Centered

This training captures the ‘sweet spot’ between ACT, IFS and TIR, tailored to a wide range of psychedelic therapy challenges (see "A Spectrum of Selves Reinforced in Multilevel Coherence: A Contextual Behavioural Response to the Challenges of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Development") to enable a trauma-focussed ACT-consistent approach to psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Informed with high-density data collected from over 50 participants attending our retreats (a study designed to reduce relapse and deepen gains in psychedelic-assisted therapy), this training highlights what we know has been helpful in producing stable psychedelic therapy gains (post 6-12 months). It integrates parts work (including Internal Family Systems perspectives) and Traumatic Incident Reduction with ACT as a core theoretical modal, to offer versatile, multi-modal framework, including a broad pallet of varying degrees of directive/non-directiveness. Using such a pallet context-sensitively, we can resolve the directive/non-directive debate.

TIR is a precise imaginal exposure methodology with supporting repetitive focusing protocols that can be adapted to amplify all ACT processes such as: awareness of the cues and motivations for any behaviour, directing presence/undivided awareness to any inner experience, intensifying client-led willingness to face challenging feelings, defusion/disentangling from any unhelpful habitual thinking, awareness of the function of any self-story or role.

ACT brings the overarching framework of evolutionary and behavioural science principles, as well as a shortcut to accessing hidden fears. Within this framework, TIR and IFS offer additional ‘vehicles’ for implementing Contextual Behavioural Science principles thoroughly and compassionately.

You will learn multiple interventions that align precisely with the Spectrum of Selves as described in Henry’s recent publication in Frontiers in Psychiatry, adapted throughout the three phases of Psychedelic-assisted therapy.

**Programme overview**
-Days 1-2 (online Feb 13-14th, 1 pm – 9 pm GMT):\* Engineering a new psychedelic therapy of the future. TIR for re-accessing and processing psychedelic experiences and related traumatic memories. Other online options for this session may be available.
Invitation to exchange sessions with peers before arriving in Spain.
**In Catalonia, Spain (1st to 6th March)
**Days 3-4:** ACT and the Spectrum of Selves – from shame to the ‘reverse compass’ for accessing our deeper fears, exploring the voices and behaviours of our different parts. Understanding the ACT core processes from a ‘parts’ point of view.
**Day 5:** Inner work aligned with outer systemic behaviour change. Getting ready to bring the barriers into the work.
**Days 6-7:** Practicum of ACT expanded with trauma and parts work through the three phases of psychedelic therapy. Your chance to practice with feedback the protocols and principles that you personally need the most feedback on.
**Monthly supervision included for 3 months**

contact info: henry@presentmind.org
Tickets: 1,800 euros
https://psychflex.co.uk/expanded-act-for-psychedelic-assisted-therapy/

With insight and support from
**Rob Krause** was a co-therapist and co-facilitator during the development of this approach, gave input on peak states to the Spectrum of Selves paper and will share his perspectives as well as his professional and research experience with psychedelics

**Larry Leeman** gave input on archetypes to the Spectrum of Selves paper and will continue to share his perspectives including from his training in Hakomi mindful somatic psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems level one training for psychedelic therapy and as MDMA therapist (MAPS trained) points of view.

**The curriculum includes:**
- A 150 page bound manual to support you during and after the training.
- This training includes methods from TIR, a structured approach to Trauma/PTSD comparable to EMDR in its thoroughness, yet more precise and consistent with mindfulness and ACT.
- ACT-informed Parts work to address inner conflict between your different selves
- A protocol for differentiating between healthy and unhealthy self-story/narcissism
- A protocol for processing intense psychedelic experiences and re-accessing perspectives and insights from the trip.
- Expanding and reinforcing new behavioural repertoires that flow from newly gained perspectives – seamlessly interconnecting the three phases of psychedelic therapy.
- Overcoming complex/long-term trauma (often more accessible post psychedelic)
- Working Somato-cognitively – reawakening feeling in the body
- Mapping and reinforcing systemic change.
- Predictors of long-lasting benefits in psychedelic therapy and how to implement them.
- ‘Inner healing intelligence’ versus varying degrees of person-centredness/ active-directiveness (and when to do which)
- Parts work for malevolent and benevolent parts/entities
- A defusion protocol for when the mind gets in the way during a dosing session.
- Shame work as a shortcut to our deeper self-concept issues
- Perspective switching exercise for transcending the polarities of the mind
- Behaviour change coaching for increasing alignment

In the recent Special issue for "Psychedelics in the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science 2020", multiple leading researchers illustrate how ACT and psychedelics can be interwoven to create what may become new era of breakthrough therapies. This retreat has been developed in a very similar vein and following the daily data of 62 single cases that we already collected during these retreats.

This programme is aimed at mental health professionals interested in becoming psychedelic-assisted therapists, psychedelic therapists interested in an ACT-informed psychedelic experience and those wishing to better support people in integrating psychedelic experience. There is currently a psychedelic research renaissance involving sizeable clinical trials in both Europe and the USA. The current results suggest unprecedented success rates for depression, addictions and more. With such trials underway, psilocybin is expected be medically licensed in the next 5 years.

Following recent developments in psychopharmacology research (see New Atlas FDA Breakthrough therapy, or Wired for more depth). The purpose of this retreat is to prepare and connect those interested in such developments. If you are interested in collaborating on future retreats like this, you are especially welcome.

Event Location: Mother's House, Weert, The Netherlands

The Programme: This four and a half day retreat + two month (average length) integration programme consists of:
**Day 1:** Arrival (in the afternoon) and preparation: approaching the psychedelic experience as an opportunity for personal growth, leaning into challenging emotions and opening to a flexible sense of self.
**Day 2:** Self-as-context meditation breath and bodywork – you are not your programming. Afternoon ceremony – with Psilocybin Truffles, you embark on your psychedelic journey with the support of sober mental health professionals.
**Day 3:** What is still coming up? Being in your direct experiencing. ACT-informed authentic relating exercises to go deeper into our personality structures, face shame and bond in our common humanity. A spectrum of selves exercise to integrate your parts and foster a transcendent self.
**Day 4:** Increasing willingness and noticing the barriers of mind. Let different parts of you speak. Breathwork. Second Ceremony – an opportunity to go deeper.
**Day 5:** Further integration – Is any of your inner or outer behaviour changing? What new paths do you feel invited to follow? Is a new view emerging of the kind of life you want to live? Balancing the head with the heart: Awareness practices coupled with behavior change.

Minimum facilitator ratio: one to every 3.5 participants minimum. Each participant will also receive one-on-one pre, between and post-ceremony check-ins.

Each day will include experiential practices to help us get into our direct experiencing. Through sharing circles we will learn from each other.

**Integration therapy:** Then each participant is then offered four 60-90min integration sessions via zoom. These sessions further support the unfolding of awareness that opened during the retreat and help translate this awareness into multiple domains of your life. It may also be a critical learning period to take advantage of. Our current integration model brings together evolutionary science, ACT and ‘parts work’ in psychedelic context as described in Henry’s "Spectrum of Selves" publication, integrating behavior change to find a new balance between self-care, relationships, community and environment.

In preparation you may consider your personal challenges in terms of ‘willingness’ (how open are you to certain discomforts?), ‘experiential avoidance’ (what are the obvious or subtle ways you avoid those inner discomforts?), your motivations (what impulses behind your inner and outer behaviors are keeping you from what you truly want). Simple metaphors such as the ‘reverse compass’ may guide us on our way: where is your mind telling you not to go? Preparatory work suggested a from a month before the retreat.

To integrate your psilocybin experience into a life better lived, you may also consider if your old thought patterns take you where you really want to go. What new behaviours do our insights invite? How might our old patterns get in the way of what we really want?

As well as offering these latter perspectives, the ACT model also invites its own integration with other models and traditions, into a behaviourally aware eclecticism. Some of these modalities of integration include breathwork, art therapy, shame work and Internal Family Systems therapy.
Minimum facilitator ratio: one to every 3.5 participants minimum. Each participant will also receive one-on-one pre, between and post-ceremony check-ins.

Spaces are highly limited to a maximum of 14.
- £2300 (accommodation and meals included, excluding cost of psilocybin truffles (approx £80 – provided by a trusted legal third party).
- Two low-income places of £1500 are available.

• Contact us for concessionary fees or other questions (https://psychflex.co.uk/contact-us/)

Event Website/ Registration link information: https://psychflex.co.uk/product/psychedelic-retreat-for-mental-health-professionals-informed-by-acceptance-and-commitment-therapy/