Details Eligibility Dates Curriculum Instructors Tuition FAQ
InnerTrek is approved and licensed by Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission and the Oregon Health Authority to prepare students for licensure as Psilocybin Service Facilitators in the state of Oregon.
Program Details
The program meets and exceeds minimum state requirements, which include 120 hours of “core training” and 40 hours of supervised “practicum.” InnerTrek’s comprehensive curriculum is taught by a team of experienced practitioners, while guest presenters will provide specific expertise. Our in-person intensives take place at a beautifully wooded retreat center just outside of Portland, while hands-on practicum unfolds at the InnerTrek Center for Psilocybin Services.
Quality education and training is coupled with community. InnerTrek’s in-person training and practicum is paired with interactive online learning, supporting peer connections while preparing students to work within Oregon's regulated service delivery model.
Core training includes:
Six in-person intensives over the course of 6 months
Online education within an immersive and interactive digital learning environment powered by Moodle
Education in a variety of group sizes, including “home groups”
Guest education and lectures from experts around Oregon and the world
Experiential “learning by doing” with expert supervision and feedback
Virtual Pathway
For those living out of state, InnerTrek offers a virtual-only student path. This discounted Virtual Program pathway is intended for prospective students that cannot reasonably attend the otherwise required six in-person training intensives. Learn more about the Virtual Program here.
Upcoming Program Dates
Students attend in-person intensives at a retreat center outside of Portland, one full day a month, on either a Friday or Saturday. Availability on specific days/dates will depend on class sizes and students' preferences.
InnerTrek’s next program will start in May 2024, with core programming ending in October 2024. Practicum experiences may be completed near the end of, or shortly after, core programming.
2024 in-person intensives will take place on the following days. As a student, you would attend only one day per weekend listed below.
• May 10 or 11 (Friday or Saturday), 2024
• June 7 or 8 (Friday or Saturday), 2024
• July 12 or 13 (Friday or Saturday), 2024
• August 9 or 10 (Friday or Saturday), 2024
• September 13 or 14 (Friday or Saturday), 2024
• October 4 or 5 (Friday or Saturday), 2024
Much of InnerTrek’s program is delivered within an interactive online learning environment, with approximately 55 hours of digitally facilitated lectures and Home Group discussions, in addition to dozens of hours assigned to activities on the program’s Moodle online learning platform.
Eligibility: Who can attend InnerTrek?
InnerTrek recognizes many paths to learning and skill-development. In alignment with Oregon’s statewide Psilocybin Services Program, InnerTrek does not require a college degree and/or advanced education to be accepted into its psilocybin facilitator training program. InnerTrek does engage in a robust admissions process to ensure that accepted students have shown preparedness, goodness of fit, and a resolute commitment to the evolving field.
Clinicians and healthcare professionals are well positioned. Whether you are a physician, nurse, therapist, social worker, or alternative healer, InnerTrek delivers the education necessary to add psilocybin services to your current offerings.
You do not have to be an Oregon resident to enroll in the InnerTrek Facilitator Training Program, however, you must be an Oregon resident for 2 years to be a licensed psilocybin facilitator in Oregon. This residency requirement, as specified in Measure 109, sunsets in 2025.
Program Structure
Online class (weekly)
All students will attend a live 2 hour class via Zoom on Wednesdays at 5:30pm PST. These weekly classes are led by Lead Educators and esteemed Guest Educators.
Asynchronous learning (weekly)
For approximately 2 hours per week, InnerTrek students will, on their own time, engage with assigned materials and interactive activities on our online learning platform.
Home Group meetings (bi-weekly)
Students attend bi-weekly process-oriented “home groups” of 7 to 9 students. Home Groups are moderated by lead educators and last 90 minutes.
Practicum (occurs near the end of, or shortly after, core programming)
The 40-hour practicum requirement (hands on learning) takes place at InnerTrek’s Center for Psilocybin Services located in the heart of Portland, Oregon. With supervision and support, students will facilitate psilocybin journeys in accordance with what they are learning in the program.
Meet your Lead Instructors
Erica Zelfand, ND - Lead Educator
Dr. Erica Zelfand is a licensed family doctor, ketamine provider, and psychedelic facilitator. Specializing in functional medicine and integrative mental health, she is well versed in pharmaceutical, nutritional, botanical, somatic counseling-oriented, and psychedelic approaches to healing. She has written extensively on the topic of psychedelics, offers seminars and courses for professionals, and regularly presents at conferences and medical school grand rounds. Erica also served as medical supervisor for the Zendo Project, supporting psychedelic safety and harm reduction.
Tal Sharabi, MA - Lead Educator
Tal Sharabi is an experienced psychotherapist skilled in somatic and transpersonal models. Tal trained in psychedelic psychotherapy and research at the California Institute of Integral Studies, in Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy through the Polaris Insight Center, and in MDMA-assisted therapy through her completion of Parts A-D of MAPS-Certified training. Tal is experienced in and enjoys designing and implementing therapeutic programs, mentoring new practitioners, and leading plant medicine retreats in different areas of the world.
Simon Yugler, MA, LPC Lead Educator
With a masters in depth counseling psychology, Simon is a psychedelic therapist, educator, and the author of the forthcoming book, Depth Medicine: A Mythic Guide to Psychedelic Healing. For a year and a half he served as a retreat leader and therapist with MycoMeditations, a leading legal psilocybin therapy retreat center based in Jamaica. Weaving together Jungian psychology, mythology, IFS therapy, and psychedelic integration, Simon also draws on his diverse experience learning from Indigenous cultures across the world, including the Shipibo Ayahuasca tradition and the Native American Church. With a background in anthropology and experiential education, he has led international journeys for groups of young adults across 10 countries. Simon is passionate about helping his clients navigate the liminal wilds of the soul
Jason Foster, MA - Lead Educator
Jason is a seasoned therapist in private practice in Seattle, where he incorporates a deeply humanistic and psychospiritual outlook, informed by a strong core of ethics. Jason has served as lead supervisor with the Zendo Project and has over 10 years of experience in psychedelic facilitation and education in a variety of capacities. He trained in Core Energetics and has a second degree black belt in Aikido.
Mario Alonso Martínez Cordero
Mario (also known as ‘Oneiros Speculum', The Dream Mirror), born and raised in Mexico, is an author and therapist. An expert in the field of Dreams and Visions, Mario holds significant experience in supporting sacred plants ceremonies and guiding psychedelic integration. With a master's degree in Philosophy of Religion, and complementary training in Transpersonal Psychology, he’s collaborated in several of Mexico’s educational and research projects on Psychonautics and Expanded States of Consciousness such as MINDSURF (Psychonautic Education), Via SYNAPSIS (Mexico’s Academic Congresses), NIDO (Psychedelic Care in Festivals) and NIERIKA (Entheogenic Research and Intercultural Therapy). Mario has engaged in fieldwork with the Mazatec people of Oaxaca, Mexico, and completed research on traditional mushroom ceremonies and indigenous perspectives on healing and entheogenic cosmology.
Gina Gratza, MA - Program Coordinator & Lead Educator
Gina is a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice with Looking Glass Counseling, specializing in somatic practices for the treatment of trauma, eating disorders, and relationships. She is trained in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD through the MAPS, Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy through The Polaris Insight Center, and is currently working with the OHSU-Portland VA as a study therapist on upcoming psilocybin-enhanced and MDMA-assisted therapy research with Veterans. Gina believes in the power of healing through compassion and connection.
Guest Educators from InnerTrek's most recent program
Emma Knighton
Bia Labate
Robin Carhart-Harris
Chris Stauffer
Moana Meadow
Rachel Aidan
Harvey Schwartz
Hanifa Nayo Washington
Mario Alonso Martínez Cordero
Joseph McCowan
Kylea Taylor
InnerTrek Lead Educators Tal Sharabi, Jason Foster, Dr. Erica Zelfand, and Gina Gratza leading a workshop at our first in-person class in October of 2022
Curriculum
InnerTrek’s curriculum is competency-focused while weaving together a multi-faceted narrative. The practicum requirement takes shape as a menu of experiential options that meet Oregon Health Authority requirements.
InnerTrek’s program curriculum consists of 8 core competencies:
Foundational Knowledge
Students will be able to:
- Describe the historical and current role of plant medicines in various wisdom traditions and identify key differences and shared principles across cultures;
- Demonstrate an understanding of the cultural impact of psychedelics in the West;
- Demonstrate an understanding of the basic pharmacology and neuroscience of psilocybin;
- Understand key milestones in science and research relating to the ongoing development of psilocybin use as an adjunct to therapy over the last 65 years;
- Comprehend relevant ideas and theories relating to consciousness, personal transformation, and the psychedelic experience
Core Facilitation Skills
Students will be able to:
- Demonstrate a capacity and commitment to facilitate from an embodied, grounded, supportive presence;
- Develop core communication skills necessary to render psilocybin services in a participant-centered manner;
- Develop skills to strengthen rapport and alliance with participants;
- Demonstrate key understandings and skills relating to psychedelic facilitation / working with non-ordinary states of consciousness during a personal process of transformation;
- Understand considerations when working with diverse populations;
- Develop and practice flexible self-care systems that support the physical, mental, relational, spiritual, and emotional capacities necessary to do this work;
- Define problematic facilitator dispositions and interactions and explain how each can interfere with one’s work as a psilocybin facilitator
Intake and Orientation
Students will be able to:
- Conduct a preparation session that includes screening, safety planning, alliance building, and appropriate expectation setting;
- Assess a participant’s readiness for psilocybin services and make final determinations regarding a participant’s goodness of fit;
- Orient a participant regarding what to expect from the service sequence and the psilocybin experience itself, while providing helpful advice;
- Understand and learn to establish a facilitator’s role, scope of practice, responsibilities, and authority with participants;
- Describe and discuss various dosing strategies and considerations
Psilocybin Administration
Students will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of what is required to facilitate an effective, safe, and smooth entry into a psilocybin experience;
- Develop an understanding of skills and considerations necessary to effectively facilitate a safe psilocybin experience;
- Demonstrate an understanding of skills, processes, and criteria involved in completing a psilocybin experience
Varieties of Experience
Students will be able to:
- Learn how to identify and hold space for specific psychedelic experiences;
- Learn to identify, describe, and internalize facilitator characteristics and skills related to effectively working with challenging experiences and behaviors during session;
- Identify and respond appropriately to forms of psychological distress common to the psilocybin experience;
- Learn how to identify and respond appropriately to difficult or challenging behaviors that can arise during a psilocybin session;
- Demonstrate a capacity to identify and work with repressed trauma rising to the surface of consciousness during a psilocybin experience
Integration
Students will be able to:
- Describe what integration is, the goals of the integration phase and its importance to healing, as well as communicate guidelines for an effective integration experience;
- Learn how to incorporate open-ended questions that support effective integration;
- Learn how to assess the impact of integration and recommend additional integration / therapy as needed
Group Facilitation
Students will be able to:
- Identify and incorporate group considerations during intake process;
- Demonstrate a capacity to orient participants effectively within a group-based orientation;
- Understand and demonstrate essential skills involved in facilitating a small group;
- Demonstrate an understanding of how to facilitate a group psilocybin ceremony;
- Demonstrate an understanding of how to conduct integration in a group format
Ethics and Responsibilities
Students will be able to:
- Demonstrate an awareness of the important ethical issues related to being a psilocybin facilitator and a commitment to living / implementing core values;
- Demonstrate an understanding of the ethical dimensions around working across diverse social locations and cultures;
- Develop a strategy to take responsibility for professional development, leadership presence, and impact on others;
- Demonstrate a detailed understanding of the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act and related laws, regulations, and professional standards as they pertain to the rights and ongoing professional obligations of licensed Facilitators;
- Develop a strategy for being an active agent of transformation, grounded in the emerging research of the field
InnerTrek’s curriculum follows and expands upon the education requirements developed by the Psilocybin Services Section of the Oregon Health Authority, which include:
Historical, Traditional, and Contemporary Plant Medicine Practices and Applications
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in relation to Psilocybin Services
Safety, Ethics, and Responsibilities of a Psilocybin Facilitator
Psilocybin Pharmacology, Neuroscience, and Clinical Research
Core Psilocybin Facilitation Skills
Conducting a Psilocybin Preparation and Orientation Session
Conducting a Psilocybin Administration Session
Conducting Psilocybin Integration
Group Psilocybin Facilitation
Practicum
InnerTrek Lead Educator Tal Sharabi leading a Home Group. Students attend bi-weekly process-oriented “home groups” of 7 to 9 students. Home Groups are moderated by Lead Educators and last 90 minutes.
Tuition
InnerTrek’s full program tuition is $8900. Tuition covers all in-person and online aspects of the program, including practicum at the InnerTrek Center for Psilocybin Services.
If accepted, a $1000 deposit, credited toward tuition, will hold your spot within the program.
Students will have the opportunity to pay full tuition with a $500 discount before the program begins, or pay the full amount in equal monthly installments over the course of the program.
Tuition is non-refundable after the first in-person intensive at the Forest Refuge unless there are extenuating circumstances. This policy helps to ensure that we are offering as many enrollments to qualified and fully committed students as possible.
Students setting their intentions during the first day of InnerTrek’s 20-week program