In 2019, I began work on what was, at the time, the largest psychedelic clinical trial of psilocybin ever conducted. But what made it distinctive was not just its scale: it was the integration of psychedelic research into existing clinical research infrastructure in a way prior trials had not attempted. A large, established clinical research organization (CRO) participated in the oversight and monitoring of research sites that included both academic centers and private practices with established research departments. Many of the sites involved had no prior experience conducting psychedelic research, and clinicians recruited and trained to work on the trial often had no prior background in psychedelic research or practice.
Until that point, my experience in the field had been with the academic research team at NYU and a private practice group in Manhattan working on the MPBC (later Lykos) sponsored MDMA trials. These were exceptional groups doing groundbreaking work, yet there was a sense of operating at some distance from established clinical research structures. The psilocybin trial, in contrast, worked wholeheartedly within those systems. For me, that was an eye-opening experience, and it inspired me to found Fluence, to bring psychedelic therapy training into the infrastructure that already governed how healthcare gets trained and delivered. That meant bringing values, clinical rigor, and genuine dedication into systems that had not yet made room for this work.
Many of our current trainers started out in the field at that time or through participating in Fluence training programs since. Some were my co-therapists or trainees on those early trials. Others joined Fluence after participating in one of our clinical trial training programs, drawn by enthusiasm for the field and a demonstrated passion for teaching and mentoring. Over time, we expanded our team to include former study coordinators, people with experience at CROs, and professionals with backgrounds in adjacent areas, including medical device training and state-regulated facilitator programs. As the field moves toward FDA approval, we continue to grow our capacity to provide training and broadly support the research programs, clinics, and healthcare systems that will carry these treatments forward. This is our history and our orientation. It guides our relationship to every organization and individual we work with.
What program orientation means for clinicians
Choosing a program that prepares you to work responsibly with psychedelics, within your scope of practice and in alignment with the evidence base, best practices, and standards of care, matters enormously. This aspect of psychedelic therapist training is critical for clinicians who are new to working with psychedelics and those with experience, for sites new to this work and those with a history in it, and for patients encountering these treatments for the first time and those who are already familiar with them. With every decision we make at Fluence, our goal is to create a quality program that can interface with the healthcare systems where psychedelic therapy will ultimately be delivered, respecting the boundaries and structures that contain patient-provider relationships and the professions established and licensed to practice medicine and psychotherapy. That foundation is what allows you to practice responsibly within those systems too.
Training that meets this standard must be able to work within and through the established structures of clinical research, credentialing, and care delivery. It must be accountable to the same questions and standards any evidence-based healthcare intervention is held to: How was this program developed? Who teaches it, and how are they trained? How is quality monitored across hundreds of learners and dozens of trainers? How do you know it is working?
For trainers working inside large-scale programs, having a clear structure of rubrics, evaluation standards, and documented workflows matters in a direct and practical way. When those systems are solid, trainers can stay focused on what matters most: the learner in front of them, their clinical development, and the specific challenges they are working through. When the structure is absent or improvised, trainers spend their energy navigating operational uncertainty instead of teaching. The infrastructure is what makes the relational and pedagogical work possible.
What this means for organizations
For healthcare organizations, sponsors, and clinical sites considering bringing psychedelic therapy into their programs, the infrastructure question is just as consequential. The field is approaching a threshold. Larger and larger pharmaceutical companies are entering the field with investments that dwarf what we saw just two years ago. Three expedited FDA review vouchers have been issued, and regulatory approval for one or more psychedelic treatments is a foreseeable near-term event. The organizations that will be positioned to deploy these treatments responsibly are those that are building their training infrastructure now, not after the fact.
What does that infrastructure actually require? Accountable processes for program development, materials creation, implementation, delivery, and documentation. Data privacy policies and AI use disclosures that meet current standards. Software validation packages, compliance audits, and insurance coverage reviews. Compliance workshops, standard operating procedures, and robust onboarding processes for trainers, so that the standards we hold clinical trial sites to in Boston or Barcelona are the same standards held at a clinical site in Honolulu or London.
This matters for the field as a whole. Broader acceptance of psychedelic therapies, their integration into regulated healthcare systems, and their interface with insurers and reimbursement programs will all depend on whether the training supporting these treatments meets the same scrutiny as other evidence-based interventions. The field of psychotherapy is replete with training programs built around a single person's theory and vision, and many are genuinely inspiring. But psychedelic therapy is entering established medical systems with real accountability and documentation requirements, and that demands training infrastructure built to those same standards.
Why the history matters
This spring I held a series of conversations with trainers across Fluence about their experiences giving and receiving training in this field. What came through clearly was how much the history behind a training program matters to the people inside it. Knowing that the rubrics they use were developed from direct clinical trial experience, that the standards they hold were built in consultation with regulatory expectations, and that the structure around them was tested in real research environments: that knowledge shapes how trainers approach their work and what they are able to offer learners.
In a moment when new attention on psychedelic therapy and new technological capabilities can make it seem possible to build a robust program overnight, that history is critical context. This history does not make us perfect. It does mean that what we offer has been built carefully, tested in practice, and designed to scale without losing consistency. That is what we owe the organizations who partner with us, clinicians who train with us, and the patients who will ultimately be in the room with them.
We look forward to seeing you in the future of this field.
Thanks for reading,
Co-Founder & CEO
One of the most consistent things we hear from clinicians entering ketamine-assisted psychotherapy training is that written materials and lectures can only take them so far. Understanding the theoretical foundations of KAP is one thing; watching how a skilled therapist actually moves through a preparation conversation, holds presence during a dosing session, or finds the right words in integration. That is something else entirely.
That gap is what KAP in Practice is designed to address. Now exclusive to students enrolled in Fluence's Professional Certificate in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, this new documentary video series follows two real cases (from preparation through integration) with two of Fluence's most experienced KAP trainers leading the work.
Professional Certificate students receive exclusive access to complete, unedited preparation, dosing, and integration sessions. Alongside each session, the treating therapist walks through their clinical thinking in dedicated debrief videos, unpacking their relational choices, pacing decisions, and in-session interventions in their own words. It is as close as online training can come to sitting beside an experienced clinician in the room
The series also models what non-directive presence looks like in practice, and offers a concrete illustration of the inner healing wisdom framework in action. These are concepts that clinical training frequently invokes but rarely demonstrates at this level of granularity.
Already completed Introduction to Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy? You are eligible for $300 off enrollment in the Professional Certificate program.
Learn more about the video series here:
Psychedelic therapy is a rapidly developing field, and the learning curve can feel steep. This is especially true for clinicians who are early in their exploration, or for professionals outside licensed mental health practice who want to build foundational literacy before deciding on a longer commitment.
Fluence's Introduction to Psychedelic Therapy on-demand course was built precisely for that entry point. It offers a grounded, evidence-based overview of the field, covering the clinical models, therapeutic frameworks, and research landscape that inform contemporary psychedelic practice. It is accessible to clinicians and non-clinicians alike, and designed to give you the conceptual grounding to engage the field seriously, whatever your next step turns out to be.
We are offering a free preview of the course to readers who want to see it before they commit.
Fill out the short form here to receive access.
Rohini Kanniganti, MD, is a Boulder-based, Board Certified Family Physician with over a decade of experience in hospice and palliative care. She currently serves as Associate Medical Director at Mountain Valley Hospice and Palliative Care in North Carolina. Her training includes a fellowship in Integrative Psychiatry, and her work bridges clinical rigor with creative, heart-centered care. She brings insight, intelligence, and humor to her teams, and is known by colleagues as “the patient whisperer.”
Rohini describes herself as “a hybrid of science, art, and sacred,” and is always ready to play. She is a physician who leads with deep presence and curiosity, searching for the underlying patterns and concerns that help resolve conflict and foster healing.
Curious about training in psychedelic therapy but unsure where to begin?
We’d love to help you gain clarity on how one of our courses fits into your path. Schedule a free 1-on-1 Zoom call with Kabir Cooppan-Boyd, dedicated to guiding you on your learning journey.
During your Zoom call, Kabir can answer your questions and explain how our courses connect to professional certificates in:
Psilocybin Facilitation
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration
If you’re a clinician with questions or curiosity about our programs, this personalized conversation is the perfect way to find your best next step.
Schedule your free 1-on-1 Zoom call with Kabir
Start your journey now and move toward certification in Psilocybin Facilitation, Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, or Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration at the current, lower rate.
All certificate programs start with our six-week Essentials of Psychedelic Therapy course, with the July cohort taught by Sarah Zoghbi, LPC.
Certificate Programs
Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration Therapy
July 15 - March 31, 2027
Psilocybin Facilitation
July 15 - March 21, 2027
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
July 15 - Nov 24, 2026
All Fluence alumni who have taken a live-online course are eligible to join our 1200+ person Google Group. Members can work through protocol questions, share what they are seeing in the field, and get perspectives from colleagues doing the same work. If you have taken a live-online course but have not received your invite to the group, reach out here:
Email info@fluencetraining.com
COMP360 Phase 3 Data Presented at ASCP Annual Meeting
Compass Pathways shared late-breaking poster data at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology meeting in Miami, showing that both Phase 3 trials of their synthetic psilocybin compound for treatment-resistant depression hit primary endpoints with high statistical and clinical significance, with stronger effects observed in patients who received two sessions rather than one.
MAPS Publishes First Literature Review on Psychedelic Healing for System-Impacted People
MAPS released a first-of-its-kind review examining the mental health needs of people affected by the criminal legal system and the potential role of psychedelic-assisted healing in addressing them, arguing that low-income communities of color have been largely absent from both clinical research and policy conversations in the field.
Federal Policy Roundup: Contradictions Emerge in the Push for Psychedelic Access
A detailed policy briefing from Psychedelics Today documents the widening gap between federal rhetoric and regulatory action: the VA is moving forward on MDMA trials, bipartisan legislation is advancing in the Senate, but the DEA's three-year-old psilocybin rescheduling petition remains stalled, and the agency simultaneously moved to emergency-schedule a ketamine analog.
