Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration: Introduction for Practitioners

Course description

This workshop is an introduction to the practice of Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration (PHRI).

It is intended to help therapists learn how to educate clients about altered states of consciousness and support integration following these experiences.

This course includes 7 hours of live sessions and 3 hours of online pre-work. It is offered in English and French by a team of instructors. Please see below for more information.

Summer 2023 Cohort: September

Day: Fridays

Time (PT): 9:00am-12:30pm PT

Time (ET): 12:00pm-3:30pm ET

Course access begins: Monday, September 4

First live session: Friday, September 15

Last live session: Friday, September 22

Language: English

Fall 2023 Cohort: December

Day: Wednesdays

Time (PT): 8:30am-12:00pm PT

Time (ET): 11:30am-3:00pm ET

Course access begins: Monday, November 27

First live session: Wednesday, December 6

Last live session: Wednesday, December 13

Language: English

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course.

The emerging use of psychedelics

With the ongoing mental health crisis and the difficulty in meeting the needs of those who suffer, psychedelic assisted psychotherapy is emerging as a treatment modality with great potential. While these medicines and protocols are being developed for clinical settings for a variety of mental health conditions such as depression, PTSD and addictions, we recognize that these treatments are being delivered outside of the clinical context, creating potential risks to client safety.

Please note: We do not condone the use of illegal substances but believe that educating clients and therapists through a harm reduction framework is an important strategy for promoting safety.

The evident need for a well-described harm reduction approach to the use of psychedelics

As psychedelics increasingly enter the mainstream, so does the need for harm reduction. Clinicians need to understand the principles and practices of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy in order to promote harm reduction and outcomes, from preparation to integration. Even those clinicians who are not necessarily directly involved in this work would benefit from being informed in order to provide their patients with up-to-date, evidence-based information. A harm reduction approach attempts to educate, reduce risk, and promote safety for those who are engaging in the use of psychoactive substances.

Through this didactic and interactive workshop, you will learn about some of the tools for applying the harm reduction approach to every stage of your client’s journey with psychedelics

From preparing clients for therapy to their medicine session to integration of the experience to help optimize outcomes, you will learn how to guide clients, should they elect to use psychedelic medicine. We will engage in case study discussions and role plays related to the various phases of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy such as assessment, preparation, set and setting, and integration. We will address the relative contraindications to exploring altered states and apply specific psychotherapeutic tools to common dysregulated states that may arise during integration.

Content Overview

Please use the arrows below to learn more about what will be taught in each module.