TheraPsil’s fundamental mission is to provide access to psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to Canadians in medical need. Our primary functions are patient-rights advocacy, assessment and referral.
To this end, we recognize the importance of developing a pool of suitably trained and trusted TheraPsil Psychotherapy Associates to whom we can refer patients.
UPDATE: Over 200 healthcare professionals who are taking TheraPsil's Psilocybin-Assisted Training Program were denied access to psilocybin for experiential learning. We are now representing these healthcare professionals and have filed an application for judicial review, we expect to be attending a hearing in April or May of 2023. To date, TheraPsil has trained 400 healthcare professionals in Canada and recently expanded to the United States in November 2022.
Eligibility
- A medical degree (MD, RN), or a graduate degree (MA, PhD) in psychology, counseling psychology, or a closely related field such as psychiatric social work, psychiatric nursing or occupational therapy with a psychotherapy license;
- Current good standing as a professional member of a provincial clinical counseling or psychotherapy association having a Code of Ethics and a disciplinary body;
Requirements 1 and 2 above may be relaxed to allow those in the process of completing a graduate clinical degree or professional registration, and credentialed spiritual/pastoral counsellors to attend a seminar in situations where a cohort is short one or two fully qualified clinical entrants prior to delivery.
- Preference will be given to applicants who already have some personal or professional psychedelic experience;
- Preference will be given to those with palliative care experience;
- Each applicant will be admitted to the training program following a successful interview with the Director of Training and Operations to assess personal and professional suitability.
- Graduation Requirements
TheraPsil Training Bursary
TheraPsil is dedicated to prioritizing safe containers of healing for all Canadians in medical need, which begins with strengthening equitable access to our psilocybin therapy training program. As such, we will prioritize diverse and balanced cohorts as it pertains to BIPOC, LGBTQ+, as well as other self-identified non-dominant group applicants, who also meet the above eligibility criteria. We have reserved a minimum of 30% of training cohort spots for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other self-identified non-dominant group applicants.
Graduation Requirements
In order to graduate as a TheraPsil Associate, you must complete the following:
- Completion of in-person training seminar (Units 1-10) Full attendance is required;
- Certification of completion of readings and videos;
- Completion of a Learning Journal. (a daily journal in which trainees write one page
max. at the end of each seminar day. This journal will be reviewed by the trainer at
the end of the seminar. (Optional - This requirement is at the discretion of the trainer).
- Personal psychedelic experience (Unit 11);
- Clinical Supervision (Unit 12);
- Documentation of a minimum five years of experience as a full-time mental health clinician;
- At the conclusion of training, learners will meet individually (in-person or by Zoom) with faculty for a final individualized assessment session involving all aspects of trainee learning. Trainees assessed as ready for practice will be awarded a certificate of completion and be granted Clinical Associate status with TheraPsil.
- Trainees who were permitted to attend a seminar without fulfilling entrance requirements 1 and 2 above must fulfil those requirements before they may be advanced to Provisional Associate or Clinical Associate status.
Program Hours:
- Seminar 30
- Readings/videos 50
- Experiential (Unit 11) 43
- Supervision (Unit 12) 10
Supplementary Modules:
- Ethics by Kylea Taylor 3
- Music Training by Wavepaths 6
- Indigenous Teachings by Dr. Duncan Grady 1.5
- Neuropharmacology by Jag Deol 2.5
Total of 146 hours
Certificates & Professional Designations
- A qualified professional accepted into our program becomes a TheraPsil Affiliate by committing to complete our training program. TheraPsil will then support their applications to Health Canada for access to psilocybin to be used in the course of their training;
- Therapist trainees who have fully attended the 30-hour seminar and certified that they have completed all required readings and videos may receive (upon request) a certificate of completion of 86 hours of didactic instruction in TheraPsil’s Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy Training Program.
- Trainees who have completed all units except the Unit 12 supervision requirement may be granted the status of Provisional Associate by their trainer. This status allows the trainee’s name to be placed on an approved Provisional Associate list from TheraPsil, and to function as a primary therapist on condition that they agree to actively pursue completion of their Unit 12 supervision requirement.
- Therapist trainees graduate from our program when they have successfully completed all twelve training units. Graduate psychotherapists will be awarded a certificate of completion of 139 hours our training in psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy. This certificate identifies the graduate as a TheraPsil Psychotherapy Associate, and their names will be entered into TheraPsil’s register of graduate clinicians. This register is made available to prospective patients seeking treatment.
- Nurses and social workers without psychotherapy experience and Spiritual Practitioners who seek to be co sitters who have completed Modules 1-11 will be awarded a certificate of completion for 129 hours of training that identifies them as a TheraPsil Affiliated Co-Sitter.
- Graduate MDs and Nurse Practitioners without psychotherapy experience who complete Modules 1-11 will be awarded a certificate of completion of 129 hours in assessment for psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy. This certificate will identify them as a TheraPsil Medical Associate, and their names will be entered into TheraPsil’s register of prescribers. This register is made available to prospective patients seeking assessment or prescribing.
TheraPsil's Curriculum
Frequently Asked Questions:
Testimonials
"Our training program is designed to train healthcare providers in how to safely and effectively guide a client on a therapeutic psilocybin experience. While a scholarly and didactic foundation is essential, the focus for our training is on the therapeutic skills required to achieve that objective. After 30+ years as a practicing therapist, I have felt firsthand the limitations of my field to consistently relieve people of the often devastating symptoms of conditions like depression, addiction, and PTSD. Psychedelic therapy is showing promise to significantly increase our effectiveness for these clinical populations. But it is a new way of treating clients so we must learn these new ways - this is what our training hopes to do.”
- Dave Phillips, Clinical Counsellor, TheraPsil Training Beta-Program Lead Facilitator
"A big thank you to Yasmeen and TheraPsil team for the fantastic Fundamentals of Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy Program that I recently completed. As a physician but also an educator I was impressed with not only the quality of the information provided but also by the highly interactive and innovative ways in which the material was delivered. I would recommend this program for other physicians (and non-physicians) interested in learning more about the role of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for our patients and clients.”
- Dr. Fraser M Black, MD CCFP(PC) FCFP
Clinical Professor - Faculty of Medicine UBC
Palliative Care and Inner-City Medicine Physician
"What a rich and informative workshop! It’s a tall order bringing together clinical experience with medical knowledge and research, and still hold onto the heart and spirituality that often go hand in hand with this work. Bruce makes it look easy. He brings a level of insight, experience, compassion, humility and creativity to teaching that I have rarely seen. Thank you so much Bruce!”
- Tracy Lowe
MA, CCC, FAMI
Canadian Certified Counsellor
Accredited GIM Practitioner