ELIGIBILITY, PROCESS, & APPLICATION

Please read thoroughly before applying and be prepared to submit all requested information:

• PDF of your resume
• Image file of your photo ID
• Please write your essay first (420 words), and copy and paste into the application. While a professional/academic level writing and editing is strongly encouraged, remember to speak from your heart!
• Read all informed consent agreements prior to signing. It’s a process but this is what is required for a legal, regulated psychedelic therapy training program to operate ethically. These documents can be found on the Student Handbook page. All relevant agreements will be provided as a packet once you complete the application below.
• Please include your demographic information if you are comfortable doing so. Tracking our progress in this area is important to us.
• Scholarships are available. Please apply if it really helps. Please pay full price if you are able. 

Thank you for your interest in the PSS program. We look forward to working with you.

Safe Travels,

Daniel McQueen
Executive Director

Instructions

Please review the following information to become a student of Psychedelic Sitters School, Psychedelic Guide Training Program.  We recognize this is a big decision and are here to support you through this process. Please contact us with any questions by emailing events@medicinalmindfulness.org. Our team is happy to help guide you through this process.

Need-Based Diversity Scholarships are available, and the scholarship application is part of this General Application Process. 

Eligibility

By applying to, and participating in these programs, you are affirming that you are physically, psychologically, and spiritually fit enough to do so safely. Many of our informed consent forms overlap with our psychedelic therapy center, the Center for Medicinal Mindfulness, and we review a safety questionnaire as part of this process. Your safety is our top priority. 

• We firmly believe the practice of psychedelic guiding should not be limited to practitioners in one professional field.  We accept students from all professional orientations. You are not required to be an ordained minister, licensed mental health professional, or medical professional to apply to our program.
• Students must be ready to engage their own transformational process as they train to become guides for others. Psychedelic experiences are often life transforming. Choosing to be a guide amplifies this process. The training regularly elicits major transformations in the lives of our students.
• Participants are invited to join our online classes from anywhere. We offer this class as a professional training where Cannabis sativa is legal for medical or adult use, but also as a psychedelic harm reduction education program where cannabis is not yet legal. The use of cannabis is a personal decision and is not required to participate (although it is highly recommended where it is safe to do so).
• You must be 21 or older to participate – The average age of the students in the training program is 43. We support young people new to the field, as well as seasoned mental health professionals. As a specialized training program that teaches a unique skill set, all experience levels benefit from this program.

Important Disclaimer – Your Application Approval is Not Guaranteed

Please note that acceptance to participate in the Psychedelic Sitters School training program is not guaranteed. All candidates will be assessed on an individual basis. Only after the application steps below have been properly completed, will a final determination be made regarding your potential acceptance into the program. As such, do not confirm any logistical/travel arrangements (e.g., requesting time away from work, purchasing airfare, etc.) until you have been contacted by us, in writing, of your formal acceptance into the program. Psychedelic Sitters School, the Center for Medicinal Mindfulness, any of their officers or owners will not be held liable for any such incurred costs.

Interview Process and Acceptance

Once you submit your application, we will be in touch with you to set up your interview. Once you are interviewed, our team will conduct a second review your application and send an email to confirm or decline your admission. If approved, we will also include any scholarship information in your acceptance letter. We may also request additional information, additional interviews, or we may have everything that we need to formally respond to you in short order.

Sometimes people apply to our program who have a clear and accurate intention of becoming a psychedelic guide, but may require a little more personal healing or personal development before entering the training program. If that is the case, we’ll let you know and offer recommendations on those initial steps instead.  We attract wonderful students who appear to self-select when ready to attend. Because of this our acceptance rate is very high. However, we’re sometimes a “no,” but we’re more often a “not yet.” Please don’t get discouraged if we offer steps before attending the program. This is our way of supporting you on your path as a psychedelic guide. 

This program is designed to elicit and support your own transformational healing and awakening process. We want you to be ready, and we trust your process. We encourage you to apply even if you are not sure. Our team can help you determine the right path for you and your process. Sometimes extremely competent future guides are hesitant, more so from modesty, cultural introjects, or imposed belief systems than a lack of skill and readiness. Our student population is very diverse in life experience. Everyone interested is strongly encouraged to connect with our team about the program. 

Application Fee, Tuition & Payment Plans

Fee: A non-refundable application fee of $150 is required with all materials submitted to schedule your interview.

Tuition: Should you be admitted, half payment of the PSS1 training tuition is required to reserve your position. The second half is due 1 month prior to your training intensive. Program costs are outlined on our Tuition page. 

While PSS1 & PSS2 are a complete training set within Psychedelic Guide Training, the program is designed to go at a pace that works for you, both financially and developmentally. 

Payment Plans:  We will work with students to create a monthly payment plan and training schedule to fit their financial needs and to help make our program as accessible as possible. Generally, full payment of a service is required prior to attending. 

Additional Eligibility Requirement for Advanced Psychedelic Guide Training (PSS3)

Because PSS3 teaches how to work with significant clinical concerns and engage in advanced transformational practices, to attend PSS3, students must be in process of completing the PSS credentialing program of the professional track of Psychedelic Guide Training, and have enough skill, life experience, and emotional maturity to handle extremely evocative psychedelic healing experiences. For this reason, pre-approval is required. Please contact us when you are ready to attend Advanced Psychedelic Guide Training (PSS3), or if you have questions about this program.

No Exemptions in Training Requirements for Helping Professionals

Some of our students who have degrees or experience as a helping professional ask if they can skip the first class or skip other requirements. The program now has a specialized track for those who wish to practice professionally as a psychedelic guide or psychedelic therapist.  Additionally, within the professional track we have a special option for those who are licensed mental health professionals. Read more on our MBPT Credentialing page.

Although there is some obvious overlap, the field of psychedelic therapy is distinct from psychotherapy. The PSS Guide Training Program teaches specific protocols and practices, under a unique model called Mindfulness-Based Psychedelic Therapy, which are not found in traditional psychotherapy, ministry or other professional programs. The first intensive includes specific lectures, protocols, and experiential psychedelic sessions that are core aspects of our program to prepare you for guiding safe and effective psychedelic experiences. 

Our program is very experiential in nature, and we have developed a training protocol to help our students engage and thrive in the big transformational processes that occur while becoming and practicing as a psychedelic guide. This program is not just an academic, theoretical, or Psychedelics 101 lecture series. This program is a transformational psychedelic experience itself. For these reasons, we do not allow any exemptions to any of our training requirements.