Integrating Psychedelics with Evidence-Based Therapy

This reading and study group will maintain the same membership for the 12-week period. The group will have a syllabus with readings that participants will be expected to read prior to each discussion group meeting. The format for each session will include a short review of each paper by students in the course, followed by a discussion of the content and group members’ perspectives of the topic. This is an active group and weekly participation is required. The group is ideal for clinicians, graduate students, researchers, or the public, so long as they have training or interest in the scientific understanding of evidenced-based clinical interventions and their integration in psychedelic therapy. Readings will primarily include papers in the academic literature. Topics will include coverage of several different evidenced-based therapies (e.g., ACT, MI, CBT, DBT), several types of psychedelics (e.g., psilocybin, ketamine, MDMA), and a variety of clinical populations (e.g., depression, racial trauma, addiction, PTSD, life threatening illness). We will also critique the current state of psychedelic therapy research by reading and discussing articles about the role of indigenous knowledges, colonialism, inclusion of people of color, and limitation of white-dominant medical framework in psychedelic-assisted therapies.

A limited number of Diversity Fund scholarships are available, please complete this application, in addition to the course application.

• Describe a variety of evidenced-based interventions that have been integrated into psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy studies.
• Explain the role of music in psychedelic assisted therapy models.
• Describe the importance of considering ethnicity/race in psychedelic therapy.
• Explain the role of psychological flexibility and how this may be a transdiagnostic feature of evidenced-based interventions within the context of psychedelic therapy.
• Describe the ethical concerns related to the provision of evidenced-based interventions within psychedelic therapy.
• List the basic components of psychedelic therapy.
• Describe the ways in which the acute effects of psychedelics are related to psychotherapeutic processes.
• Explain the safety concerns related to psychedelic therapy.
• Compare the different approaches to psychedelic therapy and evidenced-based interventions.
• Explain the history of psychedelic therapy leading up to current trials.
• Describe the basic pharmacology of psychedelic drugs.
• List the features of the psychotherapeutic relationship that are critical to psychedelic interventions.
• Explain the role of psychotherapy in psychedelic treatment across a variety of clinical populations.