DESCRIPTION: This course explores the complex history of psychedelics, past and current legal status, policy development, and potential uses. A combination of lectures, discussions, readings, and experiential exercises will support students as they explore the various ways in which psychedelic compounds have been used throughout history from ancient Indigenous practices up to current controversies surrounding their therapeutic benefits. Topics covered in this course will include an overview of modern psychedelic research and how it has been influenced by Indigenous usage, the political and cultural opinions about psychedelics in the 1970s, the current legal status of psychedelic compounds across the globe, and legalization/decriminalization. The various potential uses of these substances in therapy for mental health issues and for creativity and personal growth will be discussed. Students will be invited to contribute to current debates as well as discern relevant evidence-based resources in psychedelic studies.

16 contact hours toward the Psychedelic Studies Certificate; or 16 CEUs for Counselors, SW, Psychologists
LOCATION: Zoom Synchronous

There will be several guest speakers:

– Dr. Rick Strassman who restarted the psychedelic renaissance in the early 1990s with DMT research at UNM

– Joaquin Orozco, policy activist will present on the Indigenous origins of Peyote and Psilocybin Mushrooms in the Central Americas

– Dr. George Greer will speak about his work with Heffter Research and early work with MDMA-assisted therapy before it became illegal in the 1980s.

Class Presenter Bio: Amy Wong Hope, LCSW, is the Certificate Program Director of the Psychedelic Studies Certificate. Amy is trained as an MDMA-assisted therapist through the (MAPS) Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies and co-author of Small Doses of Awareness: A Microdosing Companion (due to be published spring 2024). Amy maintains a private practice with a focus on trauma-informed modalities and shame-resilience approaches that support clients in restoring emotional, somatic, and relational resiliency.