Monday, June 19, 2023 9:00 – 5:00pm MDT

Additional registration fee applies.

The psychedelic medicine resurgence has reignited conversations around the intersection of science, religion, and spirituality. Clinical research indicates that psychedelics can reliably occasion profound non-ordinary experiences that participants often rate as the most spiritually meaningful of their lives. Research is still exploring the ideal paradigms – often holistic and humanistic – required to enhance the benefits of psychedelic therapies. As spiritual care professionals enter the field in increasing numbers, the science and practice of spiritually-integrated psychedelic-assisted therapy is expanding to address the needs of clients and the spiritual and religious communities to which they belong.

This workshop is designed for spiritual care professionals (chaplains), researchers, religious leaders and mental health practitioners interested in spirituality and psychedelic care.

1. Morning Session: Toward a Science of Spiritual Health in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (3 hours) convened by Emory Center for Psychedelics and Spirituality George H Grant, MDiv, PhD, Roman Palitsky, MDiv, PhD

This presentation will focus on integrating spiritual, existential, religious, and theological (SERT) concerns in psychedelic-assisted therapy as a research-informed strategy for providing effective and responsible care for religious and non-religious individuals. We will discuss the importance of SERT assessment, collaboration between spiritual health clinicians and other health professionals, and providing culturally responsive support for adverse experiences with psychedelic therapies. These priorities inform the “what, why, and how” of spiritual health care as developed by the Emory Center for Psychedelics and Spirituality and its collaborators, and point toward professional standards and training competencies for our field.

This presentation will be followed by a panel discussion that engages with the topics of: psychedelic chaplaincy and religious responses in psychedelic therapies (Kamenetz), the science and practice of spiritually and existentially integrated psychotherapy (Stavros), and drawing on lessons learned from meditation research to identify and respond to adverse effects in psychedelics at a critical stage in the development of this field (Britton).

Conveners:

George Grant, PhD a psychologist and theologian, is the Executive Director for Spiritual Health in the Woodruff Health Sciences Center at Emory University. He is responsible for the education of spiritual health clinicians, the service of spiritual health to patients and staff across Emory Healthcare and a scientific research arm driving evidence-based outcomes.

At the core of his work is the vision and co-development of a healthcare distress intervention that cuts across cultures. CCSH™ (Compassion-Centered Spiritual Health) is a program to bolster the wellbeing, resilience, and compassion of healthcare patients and staff. CCSH™ augments spiritual health education and best practices with CBCT® (Cognitively-Based Compassion Training), a program developed at the Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics at Emory University. CCSH™ interventions are delivered by spiritual health professionals trained in both CBCT® and ACPE: The Standard in Spiritual Care and Education.

Roman Palitsky, MDiv, PhD is Director of Research Projects for Emory Spiritual Health and a Research Psychologist for Emory University School of Medicine. His research program investigates the pathways through which culture and health interact by examining the biological, psychological, and social processes that constitute these pathways. His areas of interest include biopsychosocial determinants in cardiovascular health, chronic pain, and grief. In collaboration with Emory Spiritual Health, his research addresses cultural and existential topics in healthcare such as religion, spirituality, and the way people find meaning in suffering, as they relate to health and illness. His work has also focused on the role of religious and existential worldviews in mindfulness-based interventions, as well as implementation and cultural responsiveness of these interventions. Dr. Palitsky’s academic training includes a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Arizona with a concentration in Behavioral Medicine/Health Psychology, and a Master of Divinity from Harvard University.

Panelists:

Rabbi Zac Kamenetz is founder and CEO of Shefa, an organization focused on providing Jewish psychedelic support. He is a community leader engaged in psychedelic-assisted chaplaincy at Berkeley, CA. He holds an MA in Biblical literature and languages from UC Berkeley and the Graduate Theological Union and received rabbinic ordination in 2012. Zac is pioneering a movement to integrate safe and supported psychedelic use into the Jewish spiritual tradition, advocate for individuals and communities to heal individual and inherited trauma and inspire a Jewish religious and creative renaissance in the 21st century.

George Stavros, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist and executive director of the Danielsen Institute in Boston, MA. His work has pioneered the integration of SERT concerns in evidence-based psychotherapy and the development of the Relational Spirituality model, a vital lens for SERT-integrated PAT.

Willoughby Britton, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Professor at Brown University. Her work focuses on identifying meditation- and psychedelics-related adverse effects, the phenomenology of meditation-related challenges, and predictors and remedies for meditation-related adverse effects.

Discussant: Charles Raison, MD is a psychiatrist and Director of Research on Spiritual Health within the ECPS. In addition, Dr. Raison has made important contributions to the development of psychedelics as novel mental health treatments in his role as Director of Clinical and Translational Research for Usona Institute, a 503B non-profit medical research organization awarded a Breakthrough Therapy designation from FDA to develop psilocybin for the treatment of major depressive disorder.

2. Afternoon Session:  Professional Pathways and Training Opportunities (3 hours): Convened by Transforming Chaplaincy Initiative, Jamie Beachy, PhD

Professional Spiritual Care professionals are trained in accompanying persons in non-ordinary states, comfortability with matters of death/life/meaning making, skills in careful attendance, and extensive training in cultural awareness and matters of power in care responding milieus, professional spiritual care providers are unique placed to contribute to the field of psychedelic care. This workshop will highlight presenters in spiritual care contexts who are exploring the emerging field of spiritual health professional engaged psychedelic practice. We will explore matters of religious/cultural awareness in PAT, right relationship and partnership with indigenous communities, ethical issues in PAT and religious practice; and training and clinical opportunities.

Convener:

Jamie Beachy, PhD, MDiv, received her Masters of Divinity from Pacific School of Religion (Berkeley, CA) and a PhD in Religious Studies from the University of Denver and the Iliff School of Theology. Jamie has served as a chaplain and ACPE spiritual care educator in diverse settings including academic medical centers, trauma hospitals, hospice, and palliative care settings. Jamie holds certification in Cognitively-Based Compassion Training through the Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics Links to an external site.at Emory University. In addition to her role as Assistant Professor, Jamie serves as a sub-investigator and co-therapist for the MAPS-sponosored phase III MDMA-assisted therapy research study Links to an external site.in Boulder, Colorado and is faculty co-director for Naropa’s Center for Psychedelic Studies.

Presenters:

Joe Tafur, MD is the Director and Co-Founder of Modern Spirit, an organization dedicated to scientific research, supporting ancestral culture, educational programs, the study of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy – and more. He is a Colombian-American family physician originally from Phoenix, Arizona. After completing his family medicine training at UCLA, Dr. Tafur spent two years in academic research at the UCSD Department of Psychiatry in a lab focused on mind-body medicine. After his research fellowship, over a period of six years, he lived and worked in the Peruvian Amazon at the traditional healing center Nihue Rao Centro Espiritual. There he worked closely with master Shipibo healer Ricardo Amaringo and trained in ayahuasca curanderismo. In his book “The Fellowship of the River: A Medical Doctor’s Exploration into Traditional Amazonian Plant Medicine,” through a series of stories, Dr. Tafur shares his unique experience and integrative medical theories. To learn more about his work visit drjoetafur.com.

Belinda Eriacho

Belinda is of Dine’ (Navajo) and A:shiwi (Pueblo of Zuni) descent. Her maternal clan is One-Who-Walks-Around and she was born for the Zuni Pueblo people. Belinda was born and raised on the Navajo reservation, located in Arizona, United States of America.

She is the wisdom carrier, healer, and founder of Kaalogii LLC, focused on cultural and traditional teaching, inner healing, and an international speaker on various topics impacting Native American communities in the United States.

Belinda holds degrees in Health Sciences, Technology, and Public Health. In addition, Belinda has participated in the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, MDMA People of Color, and Eye Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy Training Programs.

Belinda is also a Founder and Board member of the Church of the Eagle and the Condor, a Program Advisor for Naropa University, and a Native American Traditional Advisor for SoundMind.

She is the author recent articles that are available on charuna.net:  “Considerations for Psychedelic Therapist when working with Native American People and Communities”, “ Guidelines for Inclusion of Indigenous People into Psychedelic Science Conferences” and “This is not Native American History, this is US History with Belinda Eriacho”.  In addition, a contributing author to the recently published Psychedelic Justice: Toward a Diverse and Equitable Psychedelic Culture.

Website:  www.kaalogii.com

Moana Meadow MA, MDiv, serves as UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics

staff director for the center’s Psychedelic Facilitation Certificate Program. She also teaches on spiritual care for expanded states of consciousness. She completed four units of (ACPE) Clinical Pastoral Education at hospitals in California and Hawaii, and has worked as a hospice chaplain and spiritual director for over ten years. She was ordained as an interfaith minister at the Chaplaincy Institute, where she served as guest faculty and academic advisor until 2018. She later served as Executive Director of a non-profit church in Sonoma County. She has studied with indigenous elders in the United States and Mexico, and holds a BS from MIT, an MA from Boston University, and an MDiv from the Pacific School of Religion.