Establishing Standards and Certifications for Psychedelic Therapy
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Watch The EXCLUSIVE Panel Discussion For Members Of The Psychedelic Medicine Association:
Establishing Standards and Certifications for Psychedelic Therapy
Panel Moderator:
Lynn Marie Morski, MD, JD
President - Psychedelic Medicine Association
Panelists:
Alex Cardenas, MD, MA
Executive Director, American Psychedelic Practitioners Association
Alex Cardenas, MD, MA, is the son of first and third generation immigrants and the grandson of a curandera (healer). He is a community and safety-net psychiatrist who has worked in the public mental health and public education space since 1999 as a provider, administrator, researcher, and advocate. Educated at Yale (BA in psychology) and Stanford (MD,MA in Policy, Organizations, and Leadership Studies), his clinical background pulls from relational, dynamic, and biological lineages. He has dedicated his clinical career to bringing the highest standards of care to underserved communities. After graduating from the inaugural class of the Certificate in Psychedelic Assisted Therapy and Research Program from CIIS, Dr. Cardenas began to engage the community around the need for infrastructure-level institutions to legitimize, develop, and community-govern the reemergence of the psychedelic field.
Jordan Sloshower, MD, MSc
Board Member, American Psychedelic Practitioners Association
Jordan Sloshower, MD, MSc, is a psychiatrist, researcher, and educator whose work focuses on therapeutic applications of psychedelic medicines, and in particular, how these novel treatments can be delivered in a manner that promotes holistic healing and social justice. He is a faculty member in the Yale Department of Psychiatry, where he cofounded the Yale Psychedelic Science Group and served as an investigator and therapist in several clinical trials of psilocybin-assisted therapy. Dr. Sloshower is also an investigator in MAPS’ Expanded Access Program for MDMA-assisted therapy of PTSD and serves as a lead trainer for Usona Institute’s facilitator training program. His interdisciplinary perspective is informed by prior training in medical anthropology and global health, and deep interests in ceremonial uses of plant medicines, Buddhist philosophy, and integrative approaches to wellness.
Dr. Sloshower brings to the APPA Board a commitment to the ethical stewardship of psychedelic medicines. He aims to leverage his experience in psychedelic research, therapy, and training to develop standards of care that promote the delivery of safe, effective, and equitable psychedelic healthcare services.
Sara Herman, MD
Founder & Medical Director at Soft Reboot Wellness
Dr. Sara brings deep expertise in integrative ketamine therapy practices. She studied and trained in cardiothoracic anesthesia at Harvard Medical School and Columbia University. Her personal experience with mental health inspired her shift in focus from operating room medicine to psychedelic healing. Sara has additional training in psychedelic-assisted therapy and integrative healing from the California Institute of Integral Studies, MAPS, The Ketamine Training Center, The Integrative Psychiatry Institute, and The Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine. She has set an intention to practice psychedelic medicine with ethics, integrity, and a commitment to her patients’ holistic wellness.
As we push ever closer to FDA approval for MDMA and psilocybin, and ketamine continues to grow in mental and physical health uses, one of the biggest hurdles in keeping the psychedelic medicine movement going is how to build safeguards that protect patients, practitioners, and other entities involved.
With traditional medicine, we have licensing and certification boards that not only dictate how practitioners can conduct themselves, but also which provide a means of action when a clinician doesn’t comport with the regulations that have been set.
Prior to now, such organizations did not exist for psychedelic medicine practitioners. However, we’re thrilled to announce that there is now a new organization that was formed to address these very concerns.
The American Psychedelic Practitioners Association (APPA) has taken on the task of setting standards for practitioners across the different psychedelic medicines and have set up a process for licensing in those areas as well.
To help educate us on all of the above, we gathered members from APPA to help us all get up to speed regarding:
- Who is behind this organization and how they were formed
- What the organization's missions are
- Who can join
- How one becomes board-certified or licensed
- How these safeguards will help foster the integration of psychedelic medicines into our current medical model
…and much more!
As always, there was ample time for audience Q & A, so be sure to watch till the end!
You can find the Psychedelic Medicine Association on Twitter, LinkedIn, and on Facebook.