Facilitator Training Course
Designed for working professionals looking to expand their skills and knowledge
A course designed to teach you all the rules, regulations, and best practices of facilitating psilocybin therapy in the state of Oregon.
Professional training courses like this one are a prerequisite for applying for a facilitator license in Oregon.
Course is 120 hours long and takes place over 12 weeks
This program is fully online + an in-person practicum
Total Tuition: $5500
This Course is OPS and HECC Approved for licensure in Oregon
Next Cohort Start:
April 9, 2024
Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm
Closed all school and federal holidays
Please allow 1-2 business days for replies to all official communication
Office Hours:
Please note: APL does not buy, sell, handle, use, trade, or interact with psilocybin mushrooms in any way.
We are exclusively a training program.
For information about finding psilocybin services in your area, please see the OPS list of state-approved service centers.
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An exploration of the long history of psilocybin use, its change in status during the “war on drugs” and the revival of research on its use.
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An exploration of historical inequities in healthcare and how to build a practice that is inclusive.
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A deep dive into the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act that will identify up-to-date policy information and teach the core responsibilities of facilitating in Oregon.
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An overview of of the pharmacokinetics of psilocybin and its effect on various biological systems. Also, a look at the current state of research in psychedelics.
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An exploration of key elements for safe and ethical facilitation including trauma-informed communication and understanding adverse reactions.
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Detailed course work on the legal requirements for compliant preparation, essential forms and documents, and learning important skills for compassionate and effective preparation.
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Learning the essential methods for administering a session, the legal dosing limits and time requirements for service, the details of compliant administration, and important tools for creating a productive set and setting.
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Learning the key aspects of effective integration, techniques for designing meaningful sessions, and talking to clients about their experiences.
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Learn how groups differ from individual work and how to design group sessions so that all members have a positive experience.
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Training in facilitation and altered states of consciousness through direct observation of current facilitators in Oregon, through analysis of recorded sessions, and/or personal experience with altered states of consciousness. Must be conducted in-person at an affiliated service center or in Portland, OR as part of our alternative practicum model. Travel and lodging expenses are not included in tuition costs.
Spring 2024 Applications Closed
Dates for Fall 2024 Cohort will be announced this Summer. Stay Tuned.
What is Psilocybin Facilitation?
Psilocybin facilitation is the practice of supporting individuals during their use of psilocybin, a psychoactive substance found in certain species of mushrooms, for therapeutic or personal growth purposes.
In November 2020, Oregon voters approved Measure 109, which legalized the use of psilocybin in a controlled setting. Under the new law, individuals can participate in "psilocybin services" facilitated by licensed "Psilocybin Service Facilitators" who have completed a training program approved by the Oregon Health Authority.
Psilocybin services can only be provided at licensed psilocybin service centers, which must adhere to strict guidelines and regulations. Participants must be at least 21 years old and undergo a screening process to ensure they do not have any underlying medical conditions that would make psilocybin use unsafe.
During a psilocybin session, the facilitator holds space for clients and provides support as they navigate the psychedelic experience. Significantly, the facilitator is the individual who helps the participant set intentions, works with them to think about and create a comfortable and safe environment for the session, and provides emotional anchoring throughout the experience.
Significantly, Psilocybin Facilitation is NOT therapy. In fact, facilitators are strictly forbidden from diagnosing any health conditions, providing therapy, or using any other modality to direct the psilocybin experience, even if they are licensed to do so.
Also, facilitators are legally prohibited from touching, providing, processing, or engaging with psilocybin mushrooms in any way. Service center employees are the only people allowed to handle mushrooms at all, and they will provide the mushrooms directly to clients during a facilitation experience.
Facilitation is, however, an amazing opportunity to create and hold safe space for clients who are looking for a novel and powerful way to explore and possibly breakthrough their own limitations, whether those limitations are rooted in personal trauma, clinical depression or anxiety, negative relationships to self or to others, and many other individual challenges.
Facilitation provides clients a controlled opportunity to explore their own senses of self, including how they relate to themselves and to a greater human community. Oftentimes, clients even report pressing into other planes of thought that some people could consider spiritual.