Psychedelics are making significant progress
on their path to legalization.
Extensive research and professional literature have demonstrated the efficacy of psychedelics in promoting emotional, psychological, and spiritual growth. Groundbreaking milestones achieved through clinical trials conducted by prominent research institutions have validated the therapeutic effectiveness of these compounds, paving the way for a promising future in psychedelics.
In 2018, the U.S. FDA designated psilocybin as a "breakthrough therapy" for severe depression, surpassing existing treatments with substantial improvement.
Oregon took a pioneering step in 2020 by passing the Psilocybin Services Act, allowing the therapeutic administration of psilocybin starting in 2023. Colorado followed suit in 2022, legalizing psilocybin and allowing for the establishment of state-regulated consumption centers. This forward momentum is further evidenced by the growing shift in attitudes across multiple U.S. states, where decriminalization bills are being considered.
The global impact of this momentum is undeniable. Earlier this year, Australia approved the use of psilocybin in treating treatment-resistant depression. In the UK, the Parliament is actively engaged in discussions regarding the medical rescheduling of psilocybin. Simultaneously, the European Parliament has taken proactive measures by establishing the Action Group for Medical Use of Psychedelics, to position the European Union as a frontrunner in psychedelic regulation. These developments underscore the widespread recognition and the global opportunity that lies ahead in the field of psychedelics.
Yet, psychedelics are not a panacea. Alongside increased access, education on the rewards and risks associated with these substances is crucial.
Here Is What Leaders In the Psychedelic Space Say About Synthesis Institute:
Bennet Zelner, Ph.D.
Regenerative Economist
“Psychedelics, when used appropriately, have the potential to revolutionize mental healthcare, and the professional training offered by Synthesis promises to help realize this potential. In contrast to mainstream approaches, Synthesis’ approach recognizes the critical role that connection plays in the production of well-being. The program also includes sessions on novel economic approaches to the delivery of care, which are critical to supporting the novel clinical approaches that Synthesis is helping to pioneer.”
Robin Cahart-Harris, Ph.D.
Founder of the Centre for Psychedelic Research atImperial College London
“Legal, professionally-organized retreats and trainings like (the ones) Synthesis offers can be a safe way for people to experience the transformational potential of psychedelics, and they can also be a great source of data for research centers like our own, helping to further advance the field. I'm excited to continue working alongside Synthesis to provide high-quality services and meaningful scientific research for the psychedelic community.”
The Psychedelic Practitioner Core Training Honors Many Ways of Knowing With Our Four Lens Approach
The Synthesis approach recognizes that there are many ways of knowing. Our understanding of psychedelics and the psychedelic journey honors these different viewpoints. While our philosophy as a whole rests at the center of a myriad of different perspectives, our training is organized so that each month we look at a particular topic through each of four (4) primary lenses that capture the breadth and depth of the psychedelic field.
EMBODIED WISDOM
We each have a wellspring of wisdom inside us that we can access by committing to a path of personal growth and development. Not only is this fundamental to living a meaningful and intentional life, but the capacity to access your own embodied wisdom is also a prerequisite for being able to create and hold space for others. Through this lens, you will establish and/or enhance ongoing somatic, spiritual, and self-reflection practices; examine your personal ethics; articulate your personal values; and integrate your learnings from the other lenses.
COGNITIVE WISDOM
This lens looks at the contributions of history, philosophy, and science to our modern-day understanding of psychedelics. From neuroscience to psychopharmacology to harm reduction to best practices for psychedelic facilitation, we explore what is knowable through study, observation, and thought.
SACRED WISDOM
This lens explores the variety of ways that people make meaning in their life, including spiritual, philosophical, nature-based, and wisdom-based approaches that cultures developed long before, and in parallel with, modern scientific thinking. It acknowledges the wisdom keepers who have helped people navigate liminal spaces for thousands of years as well as contemporary practices that help people connect to themselves, others, and the more-than-human world.
RELATIONAL WISDOM
Life happens in relationships. We are always relating to the people, organizations, or the environment around us. This lens asks us to develop a deeper awareness of our role in the greater ecosystem of our life. We look at ways to build relational skills; examine the role we wish to play with clients and in the psychedelic community; and explore how to be deliberate and intentional as we bring this important work into the world.
PSYCHEDELIC PRACTITIONER
CORE TRAINING
Coursework Overview
PREPARING THE SOIL: Welcome and Orientation
We begin our journey together where all transformative journeys start—by orienting ourselves to where we are now and aligning ourselves as a community in the direction we are going. Over the course of two (2) weeks, you will be introduced to the key themes of the training, meet your pod group, review shared agreements, and begin a deep dive into self-exploration that will be a primary focus throughout the training.
MODULE ONE: Meet The Mushroom
In this module, we are introduced to the mushroom and truffles containing psilocybin, which is the foundation of our work at Synthesis. We explore the simplicity of the mushroom’s form and the complexity of its impact. We look at what we know about the mushroom through our four lenses (embodied, cognitive, sacred, and relational wisdom), and we begin to explore how we interact with this dynamic organism and how we understand its role in our personal lives and our professional practice.
MODULE TWO: The Ecology of Ethics and the Role of the Shadow
To do this work with integrity, we must be aware of the ethical questions that we face as individuals and as a larger community. In this module, we explore an ecology of ethics that will support you in addressing different ethical challenges and systemic dynamics that cause harm. We also meet the Shadow and take some time to examine our own internalized biases, as well as how to work with the Shadow when engaging with our clients and with the larger psychedelic community.
MODULE THREE: Many Ways of Knowing
The Synthesis model is built around honoring the many ways of knowing and ethical meaning-making. We recognize that no one perspective sees the whole picture, so we will practice looking at the human experience through many different lenses. In this module, we will pay particular attention to different ways of understanding health and wholeness, the nuances of cultural context, and our ways of relating to ourselves, others, and the more-than-human world.
MODULE FOUR: Healing, Trauma, and the Body
On our journey to wholeness, we are bound to encounter various forms of trauma. Understanding how trauma works and how to create the conditions in which someone can surface, process, and resolve it is critical to psychedelic work, as psychedelics can both help and hinder the healing of trauma. In this module, we explore what it means to be a trauma-informed practitioner, including how to develop the relational, emotional, and somatic skills we need to be able to hold a healing space in ourselves and for others.
MODULE FIVE: Key Elements of Preparation
In this module, we explore various ways of preparing ourselves and our clients for a psychedelic experience, including useful somatic and cognitive practices as well as the importance of intentionality and building the therapeutic alliance.
MODULE SIX: Screening for Readiness and Safety
How we gauge readiness is both an art and a science, involving both intuition and facts. In this module, we will discuss how to screen for your own competence as well as for a client’s readiness and safety. We will also explore various strategies to minimize risk before, during, and after a session or ceremony, in order to maximize our efforts at harm reduction.
MODULE SEVEN: Navigating Uncharted Territory
There are many ways to approach a psychedelic session or ceremony, and in this module we look at various approaches and discuss the importance of working in alignment with your capacity and a client’s needs. We explore the topography of non-ordinary states of consciousness and deepen your work with practices that will help you become a compassionate, safe, abiding presence for those who wish to walk in uncharted territories.
MODULE EIGHT: Key Elements of Integration
Whether a psychedelic experience was delightful or difficult, harnessing insights and working with what emerged during the journey depends on intentional and ongoing integration. In this module, we explore different approaches to working with a variety of experiences and how to utilize an experience for lasting transformation.
MODULE NINE: A Life of Service
In this final module, you will reflect on your journey and synthesize what you have learned. You will also orient yourself to what is next, both as you prepare for your own psychedelic experience with Synthesis and as you think about how you wish to be of service to yourself, your community, the more-than-human world, and the emerging field of psychedelic care.
INTEGRATION: Assessment, Closing, and Completion
After the conclusion of the nine (9) coursework modules, you will participate in an assessment period during which your peers and your learning facilitator will review your portfolio of assignments and supervise a final oral examination. To honor your learning journey, we end with a closing ceremony and final celebration where you will receive your certificate of completion.
One-of-a-Kind, Facilitated, Small Group Study With Weekly Live Sessions
A unique component of the Psychedelic Practitioner Core Training is the small group learning experience. You will move through the program in groups of no larger than 10 participants that we affectionately refer to as pods. Your pod will be guided by one of our experienced learning facilitators who will offer mentorship, leadership, and guidance for your journey. You will be with your pod for the orientation, nine (9) coursework modules, and the integration period.
Current students report this is one of the most meaningful components of the program. Not only do they feel held and supported throughout the education process, but they are creating lasting connections that will continue to support their personal and professional growth beyond the training. The weekly live small group pod session dates and times will be released once the next training cohort start date is determined.
All weekly small group pod sessions are 2.5 hours in length. You will be assigned a small group pod training day/time as part of the onboarding process once you are enrolled in the training.
Note: Seasonal time changes may affect the time by one (1) hour during certain parts of the year. Additional pod times may be made available pending enrollment.
Meet Some of the Psychedelic Practitioner Core Training Learning Facilitators
The learning facilitators are highly skilled practitioners who guide the small group pods for the duration of the training. They come from a variety of backgrounds and may be therapists, psychedelic therapists, executive leadership coaches, medical professionals, or transformational coaches. They undergo extensive training and ongoing supervision by our program team to ensure they can hold the container for transformational learning—witnessing and mirroring back your strengths and supporting you as you encounter your growth edges. They are invested in your learning and well-being and are a key advocate and accountability partner on your journey.
Ladybird Morgan RN, MSW, RCST practitioner, has helped guide medical practitioners, families, caregivers, programs, and institutions around the world (including with Doctors Without Borders and in California Prisons) on how to be present to difficult experiences by remembering, embodying, and responding from the deepest place of truth. Her work is informed by a lifetime commitment to meditation, sacred practices, and personal inquiry. Currently a private palliative care consultant with Mettlehealth and a co-facilitator for Commonweal’s Cancer Care Help Program and Healing Circles, she is also a co-investigator/study therapist with a University of Washington study of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy and the Co-Founder/Program Director of The Humane Prison Hospice Project.
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Nikolaj Knub is a philosopher and Jungian psychotherapist based in Copenhagen. Besides offering individual therapy he facilitates workshops and offers rituals with ceremonial cacao and the use of active imagination. Currently, Nikolaj is pursuing a long-standing interest in eco-psychology and experimenting with ways in which to bring therapeutic practices out of the consulting room and into the wild.
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Dr. L. (Lela) Mosemghvdlishvili is a transformative educator working on the intersections of academia, wisdom traditions, and embodied practices. Lela has served as a board member of the Amsterdam Psychedelic Research Association (APRA) since 2017. At the University of Amsterdam, they designed and have been teaching an interdisciplinary elective project Critical Issues in Psychedelic Renessainsefor the past five years. A notable part of Lela's life is devoted to the ongoing study and practice of Maha and Ati Yoga, experiential dancing, and regular silent retreats for introspection. These modalities are vital sources of insight and understanding to them. Lela is also an authorized Feeding Your Demons® facilitator, and meditation teacher.
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Chara Caruthers is a skilled facilitator with decades of personal and professional practice as an educator, therapist and lifestyle medicine practitioner working with groups and individuals. Her life and work is grounded in eastern spiritual traditions, ancient and indigenous wisdom and modern science and philosophy. She holds a professional certification in psychedelics, entheogens and transpersonal psychology, is a graduate of the Center for Holding Space Foundations program at the Leadership level, and is currently completing a master of science in transpersonal psychology. As a Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT), certified Ayurvedic practitioner and psychedelic researcher, she is passionately dedicated to building bridges between ancient lifestyle traditions and modern western medical approaches to mental health and wellbeing. Chara believes that a loving and supportive community is the vital and often missing piece of the picture of wellbeing for so many. She recognizes that her work in the psychedelic space is that of building and empowering community as a container for embodying our wholeness.
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Dr. Stephanie Van Hope, R.N., D.N.P., is a registered nurse, certified nurse coach, and doctor of nursing practice with experience in oncology, hospice, and health coaching. She served as a study guide for New York University’s Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety project, guiding cancer patients through psychedelic journeys with psilocybin, and offers a continuing education course for nurses entitled Nursing & Sacred Medicine: Introduction to Psychedelic Therapy. Stephanie is a Reiki practitioner and a student of yoga, meditation, shamanic healing, astrology, plant medicine, music, dance, and the sacred traditions of many faiths. She currently resides with her husband, son, and many animals in an intentional community in the Catskills region of New York.
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Anja Loizaga-Velder, PH.D., is a German-Mexican clinical psychologist and psychotherapist with a humanistic and transpersonal orientation. Parallel to her psychotherapeutic practice, Anja has been collaborating with indigenous healers and investigating the therapeutic potential of the ritual use of psychedelic plants for over 25 years.
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Vibhu Khera is an experienced educator, meditation teacher, and transpersonal therapist. She has a deep passion for yoga, whirling, nature walks, and reading. Vibhu has received extensive training in Meta-cognitive awareness, NLP, Emotional therapy, Yogic science, and Mindfulness. Her primary focus is assisting individuals in achieving emotional coherence, reclaiming their minds, expanding their inner space, and overcoming the challenges and dramas of life.
Dr. Allen Goodwin (Bsc (Hons), Ph.D.) has spent the last twenty years as a full-time senior University lecturer in Psychology focusing mainly on the areas of Research Methods & Statistics, Neuroscience, and Visual perception. He has received numerous prestigious university inspirational teaching awards and is a contract-published author.
Dr. Goodwin holds an animistic perspective, a result of over thirty years of Druidic and Shamanic Practice. In 2013, he discarded his academic career as an act of faith and relocated to the place of his youth devoting himself to his family and working as a professionally trained shamanic practitioner (both in core and classical techniques).
In all his work, he aims to facilitate a greater connection for his clients to develop their sense of connection to their true self and their sense of place within their own lives.
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Natalie is committed to fostering personal growth and transformation; her journey in the human services field has spanned over a decade. This experience has deepened her understanding of trauma and its impact on individuals. As a master’s level intern in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, she has the privilege of directly counseling clients while gaining insights from the mentorship of experienced supervisors.
Natalie is deeply committed to engaging in harm reduction and providing supportive care as a volunteer on the Fireside hotline for those navigating psychedelic experiences. She also founded "Your Healing Guide," an initiative to guide individuals toward inner peace and holistic self-healing.
She has always believed that the power to heal and transform lies within us. We can unlock immeasurable potential by connecting with our breath and being attuned to our bodily sensations. She offers guided meditations tailored to diverse audiences, from individuals and groups to schools and businesses, to support this belief.
Additionally, she enjoys being a learning facilitator for The Synthesis Institutes Psychedelic Practitioner Core Training program. Natalie is a certified 200-hour yoga practitioner and is trained in the Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique. She focuses on somatic healing and ensures that her clients always find a supportive and compassionate space for exploration and growth.
A client-centered approach is at the core of her practice, ensuring that she understands and addresses each individual's unique needs and goals. She strives to create an environment of trust and respect where thoughts and feelings can be freely expressed.
She is on a continuous journey to explore and integrate various healing modalities. Embracing the philosophy that "You are your own best healer," she is dedicated to empowering each individual in their healing journey.
Mina Samuels is a writer, speaker, playwright, and performer, and in a previous incarnation, a litigation lawyer and human rights advocate; as well as an athlete and meditation practitioner, trained in Non-Violent Communication and Internal Family Systems. Mina offers workshops and one-on-one facilitations on the transformative power of the body-mind connection and how it nourishes our whole self. Her books include, Run Like A Girl 365 Days: A Practical, Personal, Inspirational Guide for Women Athletes and Run Like a Girl: How Strong Women Make Happy Lives and she writes regularly for Medium and Fit Is A Feminist Issue. She has also created and performed two award-winning solo shows and an ensemble play.
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Meghan Kennedy, LCSW, CPTR, 30-year private practice specializing in trauma & systemic disequilibrium, she has been an international consultant on psychosocial and culturally-sensitive treatment issues for communities under siege due to war, political unrest and natural disasters. Her understanding of the interdependent features of trauma, addictions-formation and character structure lends to working with the parallel processes seen in greater cultural disequilibrium - and requiring greater healing modalities. International consulting experiences lead her to explore the utilization of psychedelic substances across varying cultural settings. In 2016 Meghan was certified in Psychedelic-assisted Therapies & Research at the California Institute of Integral Studies in their inaugural run of the first accredited university program of its kind. This lead to working in research with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies as an adherence rater for the trials on MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD. She has taught on the topics of trauma and transpersonal healing frameworks, as well as risk mitigation and integration of non-dual states of consciousness for several years. Meghan is also working to create mainstream structures that will assure a swift and just roll-out of these treatments and the training necessary to provide them once governmental structures clear the way.Trust in the greater cosmology reached through this work is what fuels her belief in, and service to, this important healing paradigm.
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Christopher Luard has been studying and practicing various forms of meditation for over thirty-five years. He has received formal training in Korean and Japanese Zen; Mahamudra and Dzogchen from the Tibetan traditions, and Vipassana from the Theravada Burmese tradition, Vedanta from the Hindu tradition. In addition to these trainings, Chris had studied extensively within more modern traditions such as Secular Dharma, Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness, Nonviolent Communication, Neuroplasticity, and MBSR. Upon witnessing the tragic events of Sept 11th, 2001 in Manhattan, Chris dedicated his life to the study and teaching of contemplative practices. He teaches from a secular voice and is committed to bringing these timeless teachings to all who wish to receive them. Chris has facilitated in centers in Portugal, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia, the USA, and the U.K. and continues to live and teach in Thailand.
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Mary is a psychotherapist with over 30 years experience of working in a variety of UK healthcare settings as a clinical supervisor, group facilitator, researcher, and educator. She specializes in helping people face loss and change, illness, and death, and is particularly interested in how nature connection, mindfulness, self-compassion, and vision quest rites of passage can support journeys of personal growth, transformation, and healing. In her spare time, she tends an old Cornish garden, which has lots of flowers and brambles. She swims in the sea all year round and loves to walk in wild places.
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Julie Henningsen, PA-C, MPAS, is a medical healthcare provider with experience in emergency medicine, urgent care, and dermatology; and is a Synthesis-certified psychedelic practitioner. She prefers a holistic approach to patient care, acknowledging our inner healing wisdom and the potential for entheogens to facilitate authentic transformation. Having worked as an outdoor and environmental program director for several universities, Julie has an extensive background in facilitating immersive, nature-based experiences. She has been a faculty member of the National Outdoor Leadership School for over 20 years, leading wilderness emergency medicine courses around the globe. Julie is the founder of Headwaters Field Medicine, a Montana-based wilderness medicine training organization. Her passion for exploration of both the natural world, and the nature of consciousness drives her pursuit of life-long learning.
CLOSEMeet Some of the Psychedelic Practitioner Core Training Expert Faculty
Faculty in the Embodied Wisdom Lens Includes:
Valeria McCarroll, Ph.D., LMFT, is a teacher of somatic and transpersonal psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) and a licensed psychotherapist. A graduate of CIIS’s Certificate in Psychedelic Therapies and Research, she has been immersed in the field of psychedelic work for over a decade. Valeria serves as the Embodied Wisdom Content Advisor for the Synthesis Institute and formerly worked with the Center for Consciousness Medicine. She stewards a body of work called "Somadelics", a contemporary path of practice that uses expanded states to transform the traumas of embodied systemic oppression. Valeria lives in Northern California with her family and enjoys innovating liberative systems to deconstruct patriarchy.
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Staci Haines is a national leader in the field of somatics and creator of generative somatics, a resilience-based somatic approach integrating a social justice analysis. She is cofounder of two nonprofits: generative somatics, and generationFIVE, a community-based organization whose mission is to end the sexual abuse of children within five generations. She is also author of The Politics of Trauma: Somatics, Healing, and Social Justice and Healing Sex: A Mind Body Approach to Healing Sexual Trauma.
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Anja Loizaga-Velder is a German-Mexican clinical psychologist and psychotherapist with a humanistic and transpersonal orientation. Parallel to her psychotherapeutic practice, Anja has been collaborating with indigenous healers and investigating the therapeutic potential of the ritual use of psychedelic plants for over 25 years.
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Faculty in the Cognitive Wisdom Lens Includes:
Dr. Malynn Utzinger, is cofounder and director of integrative medicine at Usona Institute, a non-profit psychedelic medical research organization. She is also director of integrative practices for the international biotech company Promega. She combines her experience in medicine and research with contemplative and integrative approaches to mind-body health.
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Dr. Watts is a clinical psychologist, a mother, and a nature lover. Her work as the Clinical Lead for Imperial College London’s psilocybin trial, and subsequent role as the Clinical Director at Synthesis Institute, have made her one of the most prominent voices and minds in the field of psychedelic research.
Dr. Watts has been named one of the 50 Most Influential People in Psychedelics as well as one of the top Top 16 Women Shaping the Future of Psychedelics. However, what sets Dr. Watts apart is her focus on integration, harm reduction, and inclusion in the psychedelic space.
Dr. Watts builds tools and structures to foster connectedness after psychedelic experiences, finding inspiration for their design from nature. The most recent of which is the integration community she’s created - ACER Integration. ACER Integration aims to provide experiential education around how to integrate singular experiences into the wider collective and how to connect more deeply to the self, others, and nature.
Jasper Degenaars is the chief education officer at Fungi Academy in Guatemala. He has taught over 2,000 people how to successfully grow all kinds of mushrooms. Born and raised in the Netherlands, he believes that sacred mushrooms have the potential to deepen our connection with nature, ourselves, and our communities.
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Faculty in the Sacred Wisdom Lens Includes:
Maestro Jose Lopez Sanchez is a Shipibo Traditional doctor from Peru. From a young age, José was tapped by his grandfather to be a plant medicine healer. He specializes in protection, unblocking and releasing negative energies and finding the root of a situation, aligning and harmonizing the individual, whether in body, energy, or spirit. José directs his ceremonies and dietas with extreme tenderness, kindness, compassion, humility, and firmness. In addition to working in the Amazon, José travels the world sharing his wisdom.
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Julian Vayne is a British independent scholar and author with over three decades of experience within esoteric culture: from Druidry to Chaos Magic, from indigenous Shamanism through to Freemasonry and Witchcraft. In 2001, he published one of the first books of the modern psychedelic renaissance, Pharmakon: Drugs and the Imagination. He is also author of Getting Higher: The Manual of Psychedelic Ceremony. Julian is a co-organizer of the psychedelic conference Breaking Convention, and a Trustee of The Psychedelic Museum Project. A founding member of the post-prohibition think-tank Transform, Julian also sits on the academic board of The Journal of Psychedelic Studies.
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Norma Nakai Burton, M.Div., is a bridge builder between the practical worlds of social justice work and the mind expanding realms of evolutionary consciousness. A shadow integration expert, she is the creator of the Journey to Completion® model, a somatic-oriented process for healing deep-seated trauma. She has extensive training in depth psychology and Jungian analysis, and more than three decades of experience as a healer.
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Faculty in the Relational Wisdom Lens Includes:
Kylea Taylor is a Marriage and Family Therapist, consultant, and author of The Ethics of Caring, which won the 2018 Nautilus Book Award. She has been thinking, writing, and teaching about ethics for almost three decades. Kylea developed and teaches InnerEthics®, a self-reflective, self-compassionate approach to relational ethics which she now offers in psychedelic psychotherapy trainings.
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Meghan Kennedy, LCSW, is a 25-year veteran psychotherapist and international consultant specializing in complex trauma and transcultural treatment issues. She is certified in psychedelic-assisted therapies & research, conflict mediation, and EMDR, with additional training in cross-cultural communication and community organizing. Meghan approaches her work with individuals, families and communities, from a strengths perspective with a humanist/holistic set of lenses. Understanding and appreciating the resilience of the human spirit, Meghan believes in an integrative approach that recognizes our bio-psycho-social-spiritual nature and its profound healing intelligence.
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Al Jeffery is a meditation teacher, integrative psychotherapist, and group facilitator, Al has supported thousands of people around the world in restoring connection in their lives, leadership, and communities. Al was listed in the Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30 in Australia twice in a row and has since become a trusted guide to for-purpose teams and leaders. As a queer man, haiku poet, leadership virtuoso, and martial artist, Al’s love for integrating the diverse and transgressive are alive in all he touches.
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Frederica is a designer and facilitator of transformational learning experiences -- in classrooms, workplaces, community groups, and in the backcountry. Fascinated by the ways that consciousness, worldviews and discourses change and expand, she has spent the past twenty years exploring the tools available to respond to civilizational crises, especially the modern west's loss of the sacred.
Frederica holds masters degrees from Yale Divinity School and the Yale School of the Environment, and a BA from Dartmouth College in Religion & Environmental studies. She has served as a Peace Corps volunteer, taught 22 distinct university level courses at the University of Washington and Seattle University, and worked as a global interfaith peacebuilder at the United Religions Initiative. Prior to Synthesis Frederica served as Director of Education at Spiritual Directors International, designing online learning experiences for advanced spiritual professionals. An avid backpacker, triathlete and mountain enthusiast, she lives in Seattle with her husband and two daughters.
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Rachel Lovie, Ph.D., is an experienced teacher and guide. Her work explores the centrality of many ways of knowing in transformational experience and learning. She is a member of the Wilderness Guides Council and is cofounder of Obsidian: Paths with Heart, an organization offering psyche and nature workshops and retreats.
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Daan Keiman is a Synthesis Content Advisor and the former Lead Facilitator and Director of Program and Product Development at the Synthesis Institute. He holds an MA in Spiritual Care and is the co-founder of Guild of Guides Netherlands, an organization that seeks to professionalize psychedelic sitting services, and of the Communitas Collective, a psychedelic think-and-practice tank. He has guided and cared for people in altered states of consciousness for over 15 years, ranging from harm reduction work at festivals to his private practice as a psychedelic and Buddhist chaplain.
Daan draws from his personal Buddhist practices, psychedelic research, and professional experiences to create compassionate and powerful containers for personal and relational transformation. Currently, his interest lies in understanding the ethics of offering psychedelic care.
CLOSEHow the Psychedelic Practitioner Core Training Supports You on Your Path to Becoming a Psychedelic Practitioner
Our training program equips you with the foundational competencies required for professional and ethical psychedelic facilitation. Through engaging in embodied and self-reflection practices, you gain a rich toolkit that balances technique with self-awareness, humility, and compassion.
Small group settings encourage peer-to-peer learning, allowing you to benefit from diverse perspectives and direct feedback. The strong focus on building relational intelligence amplifies your ability to ethically and responsibly hold space for others during psychedelic experiences.
Become part of an inclusive global community of practitioners and thought leaders in the field of psychedelic facilitation. This network provides ongoing support and enriches your professional journey long after the training is complete.
Our curriculum emphasizes the ethical dimensions of psychedelic facilitation, from personal ethics to broader systemic considerations. This focus ensures that you are prepared to handle the nuances of this practice with the highest degree of care and responsibility.
Our training is informed by collaborations with leading research institutions and years of direct experience guiding more than 1,000 individuals through psychedelic experiences. You gain a well-rounded, evidence-based, and practice-oriented education that positions you at the forefront of this emerging field.
