Psychedelics on the Couch

A resurgence of research on psychedelics for common mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and addictions, is rapidly shifting emerging practices in mental health care. Psychoactive substances, including MDMA and psilocybin, received breakthrough treatment status from the Food and Drug Administration, with MDMA expected to be available by prescription in the next year. Colorado recently decriminalized psilocybin mushrooms and is writing rules for licensing mushroom facilitators and healing centers. Certain plant medicines, such as ayahuasca and ibogaine, have long histories of use and are also being investigated in clinical trials. Ketamine assisted psychotherapy is already being offered across the country for depression and suicidality. Opportunities for mental health and healing professionals to offer their skills within a new practice model of psychedelic-assisted therapy will increase exponentially over the next decade.

This introductory workshop for clinical professionals provides frameworks for understanding the uses of psychedelic substances in healing or therapeutic contexts, summarizes the emerging research on uses and risks of psychedelics for a range of conditions, articulates the shifting paradigm that psychedelics have brought to psychiatry and the mental health field, and anchors our ethical professional roles, competencies, and skill sets for working with clients in this emerging area of practice. Participants will also have the opportunity for Q&A with the trainers to answer questions about the emerging field of psychedelic-assisted therapy and the regulatory landscape.

This workshop is for counselors, therapists, or any helping professional who wants to develop a firmer knowledge base on psychedelics for their ongoing professional competence. It's also a great segue into our Ketamine-assisted Therapy immersive training or our forthcoming Psilocybin Mushroom Journey Facilitator Training for clinical professionals. And, as a participant in the one-day Psychedelics on the Couch workshop, $100 of your registration fee can be used as a discount on any multi-day Immersive training! 

For licensed social workers, marriage and family therapists, addictions counselors, psychologists, and licensed professional counselors, a certificate of completion will be provided for 7 professional development hours that can be used toward demonstrating continuing professional competency for licensure renewal in the state of Colorado.

This workshop will be delivered in-person in Fort Collins, CO, at Golden Poppy Apothecary in Old Town, Fort Collins. Please note that the classroom space is on the second floor and stairs are required. We will have a break for lunch. You can bring your own lunch, or buy lunch at a nearby restaurant.

Dr. Shannon Hughes, MSW, PhD

Dr. Shannon Hughes (she/her/hers) teaches, consults, and conducts research on how we use drugs and medicines in our society today. She is a community organizer and leader in articulating the shifting paradigms around our relationships with Self and medicines/drugs. She has developed and delivered education and training to professional social workers, counselors, and researchers, and to young people trying to make sense of their distress and struggles outside of a medicalized worldview. Dr. Hughes earned her doctorate in Social Work in 2010 and is an Associate Professor in Social Work at Colorado State University and in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health, Colorado School of Public Health. She is a founding member of The Nowak Society, 501c3, a Colorado-based non-profit providing community education and organizing around psychedelics and drug policy reform. In her private practice, Dr. Hughes blends spirituality (through tapping into our inner guidance systems) with life coaching and psycho-spiritual integration of psychedelic experiences.

Dori Lewis, MA, LPC, LMHC

Dori Lewis (she, her, hers) is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC-S) and Clinical Supervisor with a Masters in Education (EdM) and Masters in Psychology (MA) from Columbia University in New York, NY. Dori is a co-founder of Elemental Psychedelics and the owner-operator of Reflective Healing in Fort Collins, CO, a psychotherapy group practice that specializes in psychedelic therapy using ketamine, integration therapy, transpersonal psychotherapy, and providing clinical supervision. As a clinician in practice for 10 years, Dori blends transpersonal psychology, depth work, and psychedelic-assisted therapy within a model that centers the therapeutic relationship. Her public work in the psychedelic space is critically centered on the topics of ethics, access and power in psychedelic spaces, diversity, equity and inclusion in the psychedelic psychotherapy space and cultural appropriation as it relates to ritual and ceremony.