Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy

Level 1 Training

 

Virtual & In Person
August- November 2024

YES, I WANT IN!

Three Core Elements

At the Living Medicine Institute, our trainings are based on three core components: 

1) We emphasize applied learning, and our didactic training focuses on the nuts and bolts of doing this work

2) We believe guided and direct experience with the medicine is critical to do this effectively

3) LMI trainings are delivered by some of the most experienced KAP providers in the country.

Overview

In this 16-week intensive, we weave together the Level One didactic curriculum with multiple experiential ketamine sessions for trainees.

Online live teaching sessions led by our core team will meet biweekly August-November. These meetings will build on a video series that outlines the core elements and skills of doing KAP.  Ketamine experiences are woven intentionally throughout the training. These further inform the didactic component, while also creating the potential for personal growth.

This training consists of the full teaching and experiential components of our Certificate Program, without the clinical supervision stage. It was developed to meet the needs of clinical professionals wanting to learn concrete skills and further explore the medicine, but who do not yet have an active KAP practice.

YES, I WANT IN!

Training Components

The curriculum combines seven experiential sessions with biweekly meetings further expanding on our video-based teaching model over three months.  To participate, participants will need to travel to Asheville, NC for experiential sessions or have access to an appropriate clinic local to you who can safely provide your ketamine experiences.  There is also an optional, full day workshop in person in Asheville.  Teaching, before and after each experiential, is done in a group format via videoconferencing, and you will be part of a closed learning container with your cohort. This will allow more in-depth learning, as well as more personal exploration of your experiences with the medicine. 

How It Works

Virtual teaching sessions will be held on alternating Wednesdays 4-6:00 p.m. EST.  Between each session, you will schedule an assigned ketamine experience on your own time.  Learning points will be taught during sessions and processing opportunity provided, with skills and experiences building on those prior as the training progresses.  Trainees in the Southeast can access experiential sessions through our clinic and will travel to Asheville for those.  If you have a relationship with another trusted ketamine clinic, you can also schedule some of the sessions closer to you. 

YES, I WANT IN!

Fall 2024 Schedule

  • 8/28/24: Virtual Teaching Meeting, 4-6 p.m.
  • Self-schedule between 8/29/24-9/10/24:Individual IV session at assigned dose.
  • 9/11/24: Virtual Teaching Meeting, 4-6 p.m.
  • Self-schedule between 9/12/24-9/24/24:Individual IV session at assigned dose.
  • 9/25/24: Virtual Teaching Meeting, 4-6 p.m.
  • Self-schedule between 9/26/24-10/8/24:Individual IM session at assigned dose.
  • 10/9/24: Virtual Teaching Meeting, 4-6 p.m.
  • Saturday, 10/12/24: Group Nasal (IN) Training, 9:00-5:00, Asheville, NC in person.
  • 10/23/24: Virtual Teaching Meeting, 4-6 p.m.
  • Self-schedule between 10/24/24-11/5/24:Individual IM session at assigned dose.
  • 11/6/24: Virtual Teaching Meeting, 4-6 p.m.
  • Self-schedule between 11/7/24-11/19/24:Individual SL session at assigned dose.
  • 11/20/24: Virtual Teaching Meeting, 4-6 p.m.
  • Self-schedule between 11/21/24-12/3/24:Individual SL session at assigned dose.
  • 12/4/24: Virtual Teaching Meeting, 4-6 p.m.

Curriculum

Each teaching session will be preceded by required pre-recorded video content, covering our entire Level One didactics series over the course of the training. The live teaching deepens the material presented in the videos and weaves the content into the preparation for experientials. The video topics covered are focused on teaching “nuts and bolts” clinical skills needed to begin practice as a KAP therapist.

Between sessions, you will schedule your own individual ketamine experiences at assigned doses and routes of administration. Experientials will allow you to become familiar with multiple ways of using ketamine as a psychedelic and to use your own experiences to track the learning points presented in didactics.  We have found that this inter-weaving of both learning modalities anchors the trainees’ new knowledge by allowing a felt sense of the material, rather than a purely intellectual understanding.

You will participate in a total of seven ketamine experiences throughout the training, with different routes of administration- two IV (intravenous), two IM (intramuscular), two SL (sublingual), and one IN (intranasal).  If you have attended the introductory training retreat, you will have completed some of these already. 

Homework will be required between each session, with both personal reflection as well as assigned learning points to track during experientials. Homework will be turned in prior to each subsequent session.

Depending on your geographic location, opportunities for paired sitter experiences will be provided and encouraged, allowing for multiple opportunities to act as a sitter therapist for a fellow trainee and practice your emerging new skills.

Upon completion, you will have received: 5+ hours of video lectures, 16 hours of live teaching with staff, 8 hours of in-person workshop time, and 17+ hours of ketamine experientials. Estimated time needed to complete homework is an hour every two weeks- a total of 8 hours.

 Instructors

Signi Goldman, M.D.

Dr. Signi Goldman is a board-certified Psychiatrist and psychotherapist with a private KAP practice. She is a certified provider for Psychedelic Assisted Therapies and Research through the California Institute of Integral Studies and has completed training through the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). 
Dr. Goldman has been practicing outpatient Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy for many years and has more recently focused on teaching and training in this field through the Living Medicine Institute's training programs. In addition to extensive psychedelic medicine experience, Dr. Goldman is a trained Rites of Passage guide through the Rites of Passage Council in Asheville, NC and has a profound respect for the intersection of psychedelic medicine, nature-connection, and indigenous, ceremonial ways of healing.

Sandra Newes, Ph.D.

Dr. Sandra Newes is a Licensed Psychologist with over 25 years of clinical experience.  She is an experienced psychedelic-assisted psychotherapist and brings a trauma-informed and resiliency focused approach to the work. Dr. Newes is certified through the Living Medicine Institute’s certificate program, where she is currently a co-facilitator. She has also participated in training through the Polaris Institute, Chacruna Institute, the PRATI institute and others, and is a member of the Boston Psychedelic Research Group.   

Dr. Newes provides workshops and educational trainings on the intersection of nature connection, trauma and mental health nationally and internationally and is past Chair of the Therapeutic Adventure Professional Group (TAPG) of the Association for Experiential Education (AEE).

Meidad Goldman, M.D.

Dr. Meidad Goldman is a board certified physician in both Emergency Medicine and Addiction Medicine who has worked in multiple hospital- and clinic-based settings. He is an experienced psychedelic medicine provider, with years of experience administering individualized dosing protocols for Ketamine as part of a psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy care team. He is a certified provider for Psychedelic Assisted Therapies and Research through the California Institute of Integral Studies and has completed training through the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).
Dr. Goldman has over 17 years of experience using Ketamine for multiple conditions and serves as Medical Director for Concierge Medicine and Psychiatry's Ketamine Clinic and KAP program in Asheville, NC.  

 

Who Should Apply?

Our belief is that the path to becoming an effective KAP clinician builds on a foundation of solid clinical skills.  Given this, the training is for licensed clinicians with significant psychotherapy experience or other experienced providers who may be planning to work with a trained therapist.

No prior psychedelic experience is required.  However, applicants should feel comfortable with the idea of altered state experiences in a training group setting. 

Due to the nature of this work, group size will be capped, and an interview is required.

YES, I WANT IN!

Tuition for the Training

Full Level One Training

$6000

Experience the full training with our team.

Training with experientials arranged through another clinic

$2500

 

If have attended an LMI Introductory Retreat

$4000

This option has 5 experientials, rather than 7.

Auditing Only

$1900

No experientials included

See Descriptions Below

Things To Know

  • Applicants are encouraged to apply in pairs, especially if non-local to Asheville, to maximize opportunity to learn in the role of sitter/therapist.  If you do not have a person in mind, we will also attempt to pair those of you in close geographic range for this purpose.

  • If you have a relationship with a ketamine clinic elsewhere and will not be scheduling your experientials with us, tuition is reduced, and you are responsible for scheduling all assigned experientials through your clinic at your own cost. 

  • If you have scheduling conflicts with any teaching session, it will be recorded for you, however attendance is expected and missing more than two meetings will trigger a consultation with staff due to the nature of the training container.

  • The in person intranasal training cannot be substituted in another clinic due to the proprietary in-person teaching component. If you are unable to attend, you may still participate in the training without this component, but tuition cannot be prorated.

  • An auditing option is available at a lower cost for those who cannot afford the full training and would like to waive the experiential portions and gain learning by auditing the videos, virtual teaching meetings and processing sessions only.  Attendance at all sessions is required due to the closed container nature of the group.

  • If you have already participated in an Introductory Training Retreat through LMI, you will receive credit towards the video content and two full experiential sessions (one 2 hour and one 3 hour) and can therefore reduce tuition by $2,000.

How do I apply?

To apply, fill out the form here with:

1. Your professional experience.
2. Your learning goals for the training.
3. Questions you would like answered.

We will then contact you to set up a 20-minute video interview.

YES, I WANT IN!
 

"This training was transformative and impactful experiential learning. Very well done."  R. A. 

Level One Participant

"It was exactly what I needed.  It was super educational and personally transformative."  P. S.

Level One Participant

"Every member of the staff was extremely qualified and just overall awesome.  I highly recommend this program."  M. M.

Level One Participant