The Certificate was created to serve a growing need for trained licensed therapist guides to facilitate in future FDA-approvedpsychedelic- and entactogen-assisted psychotherapy research.* Research and medical experts have estimated that need at perhaps several hundred therapist guides in the next three to six years. The Certificate, which launches in Spring 2016, comprises 180 hours of comprehensive, in-depth academic training.

Phenomenal Timing

The field of research into medical applications of psychedelics, especially for the treatment of end-of-life distress, chronic PTSD, and longstanding substance abuse and addiction, is again heating up. Michael Pollan's widely popular article "The Trip Treatment," in The New Yorker, earlier this year ignited strong interest in the midst of the revival of psychedelic research.

Studies by research scientists are more regularly appearing in such prestigious publications as the Journal of Psychopharmacology and Archives of General Psychiatry, and adding new legitimacy to the field. And two summary reports on Phase II psilocybin studies by Johns Hopkins University and New York University due out in Spring 2016 are sure to further spark positive sentiment about the medicines.

With meditation and mindfulness, holism and hospice now in the vernacular and the backlash against recreational psychedelic drug use in the '60s abated, some experts believe that culturally in the United States, the time just might be right to integrate psychedelics further into mainstream medical care. Enter CIIS.

"The return of government-approved scientific research into psilocybin and related compounds has significant potential for myriad scientific and clinical studies, including the important treatment of existential distress at the end of life," says Dr. Anthony Bossis, Co-Principal Investigator of the Cancer and Palliative Care Research, Psilocybin Cancer Project at NYU School of Medicine. "The reemergence of this field will require serious multidisciplinary academic centers to address the theoretical, research, and clinical domains of this work. CIIS, with its history integrating psychology and spirituality, is uniquely and enormously qualified to meet this historic challenge," he says.

In offering the Certificate, the Center joins three of its partner organizations, Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), Usona Institute, and the Heffter Research Institute (Heffter), in running successful training programs for psychedelic research therapists.

Many researchers at MAPS and Heffter are predicting that Phase III studies of MDMA and psilocybin will begin rolling out in two to four years, particularly for chronic PTSD and advanced cancer anxiety and distress. Phase III trials, which can involve patient groups of up to 3,000, are typically the definitive assessment of a drug's effectiveness. In anticipation of these events, the Center developed the Certificate program.

the concept is good for the community i suppose.
assuming its not hijacked by psychedelic ideologues.

now theres a certificate.

cant help but feel stupid.
i coulda saved alot of time, money and risk.
cold experience, over decades, isnt worth much.

the concept is good for the community i suppose.
assuming its not hijacked by psychedelic ideologues.