Canadian Practitioners Can Now Enroll In MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy Training Program

Canadian not-for-profit organization TheraPsil has received board approval to launch its training program on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for trauma survivors. TheraPsil has been advancing legal access to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy since 2019.

The new course, which joins the “Fundamentals of Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy” programs that have already trained 500+ healthcare professionals, extends the nonprofit's advocacy efforts toward including both psilocybin and MDMA for patients in medical need through the country’s Special Access Program (SAP.)

Experienced TheraPsil trainer and PI to a MAPS’ Phase 2 MDMA trial in Vancouver, Dr. Ingrid Pacey will lead curriculum development and rollout with the goal of training psychotherapists “to work with a wide variety of psychedelics to best serve the needs of their prospective patients." 

TheraPsil's training and operations director, Yasmeen deRosenroll says the team is thrilled to unveil the expansion, which is designed to provide comprehensive support through clinical excellence and a patient-centered philosophy.

Details On The MDMA Psychotherapy Training

The pilot phase of the MDMA training is set to launch in early 2024. Practitioners who have successfully completed the didactic component of the psilocybin training program (140 hours total) will be eligible to participate at this point. 

Asked about the program’s general goal, deRosenroll told Benzinga that TheraPsil's commitment is “to maintain rigorous ethical and clinical standards in psychedelic therapy for substances that are legally available in Canada.” 

Yet its primary goal, she said is “to provide comprehensive training in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy to empower therapists to offer safe, effective and ethical care to Canadians in medical need.” 

For TheraPsil, this includes an experiential element. “We strongly believe that before supporting patients with MDMA and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy, trainees should have their own experience with both substances,” deRosenroll explained. “We believe that when trainees undergo an experiential session themselves, they will have the tools to better understand and empathize with their patients' experiences during the sessions.” 

The organization says experiential training will also help healthcare professionals “navigate the complexities of psychedelic states” and “provide more effective support to their patients.”

Lastly, the proposed training will focus exclusively on access for trauma survivors suffering from PTSD because, “as we begin to see more MDMA applications being approved through Health Canada's SAP, it's clear there is a demand for qualified and trained healthcare professionals to support these patients,” deRosenroll concluded.

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Photo: Benzinga edit with photo by Cytonn Photography on Pexels and Jynto on Wikimedia Commons.