Learn the foundations to practice authentic and ethical Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (PAT)
Cohort begins March 13, 2023 and ends on June 30, 2023
Drawing from the decades of research developed by the Beckley Foundation and Amanda Feilding, as well as the seminal work of Janis Phelps, Carl Jung, Stanislav Grof, Kylea Taylor, and Friederike Meckel Fischer, among others, Foundations of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy presents psychoanalytical, psychodynamic, somatic, and transpersonal perspectives of the unconscious and shadow material that emerges in non-ordinary states of consciousness.
100% Online | 13 weeks | 60 hours | Intimate cohort | Accessible tuition
Foundations of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy
Content Overview
- Competencies of PAT
- Relational ethics, the diverse experience of safety, and creating a container
- Right relationship within the therapeutic relationship and larger ecological systems
- Complexities of power, responsibility, and empowerment within the therapeutic alliance
- Foundations, origins, legacy, and contemporary uses of psychedelics
- Culturally responsive care and practicing from a decolonizing perspective
- In-depth clinical psychedelic research and its limitations
- The significance of transference, countertransference, shadow, and enactment in the therapeutic relationship
- Integrating a somatic and trauma-informed approach in PAT
- Polyvagal theory in relationship to regulation, co-regulation and creating a safe container
- A non-directive approach to support inner experience and inner healing intelligence
- The stages of the process of PAT (Preparation, Experience, and Integration)
Skills/Practical application
- Build a somatic framework for self-reflection & self-regulation by practicing somatic resourcing, exploring the organization of experience, embodying belief, exploring shadow/not me parts, and embodying transformation
- Create a toolkit of resources to incorporate into your practice: somatic resources, intention setting, PAT music playlists, client psychoeducation, and transformation and integration techniques
- Practice skills to help clients deepen into experience and support auto- and co-regulation in non-ordinary states of consciousness by tracking somatic experience, providing mindfulness questions and directives, practicing proximity seeking actions, and guiding the integration of transformation through all three levels of experience: cognition, emotion, and somatic
- Practice tools to support PAT preparation, such as COEX system mapping, visualizations, and building somatic resources
- Establish a supportive community of practice and personal learning plan for continued growth and development
Feedback from our learners
“The journaling and the video/audio sections really helped connect information in my brain and body.”
“It is helpful that we are able to do this work on our own schedule. It feels like such a healthy way in which to work.”
“Understanding how important it is that we (the clinicians) are aware of ourselves, how we are the secondary nervous system for our client and how important it is to hold that sacred space without our countertransference [interfering]has been most applicable to my clinical practice.”
Who do we serve?
- Licensed mental health professionals: PhD, PSyD, MD, DO, LPC, LMFT, LCADAC, LICSW, LCSW, ACSW
- Mental health professionals on a licensing path: e.g., enrolled in a degree program
- Allied mental health professionals: Non-clinical social workers, pastoral counselors, & Indigenous ceremonial leaders
- Questions about your eligibility? Feel free to email us: info@beckleyacademy.com
Key dates for applying
- Applications open: January 6, 2023 | Apply here
- Interview period: January 13 – March 10, 2023
- Foundations of PAT Online Info Sessions | Register here
- January 26, 2023 | 6PM ET | 4PM MT | 3PM PT
- Feb 8, 2023 9PM ET | 7PM MT | 6PM PT
- Course begins: March 13, 2023
- Course ends: June 30, 2023
Acknowledgement Statement
- As an education organization for mental health professionals, we acknowledge that mental health, access to mental health resources, and access to education are impacted by systems of privilege and oppression.
- As providers of psychedelic-assisted therapy education, we acknowledge and honor the healing history of Indigenous practices. We also acknowledge the harmful impact of increasing commercialization of psychedelics on those lands and peoples.
- The emerging field of psychedelics, including the Beckley Academy, has collective learning and ongoing work to create mental health equity for historically underserved communities.
Tuition & Scholarships
- Course tuition: $5,000
- The Beckley Academy aims to remove barriers to psychedelic-therapy education and increase the reach and accessibility of healing practices in communities that would most benefit.
- After you apply, please contact info@berkeleyacademy.com to learn more about scholarships.
Danielle M. Herrera
LMFT
Course Facilitator
Danielle M. Herrera, M.A. LMFT is an Ohlone Land (Oakland) based Psychotherapist providing psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (KAT), psychedelic integration, and harm reduction psychotherapy at Sage Integrative Health and with Dr. Jennifer Fernandez at the California Center for Change.
Her background working with The Harm Reduction Therapy Center and Homeless Children’s Network informs her warm and emotion-focused decolonized framework, with attunement to systemic oppressions and violences that impact the individual within a complicated ecosystem.
Danielle enjoys working with folks experiencing spiritual emergence, Queer BI&POC, people who use drugs, and others outside of the mainstream.
Course Topics & Schedule
Orientation | March 13th – March 26nd, 2023
- Begin building the container
- Explore the diverse experience of safety
- Live session for introductions and connecting with communitas pod
- Introduction to polyvagal theory and somatic resourcing
- Review PAT Competencies
Meetings
- Full Group: Thursday, March 23rd: 11 – 2 EDT; 8 – 11 PDT; 4-7 PM GMT
Module 1: Establishing an Intentional Practice | April 3rd – April 16th, 2023
- Right relationship & the ethics of care
- Therapeutic relationship
- Intention setting & community agreements
- Communal/shared intersubjective experience
Meetings
- Full Group: Thursday, April 6th: 11 – 2 EDT; 8 – 11 PDT; 4-7 PM GMT
- Communitas Pod: Thursday, April 13th: 11 – 12:30 EDT; 8 – 9:30 PDT; 4 – 5:30 PM GMT
Module 2: Origins, History, & Legacy | May 1st – May 14th, 2023
- Indigenous wisdom & psychedelic traditions
- Communitas, liminality, & oppressive systems
- Practicing PAT with cultural responsivity
- Music and inner healing intelligence
- Practicing a felt sense of connection & disconnection
Meetings
- Full Group: Thursday, May 4th; 11 – 2 EDT; 8 – 11 PDT; 4-7 PM GMT
- Communitas Pod: Thursday, May 11th: 11 – 12:30 EDT; 8 – 9:30 PDT; 4 – 5:30 PM GMT
Module 3: Contemporary Research and Use | May 15th – May 28th, 2023
- Current psychedelic research on psilocybin, ketamine, and MDMA
- Diagnoses for which PAT is efficacious
- The affective experience of psychedelic assisted therapy as seen in clinical trials
- Right relationship with plants (ecological ethics)
- Historical harm and limitations of clinical psychedelic research
Meetings
- Full Group: Thursday, May 18th; 11 – 2 EDT; 8 – 11 PDT; 4-7 PM GMT
- Communitas Pod: Thursday, May 25th: 11 – 12:30 EDT; 8 – 9:30 PDT; 4 – 5:30 PM GMT
Module 4: Inner Awareness and Relational, Ethical, & Power Dynamics May 29th – June 12th, 2023
- Transference, countertransference, shadow and enactment
- Exploring the organization of experience of a shadow part
- COEX system mapping
- Practicing gentle mindfulness questions and directives to help clients deepen into experience
Meetings
- Full Group: Thursday, June 1st: 11 – 2 EDT; 8 – 11 PDT; 4-7 PM GMT
- Communitas Pod: Thursday, June 8th: 11 – 12:30 EDT; 8 – 9:30 PDT; 4 – 5:30 PM GMT
Module 5: Three-day practicum | Cacao experiential | June 15th – June 17th, 2023
Day 1 | Preparation | Screening, Client Education, and Preparation
- Orienting and preparing clients and self for therapeutic work with non-ordinary states of consciousness
- Aspects of set and setting that support transformative PAT experiences
- Roleplaying scenarios for preparation and psychoeducation
Day 2 | Experience Facilitation | Therapeutic Process and Holding Space for the Journey
- Safely guiding clients through experiences of non-ordinary consciousness
- Common transference and countertransference reactions
- Directive and non-directive approaches to guide flexibility
- Track subtle somatic, emotional, and cognitive state changes in cacao experience
Day 3 | Transformation & Integration | Integration
- The unfolding process that occurs after a psychedelic experience
- Common issues around positive, negative, and unexpected client experiences
- Complementary techniques and approaches to support PAT integration
- Guiding embodied transformation in roleplaying experiences
Meetings
- Day 1: Thursday June 15th; 11-3 EST; 8-12 PST; 4-8 PM GMT
- Day 2: Friday June 16th; 11-3 EST; 8-12 PST; 4-8 PM GMT
- Day 3: Saturday June 17th; 11-3 EST; 8-12 PST; 4-8 PM GMT
Module 6: Clinical Applications | June 19th – 30th, 2023
- Closing the container
- Processing emotions in integration/at closings
- Capstone project presentations (a clinical application of a tool/resource)
- Creating a sustainable community of practice
Meetings
- Full Group: Thursday, June 29th: 11 – 2 EDT; 8 – 11 PDT; 4-7 PM GMT
- Communitas Pod: Tuesday, June 27th : 11 – 12:30 EDT; 8 – 9:30 PDT; 4 – 5:30 PM GMT