Are new psychedelic guides trained for adverse events?

Imagine if PADI instructors were never taught about the bends...

This story was co-written with Sam Woolfe

Training programmes are one of the few areas in which the psychedelic industry is actually making money. There are at least 40 such programmes available, mainly delivered online, costing between $1,500 and $25,000.

To what extent do these courses really prepare guides to support people before, during, and after psychedelic experiences? Oregon psilocybin facilitator programmes, for example, only provide 160 hours of training, which is a quarter of the time needed to become certified as an Oregon masseur.

What are psychedelic guides, facilitators, and therapists being taught about the potential risks and harms of psychedelics? Are they being taught about the different types of spiritual or psychiatric emergencies that can arise, or the potential extended difficulties people can experience after psychedelics? Considering how limited the research is on post-psychedelic difficulties or their treatment, it’s very unlikely the new psychedelic workforce is equipped with adequate knowledge to support their clients in all the possible scenarios after trips - from the ecstatic to the hellish.

We surveyed 31 psychedelic facilitator training courses, looking at what they offer, how much they cost, and what they include on adverse events. We also emailed every centre on our list to ask them what they include on risks, harms, and harm reduction, and sent follow-up emails.

17 training schools (just over 50%) included mentions of adverse experiences, extended difficulties, or harm reduction on their websites and course descriptions. Only 9 of the centres (29%) replied to our emails regarding course information related to these topics. Perhaps centres are too busy to reply, but from what we hear from students, some courses don’t include anything on the risks of difficulties continuing after psychedelic experiences, just as many clinical trials and retreats don’t mention these risks either.

We’ve written this piece not to name and shame, but to encourage the psychedelic training industry to take the risks and potential harms of psychedelics seriously - not just ‘challenging trips’ but the possibility of difficulties after trips as well. Otherwise, their students will not properly inform their clients of the risks, and clients won’t ne able to give informed consent. This would be like PADI instructors never being told about the risk of the bends when diving. Accidents will happen, and guides will get sued.

After the pay-wall, our list of training schools, with prices, duration of courses, and what they say about adverse events and extended difficulties.