This 150-hour program is designed to teach licensed clinicians to apply the basics of psychedelic-assisted therapy to ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. Clinicians will learn how to conceptualize and talk to patients about the role of ketamine in their treatment, how to facilitate patient decision making and autonomy in deciding to take ketamine, how to help patients prepare psychologically and emotionally for their ketamine experiences, how to approach the experiences they may have under the influence of ketamine, and how to integrate those experiences into meaningful change.
All Certificate Program students are paired with a Mentor from Fluence’s training faculty to support them through their journey. Mentorship is a rich and unique aspect of the program that allows for individualized feedback beyond the scope of individual courses and program components.
Dr. Elizabeth Nielson is the co-founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Fluence. As a psychologist her focus is on developing psychedelic medicines as empirically supported treatments for PTSD, substance use problems, and mood disorders. She is 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.
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Cost & Scholarship
The Program Fee for this Certificate Program is $9,875 payable in 12 monthly installments. Program fee does not include CE or CME certificate fees, lodging, meals, or travel expenses to in-person programs. If you have already taken Understanding Ketamine, any Reading and Study Group, the Experiential Retreat, or a Clinical Consultation group with Fluence prior to applying for the Certificate Program, at the Program Director’s discretion you will receive a corresponding credit towards your program fee and will not be expected to repeat these classes. Those who are already enrolled in or have graduated from the Integration Certificate Program receive special pricing and priority placement.
Application Process
The Postgraduate Certificate program is open only to licensed psychotherapists, physicians, nurses, and other professionals who can legally provide mental health care and have a background and training in psychotherapy. The application includes basic information about the applicant, their professional background, and existing experience. It also includes opportunities for applicants to present their intentions, values, goals, and aspirations for joining the program. Applications are submitted online with a $100 application fee. All eligible applicants will be contacted for an interview with 2 Fluence trainers. Acceptance is contingent upon successful completion of the interview and determination by the trainers of appropriateness for the program.
Certificate program trainees must apply and enroll in the program to be included in the KAP Theory and Methodology course and to engage in mentoring and the practicum. Understanding Ketamine, the Retreat, and the RSG may have been taken prior to enrollment, however it is encouraged that participants take their RSG and CCG after completing the KAP Theory and Methodology. All trainees must complete a knowledge assessment after Understanding Ketamine and are evaluated on the learning objectives of both RSGs, and CCG by the instructor.
Once submitted, the application will be reviewed by the Fluence admissions committee. Committee members will interview the applicant. The committee will review and come to a decision on the approval and admission of the applicant within 4 weeks of receipt. Additional Fluence training team members may be consulted for input during this process, and any team members’ existing relationship with the applicant may be taken into consideration. Once a decision has been reached the training coordinator will provide the applicant with an acceptance, deferral, or refusal letter.
Upcoming Deadlines and Start Dates
Cohort 23C Application Deadline: 4/28/23 Program Start Date: 5/6/23 Expected End Date: 12/18/23
Cohort 23D Application Deadline: 4/28/23 Program Start Date: 5/6/23 Expected End Date: 12/18/23
Certification Review
When the trainee has completed all of the learning components and mentoring sessions, they are to submit a formal Certification Review request. The graduation request includes a personal reflection essay and a plan for continuing professional development. Certification Review requests are reviewed by a review committee consisting of 1 Fluence Lead Trainer and 2 Assisting Trainers, who will not be the Trainee’s mentor. Review process will include feedback from the mentor and all Fluence trainers who have had interactions with the Trainee. Upon the committee’s determination that program learning objectives, knowledge, competencies, and experience have been successfully met, the Certificate will be issued.
Graduate Expectations
Fluence Postgraduate Certificate programs are structured around three domains of competency necessary for PAT practice. These domains include:
Knowledge
Skills
Experience
Students will be evaluated on Competencies throughout the training program and will receive summative and formative feedback on these Competencies periodically through program progress reports. By the completion of the Fluence program students will be expected to have met the following performance standards for each of the competencies.
Knowledge:
The graduate will:
Number
Knowledge Competency Description
K.1
Demonstrate knowledge of how to evaluate and conceptualize a patient’s relationship to ketamine and the relationship between the patient’s experience with ketamine and their presenting problem or concerns;
K.2
Demonstrate knowledge of how to embed preparation for ketamine experiences and integration of ketamine experiences into the existing course of psychotherapy or treatment plan;
K.3
Demonstrate knowledge of ketamine’s effects, risks, and the extremely varied ways it can be used in treatment;
K.4
Know (in their own therapeutic orientation) how to understand (make meaning of) and work with experiences that may be neutral, positive, challenging, traumatic, and ranging from under- to overwhelming intensity that can occur with ketamine;
K.5
Identify and respect a range of motivations patients bring to their ketamine experiences while screening and identifying appropriate patients for ketamine administration;
K.6
Recognize common signs clinical danger that may be related to ketamine treatment, and be prepared to consult with other professionals and provide crisis intervention;
K.7
Demonstrate knowledge of transference reactions, both those commonly seen in non-psychedelic-assisted treatment, and also those unique to psychedelic work;
K.8
Demonstrate knowledge of how to recognize countertransference reactions, how to use them creatively when possible, and seek consultation when difficulties arise;
K.9
Demonstrate working knowledge of the legal aspects of ketamine administration in the US and all local laws and regulations.
Skills:
The graduate will:
Number
Skill Competencies Description
S.1
Establish and maintain a therapeutic alliance as well as skillfully manage termination and referral process for ketamine assisted therapy (KAP) patients;
S.2
Recognizing both verbal and non-verbal communication as they relate to KAP;
S.3
Maintain boundaries and confidentiality, as required by their licensing board as these relate to KAP;
S.4
Understand and integrate a broad range of treatment modalities as these relate the patient’s care;
S.5
Identify and understand the range of psychological reactions to psychedelic experiences as these relate to the patient’s care;
S.6
Provide psychoeducation regarding ketamine;
S.7
Demonstrate respect for wisdom traditions (indigenous and alternative treatments) that may be part of the patient’s experience.
S.8
Possess an ability to access higher meanings, values, and abiding purposes, and to integrate these in living richer and more creative lives, with respect to themselves and their patients.
S.9
Maintaining self-care and identifying need for expanded work in self-care domains, with respect to themselves and their patients.
S.10
Monitor themselves in clinical work at all times.
S.11
Accurately represent themselves and their professional services, including KAP, to the public in ways that are aligned with all applicable laws and regulations.
S.12
Provide professional services, including KAP, to the public in ways that are aligned with all applicable laws and regulations.
Experience:
The graduate will:
Number
Experience Competencies
E.1
Integrate program lessons into plans to conduct their own KAP services.
E.2
Apply program lessons to NOSC work with peers and/or clients
E.3
Demonstrate applied understanding of the relationship between their own NOSC work in any form, setting, and origin—including non-drug NOSC work as part of the Program—to future work as a KAP Practitioner.
E.4
Have close clinical consultation with Fluence trainers regarding the KAP they have conducted or witnessed with a patient who has undergone KAP
E.5
Have thorough consultation with Fluence trainers regarding their own NOSC work in any form, setting, and origin.
I enjoyed all aspects of it. The classes were informative, the instruction was first-class, and the retreat offered an opportunity to expand relationships with people met in class. I have professional opportunities I would not have otherwise had. Win-win-win!
What I have found in the program is an experience I will treasure and return to again and again; the mission and vision of Fluence, its expert founders, mentors and instructors, the caring and thoughtfulness with which each course was made and run, and the network of fellow students of a diverse array of professional achievements and pursuits has been nothing short of enriching and inspiring.
Frequently Asked Questions
All courses are available online except for the Psychedelic Integration Experiential Practice Retreat and Trauma-informed Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy. Our KAP certificate program also includes an observational practicum, which is in-person (whether locally or with one of Fluence’s Practicum Leaders).
For Postgraduate Certificates (KAP and PHRI): Yes, participants are expected to be independently licensed and able to practice psychotherapy within their scope of practice. Fluence will not review everyone’s scope of practice in their particular jurisdiction. If you are applying we are asking you to inform us of your license. You are responsible for determining that you are practicing within your scope of practice.
For the Psilocybin-assisted Therapy Certificate: No, however program participants are required to have prior training and experience practicing psychotherapy or related health care services in the field of mental health or addiction treatment. Participants may be currently or formerly licensed (retired) psychotherapists, social workers, counselors, or other similar professions.
For the Postgraduate Certificates (KAP and PHRI), most of the courses you take for the certificate program are open to non-certificate students. The Psilocybin program includes Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy: Parts 1 & 2, which are only for program participants.
Psychedelic Integration: Premise and Promise, Understanding Ketamine, Reading and Study Groups, on-demand courses, and our experiential practice retreat programs remain open to both those who are and are not licensed clinicians.
Supervision is a legal term denoting a situation in which a trainee works under a supervisor’s license, usually towards hours for independent licensure. We do not offer supervision. We do offer clinical consultation, which includes elements of supervision, but is intended for providers who are already independently licensed.
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Certificate in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
