Lydia Unger is a Registered Psychologist who has been practicing since 2010. She obtained her undergraduate degree in psychology and then completed her Masters in Child and Applied Psychology at the University of Calgary. Lydia has had the opportunity to work with diverse populations, providing assessment and diagnosis, interventions for social and emotional difficulties, education for parents, and supervision of students at the University of Calgary.
Her areas of expertise are trauma, learning disabilities, ADHD, anxiety and depression, behavioral difficulties, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Lydia is also a recent graduate of our Fundamentals of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy course and is excited to begin her journey in the field.
From Interest to Execution: Finding the Right Program
Lydia has been a practicing psychologist for the past fourteen years, but it is just within the past few years that her interest in psychedelic-assisted therapy has swelled. As an academic, she dove into the literature and research on the benefits of psychedelic medicine as well as any conferences she could be a part of and podcasts she could devour.
She cites the integral work of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a partner of Numinus, in introducing her to alternative ways to treat PTSD and treatment-resistant depression with psychedelics. Unger also had important, informal psychedelic experiences earlier in life that shaped who she is today and left her with some of the “favorite parts about myself”.
It was this fervor that led her to begin researching psychedelic-assisted therapy training programs. After an exhaustive search and attending our All About Numinus informational session with our Director of Training, Amanda Giesler, she ultimately chose Numinus to begin this new and exciting next chapter of her career.
Why I Chose Numinus
The educational opportunities and knowledge offered in Numinus’ Fundamentals of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy course aligned with what Lydia was looking for in her training program. Numinus was a clear choice with its rigorous instruction, including an emphasis on ethics and trauma-informed care. As a fan of our podcast, Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers, it also appealed to Unger that Dr. Steve Thayer was one of the lead course instructors and had lots of practical experience and wisdom to share. Our contacts in Unger’s local Vancouver community finalized her decision and she was now on her way to begin on her new path.
“My experience in the course was above and beyond what I expected”
The holistic coursework, including evidence-based material, research articles, and the experiential component, was incredibly important to Unger. This included quite a bit of role-playing as well as skills practice in small groups. This allowed her to connect with the material, assimilating the content differently from the didactic academic setting to which she is accustomed.
Lydia also cites the competency of our course instructors -- their level of skill and knowledge, as well as their care and support -- at the core of her experience. Learners are encouraged to experiment outside of their comfort zones, and the instructors’ acceptance and unconditionally affirmative regard exemplify the qualities that one would hope to see in a psychedelic-assisted therapist.
The varied life experiences and viewpoints of her cohort members made for an academically challenging and scholarly environment. Unger’s cohort continues to be actively engaged with one another past the conclusion of the course.
The Importance of Integration: Next Steps
We know that integration is a really important part of the psychedelic experience, and going back to one’s “real life” after PAT training is no different. Lydia looks forward to the next step of our certification pathway in Numinus’ Applied Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy: Cases, Conditions, and Context. She looks forward to building upon and employing the skills that she learned in the fundamentals course.
While Unger is not [yet] formally practicing PAT, she has laid groundwork via a website stating her core commitments and beliefs as it pertains to the subject, and is actively volunteering in the psychedelic harm reduction space. Lydia has been meeting with the Numinus team to discuss her career development and opportunities, and the team could not be more excited for her to start a fulsome psychedelic-assisted therapy practice after she’s completed her certification. Go Lydia!
You can learn more about Lydia by visiting the website of her current practice, The Family Psychology Place. You can also keep up with her psychedelic-assisted therapy journey on her personal website, Journey to Wellness.
Make sure to register for our next Fundamentals of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy cohorts today!