Recommended Due Date: Group meetings should take place weekly. The Log is due at the end of Week 8. See Course Schedule for exact dates.
Final Submission: One Log at the end of Week 8.
Final Submission Date: See Course Schedule for exact dates.
Submit to: Assignment Submission Folder
Evaluation: You must pass this evaluation in order to obtain your certificate at the end of the course.
Learning Outcomes
This assignment will evaluate the following module-level learning outcomes:
Describe the unique vulnerabilities of clients participating in psychedelic-assisted therapy and cultivate the awareness and practices necessary to meet these vulnerabilities safely and ethically.
Apply and demonstrate relevant therapist competencies, skills, and orientations (including the Numinus care model) at an introductory level for the purposes of delivering psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Describe the Numinus guiding principles within the context of integrative and transformative mental wellness as they relate to psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Apply facilitation skills specific to psychedelic-assisted therapy during Preparation Sessions, Medicine Sessions, and Integration Sessions.
Identify and respond to burnout, vicarious trauma, transference, and countertransference experienced by the therapist.
Instructions
During the first week, connect with the members in your group and agree on a time to meet each week for at least 45 minutes.
In each Module's pre-work, there is a Module Overview page which gives detailed instructions on activities to practice with your group. You can also review the instructions for each module below.
After each practice group session, write down some brief notes about the activities you covered and any key takeaways, reactions, or questions. This is your practice group log. You can each individually keep a log or write one together. There is no word count requirement.
After Week 8, submit your notes for evaluation as evidence that you participated in the weekly practice groups.
Note
You must each individually submit your practice log on the Numinus Training Platform, however you can all submit the same version of the document if you are in the same group.
Topics
Please briefly review the instructions for each module's practice group activity. You will be reminded of these instructions again closer to the date of your practice group meeting.
Following the Module 1 live session, please complete the following tasks with your group.
Introduce yourselves to your group and be sure to include pronoun(s)
You are encouraged to acknowledge the traditional and ancestral Indigenous territory(ies) you are participating from
Describe your primary motivation for taking the course and your current area/background of practice
Reflect on the Integrative and Transformative care model and its Guiding Principles together. Is there a time when you sought health care, or were witness to someone’s health care journey, where you either received (or did not receive) care aligned with this approach? What was this like? What could have been done better? What aspects of this care model do you wish had been present (if any) and how might this have changed your experience
Following the Module 2 live session, please complete the following tasks with your group.
Identify your personal attachment style(s) and assign a percentage to each knowing that these can change in different contexts. For example, you can develop different styles with different caregivers; you can also start developing earned secure attachment but sometimes revert to an insecure style under stress
Notice a time during the week when an insecure attachment style(s) surfaced relationally. When did you become aware of this (I.e. in the moment, or later upon reflection), how did it impact your interaction, if it did?
In your small group, share your reflections, discuss any insecure attachment style(s), and discuss how are you working on developing greater security (if at all)? How might this be helpful for your self-awareness and growth?
Following the Module 3 live session, please complete the following tasks with your group.
After the Module 3 virtual session, you are invited to discuss ‘inner healing process’ / ‘inner healing intelligence’. Consider reviewing Trust Enhancement in Week 2 prior to meeting with your group. Choose some of the questions below to discuss.
How do you relate to this concept?
Is it new to you or something that already guides your work with clients? How does it show up?
Share an example from personal experience where you have become aware of inner healing intelligence and/or your alignment with this notion has been affirmed or reinforced?
In what ways is this concept helpful for clients undergoing PAT?
What are some ways you can explore this more personally as it relates to your own journey of healing and growth?
Do you have any challenges with this concept and using it with clients? How might you overcome them?
How might trusting your client’s inner healing process reflect:
Trauma- and violence-informed care
Indigenous cultural safety and humility
Justice, equity, dignity and inclusivity
Following the Module 4 live session, please complete the following tasks with your group.
Each person chooses one of the following topics to teach to the rest of the group, as though you are explaining it to a client who has a known or suspected history of trauma. Make sure you relate how the concept is relevant to their healing journey and work in psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Window of tolerance
Regulation and resourcing
Multiplicity and befriending protector parts
This is partially a role-play exercise since you will be pretending that you are delivering psychoeducation to a client, rather than to your peers. What information do you include? What language would you use to explain it in a simple and meaningful way?
You are not expected to cover all relevant material in the time provided, or to do this perfectly! This is an opportunity to reinforce your learning and practice translating it into language to use with clients, while receiving valuable peer feedback.
Designate a timekeeper in each round so that you stay on track.
Timeline
Activity
5 minutes
Choose your topics and gather thoughts
3 minutes
First presenter/topic (peers who are listening can interact and respond as though they are clients seeking clarification as appropriate)
2 minutes
Peer reflection/discussion (what information/language was helpful? What else could be said that wasn’t said? What could be said differently, if anything?)
3 minutes
Second presenter/topic
2 minutes
Peer reflection/discussion
3 minutes
Third presenter/topic
2 minutes
Peer reflection/discussion
5 minutes
Gratitude, closing, and debrief
Following the Module 5 live session, please complete the following tasks with your group.
Each person in the group should design 1 therapeutic ritual they would incorporate in Preparation and subsequent psychedelic-assisted therapy sessions. When the group meets take each other through the ritual.
Ensure you can explain the rationale for and the intention of the ritual.
Why might ritual be important in psychedelic-assisted therapy?
Following the Module 6 live session, please complete the following tasks with your group.
Choose 3 pieces of music to represent the beginning, middle, and end of the medicine session.
Provide a rationale for why you chose these.
When you meet with your small group play one song that each of you chose (one from each segment of the medicine session) and discuss what came up as you listened to the songs and the potential effect.
Following the Module 7 live session, please complete the following tasks with your group.
This week you will continue working on an integration case with your group. Please download the case study and complete the short practice activity before meeting with your group. You will work through the case study together.
Following the Module 8 live session, please complete the following tasks with your group.
Prior to meeting, each small group member is asked to develop an idea for a brief ritual or practice to invite other group members to participate in, as part of closure at the final small group meeting
When your groups meet, each participant will share their idea with the other group members, and together you are invited to co-create a closing practice that incorporates all or some of these suggestions
Grading Criteria
You will be graded on the following criteria:
Completeness (did you follow all instructions?)
Evidence of group work and application (is there evidence that you participated in the practice groups each week?)