Psychedelic Training & Retreats

Psilocybin Mushroom Facilitator: Advanced Path

Mushroom Facilitator Training:
Advanced Pathway

At Elemental Psychedelics, we are aware that many high quality therapists, guides, facilitators, and ceremony holders have been working safely and ethically with psilocybin mushrooms for a long time. Many too have received formal training as a psychedelic-assisted therapist or facilitator through one of the several programs that have been around for years. This is an unprecedented, historical moment we are living in, and at Elemental, we acknowledge and honor all who have been keeping the spirit of this work alive from all angles and positionalities.

Elemental's Advanced Pathway is for individuals who have completed prior training or coursework in psychedelic-assisted therapy or facilitation and/or have ample facilitation experience with psilocybin mushrooms.

Individuals applying for Advanced may have completed training in another psychedelic-assisted therapy modality (e.g., MAPS MDMA-assisted therapy, CIIS, IPI, or Naropa certificate in psychedelic-assisted therapies, Berkeley psychedelic facilitation program, the AWE program, the former Synthesis program, etc), but have gaps in their training specific to the DORA Natural Medicine program. For admission into the advanced program, Elemental gives priority to applicants who have some combination of both training and experience. However, all advanced pathway applicants will still need to complete their 40 hours of practicum experience with psilocybin mushrooms.

For applicants applying based primarily on their prior experience, that experience should include facilitation with psilocybin mushrooms for at least 40 participants, with at least 200 hours of experience conducting psilocybin mushroom administration sessions, and occurring over a period of at least two years. In addition, those applicants who have ample experience (as defined above) should also either have a graduate degree in a mental health field or postgraduate education or certificates in a mental health related area (e.g., Hakomi training, Internal Family Systems training, or other 100+ hour certification process).

Please note that DORA regulations stipulate that the only experience that can be considered for accelerated status is experience with natural medicines. Presently, natural medicines are defined as only psilocybin mushrooms. Practice experience with other psychedelic substances, such as MDMA or ketamine, or with synthetic versions of natural medicine are not transferable as educational or practice hours for natural medicine facilitator training with Elemental.

Those trained within Elemental's Advanced Pathway program may go on to complete required practicum and consultations hours immediately following the advanced program dates.

Applicants with educational gaps requiring more than 50 hours of supplemental material will be directed to Elemental’s full 150 hour program. Read more details by downloading the program materials below. If you are interested in a future Advanced cohort, join the interest list and you will be among the first notified when fall 2025 dates are announced.

Download Advanced Path Details

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Applications Are Now Open For
Elemental's Advanced Pathway

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Why Get Licensed?

Pros, Cons, and FAQ

The regulated access program is not perfect and may or may not be right for everyone who works or is planning to work in the mushroom journey landscape. We’ve put together this list of pro’s and con’s of participating in the licensing program based on our own consideration of the many layers involved. We hope you find this useful in helping you come to your own determination of the right path for you.

What are the potential benefits and advantages of getting a mushroom journey facilitator license in Colorado?

As a licensed facilitator, you can advertise publicly about your work with psilocybin mushrooms, accept compensation, and no longer worry about criminal risk.

If you are operating as a licensed provider holding an LPC, LCSW, LMFT, NP, MD, or other DORA regulated professional license, you are not at risk of losing or jeopardizing your existing license while also doing mushroom work. Of course, in the case of a complaint of egregious ethical misconduct, DORA would investigate as they would for any professional license and the outcome of that investigation could potentially affect both licenses you hold.

You will give more folks better access to you and your unique offering. For example,
- You can reach a more diverse population and larger number of people who will be able to find you via advertising and public postings, such as being on public listservs and community shares.
- Folks who may not have felt safe or comfortable with accessing psychedelic services through the underground may have more confidence and trust in your services with a state licensure attached to your practice.
- If you hold a clinical license as well, you can integrate psilocybin mushrooms as a tool in your clinical practice to support the healing and growth of clients with mental health struggles.

As a licensed facilitator, you are part of a learning community and may have greater opportunities for ongoing education and consultation. Operating in a silo is one of the easiest ways to miss your own ethical missteps. Through the regulated access pathway you are required to engage in consultation and continuing education, supporting your ongoing ethical commitment to the communities you serve.

As a licensed facilitator, you are participating within a community and system of accountability. Your clients may feel safer knowing that they have known mechanisms for reporting concerns or experiences of misconduct. You are agreeing to uphold a high ethical bar and be accountable within a larger community to standards of behavior.

You can offer your skills and wisdom as an experienced practitioner to new and developing practitioners. We need teachers and elders in this space to co-create a safe, ethical, equitable ecosystem. If you’ve practiced for over 200 hours in the so-called underground, according to current DORA rules, you can provide consultation to practitioners with training licenses.

Have greater opportunities to build community and deepen your skills.
- Underground providers may have limited peer support and connections. Naturally, being in the underground has historically required providers to be somewhat hidden and selective about who knew about their work. With this new level of transparency, joining a legally sanctioned program may open new doors to community and connection that greatly benefits providers and clients in this work.
- Although there are some underground schools and elders, many providers who began doing this work on their own did not have any formal training, mentorship or apprenticeship experience. Many traditional approaches to medicine work require a certain level of oversight and learning as part of an initiatory process to serve sacred fungi medicines. The DORA licensing programs, although unlike traditional indigenous apprenticeships, attempt to provide students education through a program that offers oversight in community within a curriculum specific to psychedelic altered states work.

What are the potential disadvantages of getting a mushroom journey facilitator license in Colorado?

As a licensed facilitator, you are agreeing to rules that you may not agree with or may not align with how you practice. Under the Colorado regulated access model, for example, facilitators may only engage very limited touch while clients are under the influence of psychedelic mushrooms, even those who are trained and certified in touch work. However, there are continued opportunities to advocate for changes in Rule over time, and such advocacy is best done by persons working within the program.

As an experienced practitioner, you may not need new clients. Maybe your practice is already full with referrals from folks who know you well. Needing to advertise, or any of the other benefits above, is not a priority for you at this time.

You have to pay money to a training program that may not offer much more to you in terms of new information or skills. Or, perhaps training programs offer a curriculum you simply do not agree with. You may have been doing this work in a way that is not supported by the training program you attend. You may feel as though the perspectives offered are out of alignment with your existing beliefs and style in regards to facilitation and theories of practice.

You may not morally or ethically agree with the regulated access program. Mushrooms grow in the ground all over the world and are “for the people.” You may hold serious concerns about their potential commodification or over-use within a for-profit space. You might also have serious concerns about the historical colonization of sacred mushroom medicine practices that we, as a society and western culture, have yet to fully acknowledge or provide reparations for.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I have 200 hours of experience over the last 2 or more years, am I automatically accepted into the Advanced Pathway? Or, if I have 150 hours of prior training in psychedelic-assisted therapy, am I automatically accepted into the Advanced Pathway?

We are making decisions for the advanced pathway on a case-by-case basis based on a combination of training and experience. We are not able to guarantee admission based on any single qualification. Our approach is to review every application and conduct every interview on its own standing as a complete package. We have a limited number of spaces available for our advanced pathway and are looking for practitioners who are values-aligned and demonstrate strong personal commitment to their ongoing development.

Would my IPI, CIIS, Synthesis, or other certificate allow me to be considered for the advanced pathway?

If you have a certificate from a DORA approved program or other 150+ hour psychedelic-assisted therapy training program, it is likely that we can transfer those credits so that you can finish up any remaining requirements with us. In a few exceptional cases, the combination of prior training and experience will only necessitate someone to complete the 25 hour module on Ethics and Rules. We encourage you to submit a complete application so that we can come to an appropriate determination.

Is there a sliding scale or option for reduced admission for those who need it?

Elemental is a very small operation without any larger institutional backing or financial support beyond the personal finances of our two owners. Although we are not able to provide scholarships or reduced fee slots, we can offer payment plans with no interest that allow you to pay over time at a pace that is workable for you.