PSYCHEDELIC GUIDE TRAINING

This course provides a complete training in Mindfulness-Based Psychedelic Therapy. MBPT is a multimodal, multi-medicine psychedelic guiding protocol. The program is designed to provide our students with the skills necessary to increase the depth and meaning of transformational psychedelic experiences while keeping the experiences as safe as possible.

MBPT, as a multi-medicine modality, is a psychedelic guiding protocol that integrates how all the psychedelic medicines can show up in a psychedelic therapy experience. The program draws upon what we know about working with MDMA, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, psychedelic cannabis and teas, vaped and consumed DMT, mescaline and many others. The reason cannabis is so effective as a training tool is because it can mimic the effects of all of these other medicines.

MBPT, as a multimodal protocol, incorporates clinically and medically informed practices with spiritual and creative expression practices. More information about MBPT is here.

Unlike other Psychedelic Therapy programs, Psychedelic Sitters School is not just theoretical and academic. It is also very experiential in nature as we focus on gaining direct, first-hand knowledge from the psychedelic sessions themselves.

The intensive nature of the retreat allows us to do far more than a clinical-only Psychedelic Therapy training program. In addition to the demonstrations, experientials and multiple one-on-one practice sessions, the intensive is over five full days of group psychedelic journeys that are equivalent to the most potent Ayahuasca retreat experiences. This is why we call it the Initiation Intensive.

In addition to the classes and intensives, students are invited to join a two-day guiding practicum with either cannabis sativa or a weeklong psilocybin mushroom practicum. Each two-day practicum also includes 3 hours of preparation and 3 hours of integration classroom support. 

To increase accessibility of our training program, these classes are offered online, and the Initiation Intensive has participation options in Boulder, Colorado, other pods located in the United States and Canada (locations TBA each semester), as well as an online only option so students are not required to travel. For this reason, students join us from all over the world.

The five and a half day intensive, meeting Monday through Saturday at noon, includes multiple experiential sessions, including an introduction to your relationship to psychedelics art experiential, two psychedelic cannabis sessions (one of which combines cannabis and breathwork), and an optional group psilocybin mushroom experience on Wednesday for those participating in person in Boulder, Colorado (or select local pods where mushrooms have been decriminalized). This course is a prerequisite for Psychedelic Mystery School and advanced specializations. Virtual students would have a day off ( a primary reason for the price difference).

You’ll meet other students who are as inspired by psychedelics as you are and who are from all over the United States, Canada, and the world. The community nature of the intensives is one of the most healing interventions we can offer to our students

Independent local pods led by members of our team are also forming for the next semester.
The Initiation Intensive is a vital aspect of your experience in becoming a psychedelic guide and it is required to participate in advanced practicums with Ketamine or DMT and to reach credentialing levels above Mindfulness-Based Psychedelic Guide. The intensive is optional for those seeking NMHA licensure.

Mindfulness-Based Psychedelic Therapy™ webinars complement the content and experiences of the 6 core PGT classes. These webinars total over 75 hours, 30 of which directly count towards NMHA licensing requirements. Additional bonus materials for current students are regularly added.

This coursework includes all webinars from previous PSS 1-4 training series.

The full descriptions of each webinar series can be found on the Webinars, Electives & Continuing Education page of this site, with additional information at Medicinal Mindfulness Academy.

6 Class Series Taught By: Daniel McQueen, MA, Psychedelic Specialist

• Fulfills 7.5 hours of NMHA Module D – Physical and Mental Health and State and all 2.5 hours of NMHA Module A – Facilitator Best Practices. 

Summary: 6 Class Skill Development Series (meets every other week) with advanced training webinars on Mindfulness-Based Psychedelic Therapy

This course introduces the student to Mindfulness-Based Psychedelic Therapy (MBPT) and teaches a complete Mindfulness-Based Guiding Protocol for psychedelic medicine work. The program is designed to provide our students with the skills necessary to increase the depth and meaning of transformational psychedelic experiences while keeping the experiences as safe as possible. This protocol is effective, reliable and extremely transformative, for both the journeyer and the guide. 

MBPT, as a multi-medicine modality, is a psychedelic guiding protocol that integrates how all the psychedelic medicines can show up in a psychedelic therapy experience. The program draws upon what we know about working with MDMA, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, psychedelic cannabis and teas, vaped and consumed DMT, mescaline and many others. The reason cannabis is so effective as a training tool is because it can mimic the effects of all of these other medicines.

Combined with Therapeutic Presence & Trauma Informed Care Course (TP&TIC), Psychedelic Guide Training provides the necessary skill development requirements of the NMHA Psilocybin Mushroom Licensed Facilitator Training. 

The program is not just the 6 classes, but also includes an extensive library of webinars and ongoing skill development practices. All are required to complete the course. 

Learning Objectives

• Introduce Mindfulness-Based PsychedelicTherapy and provide an overview of the training.
  Introduce the Mindfulness-Based Guided Journey Session Protocol.
• Discuss the theory and skillsets of Mindful Journeywork and Mindful Guidework.
  Explore how a guide’s “presence” is a primary intervention, and how to cultivate presence.
• Introduce the MBPT guiding protocol and the importance of the Five Awareness Practice.
• Discuss Skillful Interventions, Crisis Deescalation and Harm Prevention as a necessary foundation for “trusting the waves of activation and resolution.” 
• Explore Advanced MBPT Guiding Interventions such as Burning Through Dross, Parts Work, and working with Transference and Projection. 
• Explore next steps in cultivating a sustainable and meaningful psychedelic practice. 

Advanced Training Webinars Accompanying this Course

Psychedelic Guide Training is a suite of teachings that provide a complete and integrated psychedelic therapy training through a series of webinar lectures that are an integral part of learning Mindfulness-Based Psychedelic Therapy. Psychedelic Guide Training, as the core program of Medicinal Mindfulness Academy, includes several “bonus” advanced practices.

• Advanced PGT Guide Training Webinars – 39.13 hours
• Additional PGT Webinars that fulfill NMHA requirements – 20.63 hours (Asynchronous requirements)
• Total PGT Webinars included in this training – 59.76 Hours

To continue your journey in becoming a psychedelic guide, we meet for a five and a half day training intensive (Monday through Saturday morning). Students experience the transformational power of psychedelic cannabis and psilocybin mushrooms firsthand, through several psychedelic group experiences that you’re learning how to provide.

The intensives provide an ongoing small group process for integration support and skill development, and a series of lectures on mindfulness and psychedelic guiding practices, practitioner logistics, and other skills required for ethical guiding.

Intensive Lectures & Experientials:

• Learning Objectives & Review of Important MBPT Concepts, Mindfulness Skills for Sitters and Guides
• Contact and Presence Exercises
• Personal Relationship to Cannabis and Psychedelics Art Experiential
• Making a Psychedelic Cannabis Blend
• Multiple practice sessions
• Next Steps, Integration, Open Q&A
• Becoming a Guide Art Experiential

Group Psychedelic Experiences

• Psychedelic Cannabis Healing Meditation & Art Experiential
• Conscious Cannabis Circle
• Optional Psilocybin Mushroom Experience (in person only)
• Demonstration and practice day (cannabis optional)
• Cannabis-Assisted Breathwork Experience

6 Class Series Taught By: Alison McQueen, LPC, ATR-BC, ACS, Psychedelic Specialist

• Completes NMHA Module D – Physical and Mental Health and State with 6 hours of live coursework, and fulfills all 5 live class hours of NMHA Module F – Introduction to Trauma Informed Care. 

Therapeutic Presence & Trauma-Informed Care is a virtual 6-Class Series (meets every other week) led by Alison McQueen. The State of Colorado has specific curriculum and regulatory requirements related to Natural Medicine Facilitation, and this skill-development course meets those requirements while also enriching student learning through our mindfulness-based and arts-integrated approach to psychedelic education. It focuses on cultivating therapeutic presence, emphasizing compassionate communication, empathy, self-awareness, and grounding. Classes also cover trauma-informed care through the lens of somatic psychotherapy, including how to recognize trauma responses including dissociation, manage psychological distress, and how to support participants through difficult and breakthrough emotional experiences. 

Other key components include cultural attunement, risk management, self-care for facilitators, scenario-based training, and handling challenging situations. The series integrates directive and non-directive facilitation approaches and addresses the physiological and emotional impacts of trauma. In addition to this course meeting the state curriculum requirements, it introduces foundational somatic trauma theory, especially resourcing, as essential skillsets for ethical and trauma-informed psychedelic facilitation.

Each class is offered twice a week, one morning and one early evening option, to reduce the size of the classes and to increase accessibility for working professionals and our international students in different time zones. Students can join either the Tuesday or the Wednesday cohort (and if there’s a week where your schedule doesn’t allow you to attend at your usual time, feel free to join the other).   

Students can expect a dynamic and engaging course that integrates trauma-informed somatic awareness practices, mindfulness, art experientials, and partner practice sessions.

Advanced Training Webinars Accompanying this Course

TP&TIC Webinars complete the Psychedelic Guide Training suite of teachings to provide a complete and integrated protocol called Mindfulness-Based Psychedelic Therapy. 

• Advanced TP&TIC Training Webinars – 6 hours
• Additional TP&TIC Webinars that fulfill NMHA requirements – 8 hours (Asynchronous requirements)

Total TP&TIC Webinars included in this training – 14 Hours

This class is designed to be taken alongside the Advanced Practices Psychedelic Therapy Intensive Training Retreat.

To become a credentialed guide with cannabis, students are required to complete 2 cannabis practicums, in addition to the Initiation Intensive. Students with previous clinical training and experience, or legacy practitioners, are required to complete 1 cannabis practicum, although two are still recommended.  To become credentialed with psilocybin mushrooms, students are required to complete 1 mushroom practicum. 

Practicums are opportunities to practice being a guide in a safe container supported by our experienced team of practitioners. PSS trainers have over a decade of experience leading practicums with psychedelic medicines.

Two Practicum Options: Psychedelic Cannabis or Psilocybin Mushrooms

Due to different support requirements, the costs of the cannabis and mushroom practicums different from each other, and are included on our tuition page.

Cannabis practicums are conducted online or in local pods to increase accessibility. Psilocybin mushroom practicums are either in Boulder, Colorado, or where mushrooms are decriminalized or are legal.

Psychedelic Cannabis Practicum 1 (20 hours): This two day practicum includes preparation and integration support and an opportunity to guide two psychedelic sessions with supervised support, and be the journeyer in two sessions. These sessions generally last a few hours so two are completed in a day. The primary purpose of this practicum is to practice foundational guiding skills and for students to learn more about their effective dosing.

Psychedelic Cannabis Practicum 2 (20 hours): The second cannabis practicum is effectively the same as the first, with additional emphasis on advanced guiding skills.

OR

Psilocybin Mushroom Facilitation Practicum (40 hours): This week-long practicum provides extensive training in psilocybin facilitation. Students participate in preparation and integration sessions, as well as three guided psilocybin mushroom sessions throughout the week. Each student will guide, assist, and be guided in ceremonial sessions, receiving feedback and supervision from experienced facilitators. The primary purpose of this practicum is to provide a deep immersion into psilocybin facilitation, allowing students to practice foundational and intermediate guiding skills in a safe, supported environment.

Additional Requirement: Medicinal Mindfulness Mushroom Dosing Webinar – $199