The Certificate in Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy is for therapists who wish to obtain the training and education necessary to become a licensed Psilocybin Facilitator under Oregon’s Measure 109. The program is grounded in Fluence’s Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration (PHRI) approach to psychedelic-assisted therapy and integration. It is designed and taught by leading experts with psilocybin-assisted therapy experience in clinical research settings.
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.
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.
OHA currently requires that Facilitators have been residents of Oregon for the past 2 years. This requirement sunsets as of January 1, 2025. Fluence does not require current Oregon residency for program participation. Non-residents who intend to relocate and practice in Oregon after the residency requirement ends are welcome to apply.
Tuition & Scholarship
Program with experiential retreat for practicum: $9550 USD Program with practicum working with a licensed facilitator: TBD
Tuition may be paid in full at enrollment or in 12-month installments.
A limited number of partial scholarships are available from our Diversity Fund. Fluence also works with the Healing Advocacy Fund and Sheri Eckert Foundation’s fellowship programs for additional funding for students in this program.
The program tuition includes the online course portal, discussion board, 45 hours of asynchronous (self-paced) materials, 45 hours of synchronous online learning with a home group (30 90-minute sessions), 30-hour live in-person intensive training session and either one of two practicum options. The tuition does not include any travel and lodging fees for the in-person program(s).
The Experiential Practice Retreat serves as the required practicum experience. In the future, trainees may elect to complete an additional practicum working alongside a practicing licensed Facilitator. Practicum opportunities alongside licensed facilitators are not expected to be available until mid 2023.
Application Process
Program applicants will submit a program application. Applications will be reviewed within 30 days. Applicants who are selected for an interview will be offered an interview with two Fluence staff members and/or trainers. Applicants will be notified of the program’s admission decision within two weeks of the interview. If accepted, applicants are asked to select a cohort from the currently available offerings within 30 days. Applicants should also attend the first scheduled in-person Trauma-informed Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy training after their cohort starts. In the event a participant cannot attend the first scheduled in-person training after their cohort starts they may attend the second, however this will not be with the majority of their cohort and may delay program completion.
Upcoming Deadlines & Start Dates
Our latest Section 23F started on October 26th, 2023. We are are pausing applications until future sections are published. Please come back soon for more information about our application deadlines and class start dates!
Graduate Expectations
The Fluence Psilocybin training program is 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.
Score
Descriptor
Did Not Demonstrate
The student does not attempt.
1 – Insufficient
The student does not effectively demonstrate the Core Ability/Competency.
2 – Attempting
The student effectively and ineffectively demonstrates the Core Ability/Competency with a low level of competence.
3 – Developing
The student effectively demonstrates the Core Ability/Competency with average level of competence.
4 – Attaining
The student effectively and consistently demonstrates the Core Ability/Competency with a moderately high level of competence.
5 – Excelling
The student effectively and consistently demonstrates the skill with a high level of competence.
Minimum Score for Passing Designated Courses
Must have an average of 3 to pass any course
Knowledge:
The graduate will:
Number
Knowledge Competency
K.1
Demonstrate knowledge of how to evaluate and conceptualize a patient’s relationship to psilocybin and the relationship between the patient’s experience with psilocybin and their presenting problem or concerns.
K.2
Demonstrate knowledge of how to embed preparation for psilocybin experiences and integration of psilocybin experiences into the existing course of psychotherapy or treatment plan.
K.3
Demonstrate knowledge of psilocybin’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 psilocybin.
K.5
Identify and respect a range of motivations patients bring to their psilocybin experiences while screening and identifying appropriate patients for psilocybin administration.
K.6
Recognize common signs clinical danger that may be related to psilocybin 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 psilocybin administration in the US and all local laws and regulations.
Skills:
The graduate will:
Number
Skill Competencies
S.1
Establish and maintain a therapeutic alliance as well as skillfully manage termination and referral process for psilocybin assisted therapy patients.
S.2
Recognizing both verbal and non-verbal communication as they relate to PAT.
S.3
Maintain boundaries and confidentiality, as required by their licensing board as these relate to PAT.
S.4
Understand and integrate a broad range of treatment modalities as these relate the patient’s care.
S.5
Identifying and understand the range of psychological reactions to psychedelic experiences as these relate to the patient’s care.
S.6
Provide psychoeducation regarding psilocybin.
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 self in clinical work at all times.
S.11
Accurately represent themselves and their professional services, including PAT, to the public in ways that are aligned with all applicable laws and regulations.
S.12
Provide professional services, including PAT, 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 psilocybin facilitation 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 psilocybin facilitator.
Approval and Licensing
Fluence has received curriculum approval for this program from the Oregon Health Authority (OHA-OPS). This program is licensed by the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission.
Fluence’s certificate program did an excellent job of preparing me to become a psilocybin facilitator in Oregon. I feel more clear on my role as a facilitator, more knowledgeable, ready to pass the licensing exam, and most importantly I feel great about the community of colleagues I can continue to consult with once I’m actively working as a facilitator; they are now friends as well as colleagues.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Trauma-informed Psychedelic-assisted Therapy course and the Experiential Practice Retreat offer continuing education credit valid for all professions which Fluence is an approved provider for. Please see individual course pages for details.
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.
Certificate program capacity is determined by the number of classes and training events we can run in a given year and the number of trainers available to provide them. Regardless of the total enrollment in a certificate program, class sizes for most weekly classes is capped at 12 participants.
Monthly program meetings are community building events at which we will explore special topics and current events in the field.
Fluence does not conduct clinical operations, but we occasionally receive requests for therapists that we can pass on to trainees or graduates. Students may also accept referrals from the community email list in alignment with their scope of practice and competency.
Certificate In Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy
