Fluence offers continuing education and certificate programs in psychedelic integration and psychedelic-assisted therapy. Our programs are designed for licensed professionals and advanced graduate students who have an opportunity to work with patient populations. Although none of our courses have specific prerequisites, a basic working knowledge of the mental health field and practice of psychotherapy is helpful. Our programs are interactive; we engage in discussion, demonstration, self-reflection exercises, and role plays. Some of our classes and programs are reserved for licensed clinicians, but many are open anyone who wishes to attend.
Leadership Team
Dr. Elizabeth Nielson
Dr. Elizabeth Nielson is a co-founder of Fluence and a psychologist with a focus on developing psychedelic medicines as empirically supported treatments for PTSD, substance use problems, and mood disorders. Dr. Nielson is a Site Co-Principal Investigator and therapist for an FDA approved Phase 3 clinical trial of MDMA-assisted Psychotherapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and has served as a therapist on FDA approved clinical trials of psilocybin-assisted treatment of alcohol use disorder, psilocybin-assisted treatment of treatment resistant depression, and earlier phase 2 and 3 trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. Through Fluence, she provides continuing education and training programs for therapists who wish to engage in integration of psychedelic experiences in clinical settings. Her research includes qualitative and mixed-methods projects designed to further understand the phenomenology and mechanisms of change in psychedelic-assisted therapy, including the experiences of trial participants and of the therapists themselves. Having completed an NIH postdoctoral fellowship at NYU, she has published and presented on topics of psychedelic therapist training, therapists’ personal experience with psychedelics, and including psychedelic integration in group and individual psychotherapy.
Dr. Ingmar Gorman
Dr. Ingmar Gorman is a co-founder of Fluence, a psychedelic education company training mental health providers in psychedelic treatments. As a psychologist, he shares his expertise in empirically supported psychedelic treatments with his clients and trainees alike. Dr. Gorman received his clinical training in New York City at the New School for Social Research, Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital, Columbia University, and Bellevue Hospital. He completed his NIH postdoctoral fellowship at New York University. He simultaneously served as site co-principal investigator on an FDA approved Phase 3 clinical trial of MDMA-assisted Psychotherapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and is currently a study therapist on the same study, as well as another FDA approved clinical trial of psilocybin for treatment resistant depression. Dr. Gorman has published on the topics of classic psychedelics, ketamine, MDMA, and Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration.
Lead Trainers and Program Staff
Dr. Casey Paleos
Casey Paleos, MD is a psychiatrist and researcher with over a decade of experience in the use of psychedelic medicines for the treatment of mental illness, dating back to his work, while still in residency training, as a study therapist in the landmark Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety Study at NYU, where Dr. Guss was one of his mentors. Since then, Dr. Paleos was Co-Principal Investigator in the NYU-Bellevue Ketamine for Depression Study and has been treating patients in his private practice with both ketamine infusion therapy and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy since 2016. Presently, he is a study therapist and Principal Investigator, alongside Dr. Gorman, in the MAPS-sponsored MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD Phase 3 Clinical Trial, serves as Scientific Director at Mindbloom, Inc., and is a co-founder of Nautilus Sanctuary, a non-profit psychedelic research and clinical institution based in New York City.
Dr. Lawrence Fischman
Lawrence Fischman, MD, is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, who has practiced in New York and Maine for 36 years. In addition to his full-time private practice in New York, he was a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry at New York-Presbyterian/ Weill Cornell Medical Center. In 1996, he moved to Maine, and became a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine Maine Track, where he also serves on the Admissions subcommittee. In 1983, he published a paper comparing psychedelic drug states with dreams and psychosis in Schizophrenia Bulletin. In 2019, inspired by the renaissance in psychedelic research, he published a paper in Neuropsychoanalysis on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. He has enjoyed living, working and raising a family in Maine, and is excited by the emerging possibilities for integrating psychedelic experiences with psychoanalytically-based psychotherapy.
Brad Burge, MA
Brad Burge earned his B.A. in Communication and Psychology from Stanford University in 2005 and his M.A. in Communication from the University of California, San Diego in 2009. He directed communications and public relations for the non-profit MAPS from 2009 to 2020, helping it scale from a small advocacy organization to a global leader in psychedelic pharmaceutical development. In 2020, Brad founded Integration Communications, which provides industry-leading PR, media relations, and education services in psychedelic science, therapy, health, and wellness. Brad is also a certified Wilderness First Responder, and when he’s not plugged in, you’ll find him in the mountains, carrying a backpack, somewhere down a long trail.
Alexander Camargo
Dr. Camargo is a psychologist based in New York City and maintains a private practice in Manhattan. His work is heavily influenced by psychoanalytic and attachment theories where he works with clients to address anxiety, depression, life transitions and spiritual crises. In addition, he provides psychedelic harm reduction and integration, helping clients prepare for psychedelic experiences, incorporate insights or cope with challenges post-experience. He also trained as a psilocybin therapist through Compass Pathways and serves as a therapist on an investigator-initiated clinical trial of psilocybin for Body Dysmorphic Disorder at New York Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Camargo’s clinical training focused on providing mental health services in low-fee clinics and hospitals to traditionally underserved communities in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Nassau County.
Maisie Coburn
Maisie graduated in 2020 from the University of Edinburgh with a BA in Sustainable Development and Social Anthropology. Her undergraduate dissertation explored psychedelics, ecological consciousness, and relational ontologies. She is currently pursuing an MA in Developmental Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her interests center around how our sense of self may emerge and crystallize over time, and how we may explore and design interventions to shift and expand it. At Fluence, Maisie assists in the production of program materials and written content. She lives in NYC and Woodstock, NY.
Dr. Alan Davis
Dr. Alan Davis is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Ohio State University and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Davis’s clinical experience includes working with people diagnosed with trauma-based psychological problems and includes providing evidenced-based treatments such as motivational interviewing, acceptance and commitment therapy, and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy. His research interests focus on helping those suffering with substance use and mental health problems and developing ways to conceptualize substance use and mental health problems through a strengths-based approach. He recently completed a clinical trial of psilocybin therapy for depression and current trials exploring psychedelic treatment for patients with co-occurring alcohol use disorder and depression and patients with anorexia. He examines topics related to naturalistic psychedelic use among several populations including people of color who have experienced racial trauma, Spanish-speaking people, and people who use novel psychedelics such as 5-MeO-DMT.
Ashley Dudley
Ashley is a Licensed Massage Therapist and yoga teacher based in Portland, Oregon. For the past decade, she has focused on the medicine of mindfulness and movement. She currently teaches meditation, yoga nidra, yoga asana and assists her teacher Michele Loew in Vajrayana Buddhism trainings. Ashley has a private massage practice based in Portland. Her approach to bodywork is influenced by the technicality of myofascial and structural work as well as her studies in yoga, regularly incorporating different breathing awarenesses in the practice.
Jayne Gumpel, LCSW
Jayne is a licensed Clinical Social Worker with 30 years of clinical experience and training. Non ordinary states of consciousness often offer clients extraordinary learning opportunities for deep and sustainable change, and Jayne offers support and integration guidance for those who are attracted to healing modalities such as plant medicine, ketamine, body centered therapies and breathwork. She is a MBSR teacher, experienced meditator, and co-founder of Access Mindfulness, a non-profit dedicated to bringing mindfulness to schools. She offers clinical services remotely and in person Midtown East, NYC and Woodstock, New York.
David Gumpel, MA
David Gumpel is an Integral Master Coach and a qualified teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) through UMASS medical school. David is the co-founder of Access Mindfulness and a study coordinator for the MAPS sponsored MDMA-Assisted Therapy for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder study in NYC. As a coach, David teaches mindfulness to clients in private practice and to groups in corporate settings. At Fluence, David provides Mentoring and teaches MBSR courses for Certificate Program Participants. Find him online at ebcpathways.com.
Dr. Jeffrey Guss
Jeffrey Guss, MD, is a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and researcher with specializations in psychoanalytic therapy, addictions and psychedelic therapy. He was Co-Principal Investigator and Director of Psychedelic Therapy Training for the NYU School of Medicine’s study on psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of cancer related existential distress, and is currently is a study therapist on studies of Psilocybin-Assisted treatment of Major Depressive Disorder and MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD. Dr. Guss is interested in the integration of psychedelic therapies with contemporary psychoanalytic theory and has published in Studies in Gender and Sexuality and Psychoanalysis, Culture and Society. He co-authored a paper on the influence of therapists’ first hand experience with psychedelics on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy research and is an Instructor and Mentor with the California Institute of Integral Studies’ Center for Psychedelic Therapies. He maintains a private practice in New York City.
Aja Molinar, MA
Aja Molinar is a graduate student in psychology at the New School for Social Research, where she is a member of the Psychopathology Lab. Aja is also a member of the Portland Psychedelics Virtual Research Lab led by Dr. Jason Luoma and Dr. Brian Pilecki. She is interested in psychedelic science, in addition to research on boredom and depression. Within the Psychopathology Lab, she is also part of a team designing a protocol to measure clinical outcomes for ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. Aja has also assisted in writing a peer-reviewed article with Dr. Ingmar Gorman and Dr. Elizabeth Nielson on psychedelic harm reduction and integration.
Sarah Snider
Sarah Snider owns a bookkeeping and financial services firm in Kingston, New York. She works with radical clients in the Hudson Valley, specializing in nonprofit and worker coop accounting. Outside of work, she keeps busy biking, trail running, and working on her Catskills 3,500 Club hiking designation. Sarah has a Masters of Sociology + Cultural Studies from the London School of Economics, a degree in French Literature from the Sorbonne, a Bachelors of History from the American University of Paris, and studied herbalism and yoga in New York.
Donna Sorgen, LMHC, LPC
Donna Sorgen, LMHC,LPC (she/her) is a psychotherapist with over 25 years experience working with adults, children, adolescents, couples and groups. She is the Director/Owner of the Woodstock Therapy Center, a collective of practitioners providing a variety of services to the community including Ketamine Assistant Psychotherapy (KAP), psychiatric services , psychotherapy and holistic modalities. Donna has spent her career working with diverse clients in multiple settings. Her current private practice includes KAP, Psychotherapy and Psychedelic integration therapy. Donna has completed training in MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD through the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies(MAPS). She was a sushi chef, caterer and enjoys the outdoors and gardening.
Dr. Kelan Thomas
Kelan is an Associate Professor and Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist with outpatient behavioral health practice sites in San Francisco and Oakland. His research interests include adverse reactions and drug interactions related to psychiatric medications and psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Assistant Trainers
Assistant Trainers are community role models in their practice of psychedelic integration therapy and psychedelic-assisted therapy. Having attended Fluence trainings and incorporated the material of into their professional lives, they are present on a regular basis at our workshops to provide assistance with breakout groups, give feedback on role plays, lead contemplative practices or small bits of programming, participate in demonstrations, contribute ideas and experiences, and provide an example of how this workshop might facilitate the development of a new part of someone’s career.
Haya Al-Hejailan, MSc
Haya is a wellbeing coach, positive psychology practitioner and psychedelic integrationist. She holds a B.A. in psychology from Claremont McKenna College where she focused her senior thesis on the clinical uses of psychedelics. She recently received an MSc in applied positive psychology and coaching psychology from the University of East London, with a dissertation research project exploring the impact of psychedelic use on wellbeing in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Haya is co-directing and co-producing The Psychedelic Renaissance Documentary and works as an events planner for The Psychedelic Society UK. She has previously worked as an administrator with Synthesis retreats and was involved with the French psychedelic society. Haya intends to dedicate her career in the field to help bridge the gap between psychedelic science and cultures in the SWANA/MENA region (South West Asia and North Africa/Middle East and North Africa).
Johan Eriksson
Johan Eriksson is a psychologist and therapist on his Sweden’s first clinical trial of psilocybin treatment for depression at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, sponsored by Osmond Labs. He has a background in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Intensive Short-term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP). He works with clients for psychedelic preparation and integration, as well as general psychotherapy in private practice. In 2016 Johan co-founded the Swedish Network for Psychedelic Science (NPV), and in 2019 he arranged and participated in the first Psychedelics 101 and 102 in Sweden. Johan has also co-author a peer-reviewed paper on ACT and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. His web page is www.psykologiskintegration.se.
Joseph L. Flanders, PhD
Dr. Joe Flanders is a Psychologist and the founder and managing partner of Mindspace Wellbeing in Montreal, where he works as a therapist, certified mindfulness teacher and trainer, and consultant to organizations. He is also an Assistant Professor (Professional) in the Psychology Department at McGill University. Joe is the co-director of the Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration (PHRI) Program at Mindspace.
Leah Gooch, Ed.M, 500RYT
Leah Gooch teaches yoga, meditation, writing, and art in order to help individuals approach a deeper awareness of their existence. After teaching art in New York City for eight years she facilitated the creation of a mural inside of Crossroads Detention Center in Brooklyn, completed by fifteen justice-involved youth. Leah is currently a teacher and Recreation Program Leader at a correctional facility. She facilitates public and private workshops and yoga lessons and is a reiki master practitioner. Her website is fourminutesaday.org – a reference to her initial commitment to meditate for (at least!) four minutes a day.
Xiaojue Hu, MD
Dr. Xiaojue Hu is a psychiatrist based in New York City. She’s currently the Co-Investigator and a study therapist on a clinical trial investigating the impact of psilocybin on the treatment of major depression at the New York University School of Medicine. Xiaojue is also in private practice at an integrative mental health clinic, working with pioneering nutritional psychiatrist Drew Ramsey. She is trained in Focusing, a mind-body therapeutic approach, as well as psychedelic integration. Xiaojue is also interested in spirituality, women’s mental health, and cultural psychiatry, having worked as the leading psychiatrist at the Asian Bicultural Clinic at Gouverneur Health, an NYU-affiliated clinic providing care to the underserved. At Fluence, Xiaojue teaches psilocybin-assisted therapy for research therapists and is a Mentor for Certificate Program Trainees.
Rebecca Kronman, LCSW
Rebecca is a licensed Clinical Social Worker and founder of Plant Parenthood, a digital and in-person community of parents who use psychedelics. At her private practice in Brooklyn, NY she works with creative professionals using mindfulness and experiential techniques to address depression, anxiety and life transitions. In addition, she works in the re-emerging clinical space of psychedelic harm reduction and integration, helping clients prepare for psychedelic experiences, incorporate insights or cope with challenges post-experience. Her experience includes Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindfulness for Clinicians, Psychedelics 101 & 102, and Beyond Experience Psychedelic Integration Workshop.
Joseph McCowan, PsyD
Joseph McCowan, Psy.D, is a licensed clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, currently working in Los Angeles as a co-therapist in the MAPS sponsored Phase 3 clinical trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD. He is an alumni of MAPS’ MDMA Therapy Training for Communities of Color, held in August 2019. Additionally, Joseph works with the California Center for Psychedelic Therapy where he provides Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) and Psychedelic Integration Therapy. Joseph is deeply passionate about furthering education and awareness of the healing benefits of psychedelics for communities of color and in working to improve mental health outcomes for historically underserved communities. Joseph received his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his doctorate in clinical psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
Dan Roberts, MD, MSW
Dr. Dan Roberts is psychiatrist based in New York City. He is currently a lead study therapist on a clinical trial investigating the impact of psilocybin on the treatment of major depression at the New York University School of Medicine. Prior to a career transition into medicine and psychiatry, he worked as a clinical social worker, specializing in treating co-occurring disorders both in individual and group psychotherapy. Dan is also interested in meditation and contemplative practices, as well as depth psychology frameworks such as psychoanalysis and Jungian psychology.
Andrew Rose
Andrew is the Director of Programming and a mindfulness teacher at Mindspace Wellbeing in Montreal, where he oversees all group programming and teaches Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. He is also the Co-Director of Mindspace’s Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration (PHRI) program where he provides harm reduction and integration services for clients and supports Mindspace’s growing team of therapists building their own competencies in psychedelic integration work. Prior to joining Mindspace he established a weekly integration group focused on exploring the relationship between psychedelics and meditation and mindfulness practices, and has also facilitated integration circles for the Montreal Psychedelic Society.
Sabina Sehgal, PhD
Sabina Sehgal, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist who has over a decade of experience as a specialist in cognitive behavioral therapy and health psychology. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Moores Cancer Center at the University of San Diego California (UCSD) and extensive training in empirically supported treatments at Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego. Using self-regulatory interventions such as meditation and guided imagery, often integrated with behavioral medicine, Dr. Sehgal works with individuals, couples and families to support their transition through their diagnoses and promotes a positive supportive setting in which clients recover. Dr. Sehgal has been trained as a psilocybin therapist with Compass Pathways in an FDA approved program. Most recently, she joined the research team at UCSD and Kadima Neuropsychiatry Institute for a clinical trial using psilocybin for treating treatment resistant depression.
Cristie Strongman, Ed.M.
Cristie Strongman is a graduate of Columbia University’s Counseling Psychology, bilingual track. Before embarking on clinical study, she dedicated her studies at Columbia to better understand the phenomena of urban shamanism. Cristie is the former Director of Racial and Equity Access Committee for Chacruna’s Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicine, a non-profit dedicated to providing public education and cultural understanding about psychedelic plant medicines where she advocated for gender and racial diversity in the field of psychedelics. Cristie is a trainee of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy with a passion for helping historically underserved communities of color. She is a classically trained opera singer who enjoys performing new music in such spaces as Carnegie Hall. Cristie is originally from Colón, Panamá, and currently resides in Brooklyn, NYC.
Kelly Sykes, PhD
Dr. Kelly Sykes is a child forensic psychologist and maintains a private practice in Brooklyn, New York. She works primarily with court referred families as a custody evaluator, parenting or family coordinator, or therapeutic supervisor. She also provides expert consultation and testimony in matters that concern parent-child contact problems, child sexual abuse evaluations, trauma & parenting, and adoption & termination of parental rights. Her work is heavily influenced by psychoanalysis and attachment theory. Kelly’s interest in psychedelic integration therapy evolved from years of working with court referred parents with histories of complex trauma, persistent mood disorders, and substance abuse problems. Noting that for some, talk therapies helped with insight but failed to inhibit endangering behavior or led to meaningful change such that they could parent their children. This sparked her interest in learning more about the role the brain plays in the chronicity of certain psychological conditions and the research on psychedelic treatments.
About Fluence
Fluence offers training and education independently and in collaboration with a variety of clinics, conferences, private practices, non-profit associations, retreat centers, and psychedelic research sponsors.
FAQs About our Program
Do you give people psychedelics at your training so they can learn what the experience is like?
No. Our trainings do not include any administration of any psychedelic compounds. While we recognize that such experiences can be a valuable part of training for some professionals in certain situations, we believe they are neither necessary nor sufficient, and value a more general familiarity with alternative states of consciousness.
What if I want an opportunity to try the psychedelics we are learning about?
Depending on the compound there may be a legal avenue to do so either by participating in a research trial, receiving treatment (as a patient) with a currently available psychedelic (e.g. ketamine), or traveling abroad.
Can I use the continuing education credit for my license in my state?
Some of our programs offer the option to purchase APA CE and/or CME certificate. You will need to check with your licensing board in your state to see if those credits are acceptable for your purposes.
Do you offer academic credit?
No.
Do you have a scholarship fund or sliding scale?
Our intention is to keep our fees affordable for working mental health professionals. At most of our programs we reserve select number of spaces for a discounted rate for applicants whose presence would benefit the community for whom our fee would be a hardship. We prioritize providing scholarships to participants whose participation will enhance diversity among clinicians educated in this modality and/or the populations to which it is available. Applications will be accepted and scholarships awarded on a rolling basis, so please apply early. Where available, you will find a link to the application for a scholarship spot on the page for each training. Please note scholarships only apply to training fees and do not cover transportation, lodging, and meals.
Can you provide a training in my city or at my organization?
We work with a variety of community partners to bring our trainings to their hometowns. Our programs can be open to the public or private for the members of your organization, and tailored to suit your community’s needs. If you would like to collaborate on holding a training locally, please email us and we’ll start the conversation.
Do you offer psychotherapy?
Fluence does not provide any clinical services. If you are seeking a therapist who is trained in this area, please contact the Psychedelic Education & Continuing Care Program or search the therapist listings at psychedelic.support.
Where can I learn about your policies?
To learn more about our cancellation policy, attendance policy, CE policy, contact and communication policy, as well as our disclaimer and waiver, please see our policy page.