East-West Psychology Core Faculty Launches Certificate Program in Psychedelic Therapies and Research

In 2015, Dr. Janis Phelps has been very focused on developing the curriculum for the new certificate in Psychedelic Therapies and Research, a series of evening lectures, workshops, webinars, and films offered for licensed professionals through the Public Programs at CIIS. In late March, her vision came to fruition and the first cohort of the Certificate program began their studies!

Sixty-seven medical professionals and mental health professionals were interviewed for the 2016 cohort for the post-graduate certificate. The Center enrolled 42 students, who attended the first weekend of the program on March 25 and 26, 2016. This successful inaugural weekend included sponsorship by UC Berkeley neurologists David Presti, Stan Grof, Ralph Metzner, and Paul Stamets, and the donors.

The certificate program is the largest collaborative program focusing on psychedelic studies within a non-medical graduate university, thus graduates of the certificate program will be trained as research therapists.

"This is an exciting moment for CIIS," says Phelps, director of the Center and core faculty member of the East-West Psychology department.

Not only will we be working with some of the top psychedelic researchers in the country, but we will also be preparing our graduates to make important advances in the fields of psychedelic research."