PAT with a Non-Licensed Therapist

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General Information

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If you have received a diagnosis of a mental health condition from a doctor, nurse, or mental health professional, and you’re seeking recovery or relief from symptoms of that diagnosis, we recommend a licensed, psychedelic-friendly therapist be involved in your process if possible. Research has been ongoing since the 1950s and more is needed, but there are numerous studies showing symptom improvement in diagnoses such as anxiety, depression, and addiction. Please note that the vast majority of these peer-reviewed, controlled, scientific studies have used the psilocybin-assisted therapy model that includes at least one trained, licensed, PhD-level therapist – or two such therapists – as well as several follow-up sessions for integration.

While a licensed therapist may not be able to participate in the dosing session and be with you during your entire 6-8 hours experience, other individuals can be present. In Oregon, a licensed psilocybin facilitator trained through Oregon Psilocybin Services (OPS) alone does not have the credentials to provide therapy or mental health treatment, but they are well trained to guide or sit with you during your experience of using psilocybin.  

We encourage you to follow up on your psilocybin experience with integration sessions. These may start with your facilitator or guide or with an “integration specialist” if available, but integration sessions are usually ongoing sessions with a licensed therapist or other mental health professional.

For more information on the most evidence-based method of using psilocybin for improved mental health outcomes, see our PATA Model page and download our free guide.

Outlined below are the major categories of practitioners that you may want to be involved in and their pros and cons.
 

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Oregon Psilocybin Services (OPS) Facilitator

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Facilitators must be individuals over the age of 21 who have attained a license from the State of Oregon in psilocybin facilitation. The minimum requirements are for adults to have a GED education and have passed a required 120-160 hours from a licensed training program. Services in Oregon were allowed to begin as of January 3, 2023.
 
Licensed Facilitators are not required to have mental health therapy education or licensure. Licensed therapists may become facilitators if they complete facilitator training, but they are not allowed to provide therapy during a psilocybin session. Per OPS guidelines, facilitators are prohibited from providing medical or mental health services during administration of psilocybin.

Tom Eckert, one of the original writers/creating team of Measure 109 that resulted in legalizing OPS, has stated on public record that OPS is “primarily an informed-consent model.” That means that, similar to skydiving or horseback riding, your participation in OPS requires a brief risk assessment and for you to waive your right to hold anyone providing OPS services legally responsible for any harm caused to you (a.k.a. "informed consent"). While an OPS facility will inform you of their process, they are not required to provide a mental or physical health assessment or mental health therapy.

While OPS will require a preparation session by a facilitator and recommend at least one follow-up integration session to at minimum determine your safety after an experience, this will be insufficient for some people. Integration through OPS doesn’t require therapeutic integration. This is left-up to the seeker to identify and use therapeutic integration. Using psychedelics can lead to challenging and difficult experiences. Unless you're familiar with psilocybin, we recommend you don't do it alone and that you make use of the ongoing neuro-generative effects of psilocybin by doing integration therapy, support/sharing groups, talking with trusted friends or family, or other ways to process and use the insight you’ve likely gained from your experience.

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Other Entheogenic Practitioners

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An entheogenic practitioner is a vague term that encompasses all types of guides and sitters that could accompany you during your psilocybin session. For some, it implies a practitioner with some kind of spiritual guidance or affiliation. This could be a more formal affiliation with a church or spiritual practice or an informal one.

Please note that, while it’s not illegal for another person to be with you during your experience, the sale of psilocybin is federally illegal, and possession of psilocybin in Oregon outside of an Oregon Psilocybin Services service center is illegal. Some cities in the U.S. have decriminalized the possession of psilocybin, meaning it is not a law enforcement priority to look for, arrest, or prosecute those who have it. For those outside of the U.S., the legal situation may be very different, such as in Mexico or Canada.

Therefore, if you want to find a sitter in order to use psilocybin without using OPS, you may be looking for an “underground” sitter, possibly in a city or state where it is decriminalized, or use it outside of the U.S. In Oregon, possessing small amounts of psilocybin is illegal but may return to decriminalized status in the near future.

There is no official licensure, certification process, or educational knowledge required to be a psychedelic practitioner outside of OPS. Some people may have training in certain types of alternative therapy approaches, knowledge of indigenous cultural ceremonies, or have completed one of many intensive and experiential courses intended to train people in psychedelic guiding. These almost always include various types of substances, such as ketamine, MDMA, ayahuasca, or salvia.

Please note that many indigenous practitioners and others believe that the ceremonial and/or spiritual use of a substance that serves as their spiritual “sacrament” can not qualify as either legal or illegal. This is an area of ongoing legal debate and development. We at PATA do not promote or oppose these beliefs; rather, we seek to provide education on what options and opinions exist for you to make your own decision.
 

 

Disclaimer: The Psilocybin Assisted Therapy Association aligns with the harm-reduction model, which means we do not focus on ensuring people abstain from substances like psilocybin. PATA does NOT recommend or encourage the purchase or possession of illegal substances. Please research what is legal in your area and abide by local, state, and federal laws.

 

Other types of practitioners and their scope: 

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• Life coaches and unlicensed counselors: These individuals usually have some training in mental health and may advertise they perform psychedelic-assisted therapy. These providers usually have a web and marketing presence but may not provide, and will not advertise they provide psilocybin. 

 

• Underground sitters, guides, integration specialists: these are individuals with varying degrees of education and experience and may work in the “underground." They may or may not have a web presence or advertise their services and their approaches will vary depending on their personal philosophy.

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• Ceremonial practitioners: these guides practice leading a psilocybin session as part of a ceremony that may include indigenous practices or a self-created routine. The goal of ceremonial practitioners is to include a spiritual component, and they are usually not focused on specific mental health issues. Often these individuals are part of a non-secular “church” that uses psychedelics for religious purposes, thus bypassing laws. There is no church in OR at the time of this writing that has permission to bypass laws governing psilocybin, but there is a movement gaining momentum toward this purpose.