Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research

The Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research Certificate Program at the California Institute for Integral Studies (CIIS) Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research (CPTR) is designed to meet the growing need for the training of skilled therapists and researchers in the field of psychedelic-assisted and entactogen-assisted psychotherapy research and clinical work. The program is open to professionals in licensed mental health, medical and legal professions, and ordained or commissioned clergy and chaplains.

The program is led by Dr. Janis Phelps, Director of the Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research, and is taught by a multidisciplinary team of international expert teachers. The curriculum is designed to encompass all aspects of learning: intellectual/didactic, personal/experiential, and applied. Trainees will learn a wide variety of necessary skills and knowledge bases, ranging from the pharmacology of psychedelics to research design to psychedelic therapist competencies to the history of use of psychoactive plants across the globe to cultural competencies for working with diverse clients. The program thoroughly covers clinical work with MDMA and psilocybin (the two medicines furthest along in the FDA drug development process) with additional coursework on ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (FDA-approved for specific clinical syndromes).

The program values and implements the deconstruction of various perspectives, cultural viewpoints, and didactic and experiential learning with teachers representing diverse specializations. The global wisdom traditions related to alterations of consciousness (meditation, yoga, fasting, solo wilderness retreats, healing methods, etc.) play a role in the theoretical underpinnings of the curriculum, as well as being directly enacted as part of the personal/experiential aspect of the training. Two core class elements are diversity, inclusion, and belonging and navigating the challenges of non-traditional therapies.

The application for the 2024-2025 cohort is now closed.