Psychedelic Practitioner Training
11 January to 12 April, 2027
Fee: $6,300 (NZD) inclusive of VAT
About this programme
PsyEdu and PsyTrain are pleased to announce the launch of Psychedelic Practitioner Training: an intensive 14-week professional programme for healthcare professionals, psychotherapists, counsellors and experienced practitioners preparing to work responsibly with psychedelic-assisted approaches.
Psychedelic-assisted therapies are developing rapidly. Safe and responsible practice requires considerably more than learning a treatment protocol over a few days.
What are the aims of the programme?
This programme offers an extended learning journey in which participants can acquire knowledge, reflect on its implications, discuss complex questions with peers and experienced practitioners, and begin translating theory into ethically and culturally responsive practice.
The programme progresses from history, pharmacology and the clinical evidence into the practical realities of screening, preparation, therapeutic support, boundaries, challenging experiences, integration, service design and professional practice.
Particular attention is given to the distinctive cultural and healthcare landscape of Aotearoa, including Indigenous perspectives, mushrooms of Aotearoa and the emerging regulatory environment for psychedelic-assisted therapies in New Zealand.
Programme details
14-weeks online part-time programme.
The programme incorporates approximately 150 hours of professional learning across three interconnected elements.
Self-directed study
Live online teaching
Wider and interdisciplinary perspectives
Who are the tutors?
The programme brings together internationally recognised researchers, clinicians, educators and practitioners alongside contributors with knowledge of New Zealand’s culture, communities, healthcare system and emerging psychedelic landscape.
Please see our About Us page for details of some of our contributors.
A rich and sustained learning experience
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Participants work through ten core topics, each containing:
an expert recorded presentation
carefully selected reading and viewing
structured reflective practice
self-assessment activities
Additional learning is organised around five themes that recur throughout the programme, connecting the individual topics with broader questions of ethics, safety, cultural responsiveness, self-awareness and professional development.
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Live teaching provides regular opportunities to explore the material with faculty, tutors and fellow participants. It includes:
weekly two-hour facilitated Learning Pods
one-hour tutorials approximately every other week
three-hour Saturday-morning Intensive Sessions approximately every two weeks
dedicated pastoral support and professional-development supervision
Learning Pods provide a consistent small group in which participants can discuss each topic, work through cases and ethical dilemmas, develop practical skills and relate the teaching to their own professional context.
The fortnightly Intensives bring the wider cohort together for expert teaching, discussion, experiential and reflective learning, and engagement with both international and New Zealand-based contributors.
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The core curriculum is complemented by:
trauma and psychedelic-assisted therapy
philosophy of mind and non-materialist perspectives
microdosing and psychedelic use outside clinical settings
psychedelics in recreational, contemplative and natural settings
music within psychedelic-assisted therapy
Curriculum
1. History and Culture – including mushrooms of Aotearoa
Historical, cultural and Indigenous perspectives on psychedelic use, from traditional practices to the modern psychedelic renaissance, including the ecology and cultural context of psychoactive fungi in Aotearoa New Zealand.
2. Pharmacology, Neuroscience and Psychological Models
The pharmacology of psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine; the neuroscience of altered states; and contemporary psychological and neurobiological models of psychedelic action.
3. Indications and Evidence
The current evidence for psychedelic-assisted approaches across mental-health and other clinical indications, including the strengths and limitations of existing research and important emerging areas.
4. Screening and Preparation
Participant assessment, contraindications, risk factors, informed consent, expectation-setting and preparation for safer and potentially beneficial psychedelic experiences.
5. The Psychedelic Experience
The phenomenology of psychedelic states, including common experiences, therapeutic processes, mystical and transpersonal phenomena, and the personal, relational and contextual factors that can influence outcomes.
6. Boundaries, Consent and Touch
Ethical practice, professional boundaries, consent, the use of touch, power dynamics and safeguarding within psychedelic care.
7. Challenging Experiences and Adverse Events
The recognition, prevention and management of difficult psychedelic experiences, psychological crises and adverse events, including emergency considerations and post-session support.
8. Integration
Supporting people to make meaning from psychedelic experiences and translate insights into sustainable psychological, behavioural, relational and practical change.
9. Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Models and Delivery
Contemporary models of psychedelic-assisted therapy, therapeutic approaches, practitioner and facilitator roles, and the practical realities of delivering psychedelic care.
10. Clinic Design and New Zealand Regulation
The legal, regulatory, operational, ethical and governance considerations involved in establishing and delivering psychedelic-assisted services within New Zealand’s evolving healthcare landscape.
FAQs
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Psychedelic Practitioner Training is intended for a multidisciplinary professional cohort.
Applications will be considered individually to ensure that participants have an appropriate professional background, scope of practice and readiness for the programme.
Completion of the course does not in itself confer authority to prescribe or administer psychedelic medicines. It provides relevant professional education for those wishing to understand and prepare for work within New Zealand’s emerging legal and clinical landscape.
Doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals
Psychologists, psychotherapists and counsellors
Allied health and complementary healthcare practitioners
Experienced psychedelic practitioners seeking to deepen and formalise their knowledge
Professionals preparing to contribute to psychedelic-assisted services, research or education
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$6,300 (NZD) + $250 (NZD) non-refundable enrolment fee
Save $300 (NZD) on the standard course fee if you are among the first 10 applicants to complete enrolment before October 23rd. To qualify, you must be accepted onto the programme and pay the $250 (NZD) enrolment fee and $2,000 (NZD) deposit before the deadline.
The Early Bird rate is based on the date you complete enrolment, not the date you submit your application. The application, interview, references and payment process can take up to 10 days, so we strongly recommend applying well before the deadline.
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We recognise that the cost of professional education can be a significant barrier. A limited number of bursaries will be available for:
practitioners on lower incomes
Māori, Pacific peoples and members of other marginalised or under-represented communities
LGBTQ+ practitioners and others whose perspectives are under-represented within healthcare and psychedelic practice
practitioners who can demonstrate an established commitment to serving marginalised, deprived or underserved communities
Applicants will be invited to provide relevant information as part of a confidential bursary application. Availability is limited, and support will be allocated according to financial need, representation and likely community benefit.
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Participants work through ten core topics, each containing:
an expert recorded presentation
carefully selected reading and viewing
structured reflective practice
self-assessment activities
Additional learning is organised around five themes that recur throughout the programme, connecting the individual topics with broader questions of ethics, safety, cultural responsiveness, self-awareness and professional development.
You are an explorer, and you represent our species… the greatest good you can do is to bring back a new idea, because our world is endangered by the absence of good ideas. Our world is in crisis because of the absence of consciousness.
Terrance McKenna
Join the first cohort
The PsyEdu Psychedelic Practitioner Training offers an opportunity to develop rigorous foundational knowledge while joining a sustained professional learning community.
Over 14 weeks, participants will encounter leading international and local perspectives, examine the difficult ethical and practical questions facing the field, and begin developing the knowledge, judgement and reflective capacity required for responsible psychedelic practice.
Apply early to secure your spot.
Dates:
11 January – 12 April 2027
Online Training Fee:
$6,300 (NZD)
Places available:
30 participants.
Applications open:
September 23 – December 1 2026