SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – There is a new program at UC Berkeley designed to help people dealing with mental health issues using psychedelics.
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The program will train people on how to best help others with mental health issues by guiding them through psychedelic journeys.
“The goal is to train all these groups – chaplains, therapists, others,” said Tina Trujillo, an Associate Professor at UC Berkeley's School of Education.
Trujillo is also the senior faculty director of the Certificate Program in Psychedelic Facilitation at the university. According to an article on the UC Berkeley website, 24 people were trained this fall at the Center for the Science of Psychedelics.
"To serve populations that suffer from serious mental illness and to provide them with the kind of mental and spiritual care that psychedelic therapy – and in this case, it will begin with psilocybin-assisted therapy," she said.
Psilocybin is a hallucinogenic substance derived from certain types of mushrooms.
Psychedelics have been going through a resurgence recently and many healthcare professionals have been exploring their potential to help with trauma. This training lasts 9 months, a total of 175 hours.
The program’s members aim to use the treatment in safe and ethical environments in states that have legislation that permits this type of work, according to the article.
This type of program is a huge step for psychedelics to be better recognized as a form of legitimate treatment.
"There are so many bad things happening in the world right now, but this is one small glimmer of hope for me," said Benjamin Breen, a professor at UC Santa Cruz with a focus on the history of drugs.
"There was a period when it looked like psychedelics would contribute to mental healthcare," he said.
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