Clinical Trial Application Submitted to Health Canada for Experiential, Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy Training
Before a therapist can guide patients through psychedelic therapy, it’s pretty important that they know what the drugs feel like firsthand.
There’s a growing demand for experiential training for mental health professionals, and organizations in both Canada and the US are starting to fill this gap.
ATMA Journey Centers, a clinic in Calgary, submitted an application to Health Canada for an experiential-based clinical trial to train mental health providers looking to offer psychedelic-assisted therapy – and there are currently 400 professionals on the waitlist.
The study will assess the psychological effects of psilocybin in healthy patients, as well as physiological effects like heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature. Since most psilocybin studies are conducted on patients with mental health disorders, this trial will produce much-needed ‘healthy control’ data to use as a baseline.
In the US, two psychotherapists just founded the Psychedelic Coalition for Health (PCH) to offer experiential psychedelic integration training for professionals.