Don’t even get me started on ‘ethics certifications’)
Preparation, set and setting: helping people to be as ready as they can for the experience, to understand their own mindset and intentions, and how to provide an appropriate setting.
Theoretical frameworks: should cover a range of frameworks, acknowledging that they don’t yet have particularly strong scientific evidence to support them, compared to more mainstream therapies. Treating one framework or the work of one theorist as unchallengeable truth is a major red flag.
Integration: meaning-making, dealing with changes in worldview, ontology or values, moving forward in ways guided by the client (not your/society’s expectations of them.)
Pharmacology: pharmacokinetics, drug interactions, up-to-date scientific knowledge of the basis for effects.
Dosing: dose ranges, timing, expected subjective effects (and what to do if they don’t eventuate.)
Safety monitoring and emergency: How to know how someone is doing, psychologically and physically. Recognising adverse reactions, and knowing when and how to intervene and/or seek medical assistance.
Altered-state support skills: how to support people having challenging experiences, but also how to navigate when their behaviour presents challenges for you.
Cultural competence: awareness of cultural, spiritual, and religions contexts and how they can alter expectations, experiences and integration.
Boundaries and professionalism: how to maintain therapeutic boundaries with people in non-ordinary states and managing dual relationships (which all therapuetic professionals should know anyway, but some people seem to need regular reminders.)
Legal and regulatory requirements: regardless of where and how you want to practice, you need to know the law around what you’re doing.
Experiential component: Controversial, but I maintain that people delivering PAT should have experience of altered states, preferably of the medicine they intend to serve.
There might be some variation, depending on what role in clinical practice you’re aiming for (or if you intent to work in a clinical setting at all.) But most courses I’m aware of don’t have much in the way of electives, majors or customisation.
How is all of the above assessed? Assignments? Online exams where you can just look up the answers and don’t need to memorise anything?
Or will you be expected to demonstrate competency in these skills and knowledge though roleplays or even real-life supervised clinical practice?
(You can probably guess which approach I think is more valuable.)
Recognition and certification
In all jurisdictions I’m aware of, there are no psychedelic therapy qualifications that are certified in the same way as we see for other professions, e.g., nurses, medical doctors, engineers, lawyers, etc. There are definitely none in Australia.
A certificate in psychedelic assisted therapy has not been through the same regulatory and quality assurance processes as the most basic government recognised certification, and absolutely nothing like a professional degree program or trade qualification.
Be careful when you see language around training that is ‘endorsed’ by existing professional associations or governments. These claims do not always stand up to scrutiny.
This includes claims about being able to count coursework as continuing professional education/development (CPE/CPD). Depending on the profession and governing body, and how it is counted, there are situations where almost anything can technically count as CPE/CPD. That a professional body counts something as CPE/CPD is not the same as saying that organisation sees it as being on the same level as their qualifying degree programs or diplomas.
Employment prospects
The number of people currently employed directly delivering psychedelic assisted therapy in legal settings is vanishingly small, when compared to more conventional jobs. So if the course is what you want to do, I’m not saying don’t do it. But please do not bank on above-ground psychedelic-related employment at the end of it. There are numerous regulatory and market-related bottlenecks.
Claims of employability should be looked at carefully. IMO, they’re suspicious in themselves, as mainstream educational providers like universities know that no qualification is a guarantee of a job in that area once the student graduates.
Hours and effort
How long will it take to complete and how much effort does it require from you? Some skills can be learned in a few hours. Some in-depth knowledge or complex techniques take hundreds or even thousands of hours of study and practice to master. The less a course asks of you, the less you can learn from it.
As a comparison, what used to be a standard Australian university subject would take roughly 120 hours of effort across a whole semester to complete to a high standard. This sounds like a lot, but is inclusive of lectures, tutorials, reading, independent study, assignments etc., and works out to 10 hours a week for a 12 week study period.
If a psychedelic assisted therapy course is less than this, ask yourself, do I really think that the equivalent of less than one university subject is enough to give me the skills it claims to?
This is not to say more hours are automatically better. But if you’re training in an area that isn’t building on your existing relevant proficiencies, be careful.
Cost
Education is expensive, as it involves a lot of time and effort from people skilled in their field; every hour you are in a workshop or class will have required hours of preparation from the person teaching you. Understand all costs, including non-refundable application fees, before you enrol. If you have to pay the whole cost up-front, can you get a partial refund if you need to withdraw from study?
More expensive is not necessarily better, especially if the course is relatively short. But be cautious if something is unexpectedly cheap. You are either not getting very much or the people teaching the course are being exploited.
Reputation
Research who is teaching into the qualification. What is their academic background? Where have they worked previously? Do they have a history of doing the work they’re teaching you to do? Look for a good spread of expertise and experience. If you want to learn theory, you need academics. If you want to learn practical skills and techniques, you need people who have relevant experience. E.g., the person teaching you to how to sit for people having psychedelic experiences needs years of experience doing this exact thing.
Have any teaching staff been embroiled in controversies such as having inappropriate relationships with students or clients?
Answers to most of these questions can be found by googling the names of teaching staff. Looking over their LinkedIn and academic institution profiles (if they have them) is also worthwhile.
Talk to potential employers or colleagues regarding your course choice. But be aware that where an employer offers their own course or one that they or their friends are associated with, they have a vested interest in telling you that this is your best option. Seek independent opinions as much as possible.
Like I said at the start, this isn’t exhaustive - I’m sure I’ve missed something. But I hope this will be a good starting point for people looking at furthering their education in this area.
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