What makes a great psilocybin facilitator?
This week we’re excited to introduce you to Rebecca Martinez from Alma Institute, an Oregon-based non-profit psychedelic training and mentorship program. Alma is currently building a OHA certified training and certification program, designed to prepare Oregon facilitators for licensure under the Psilocybin Services Act next year. Rebecca is an insightful and visionary leader, and we are inspired by the progress she and the Alma team are making towards a values-based facilitator training program focused on high quality, accessible and safe care.
Q&A with Rebecca Martinez, Alma Institute
What role will facilitators play in Oregon’s psilocybin industry?
This is a service based field of work. The real value people are receiving is not just access to experiencing psilocybin therapy—it's a supportive, protected environment in which to have a big, potentially profound experience.
In my view, great facilitation is central to the success of this field as a whole. There's no replacement for a skilled, well-trained, and diverse pool of facilitators who understand how psilocybin works, have a deep reverence for it, are doing their own inner work and are committed to the ethical mandate of the profession.
Who is training these facilitators?
There are about a dozen training organizations that have emerged since Measure 109 passed. Some of these are Oregon-based groups, others are groups from out of state and are looking to create qualified programs or align their existing programs with Oregon Health Authority requirements.
Regardless of location, all programs are required to have trainers who are qualified to teach the subject matter they are delivering. For Alma, this means drawing from some of the top voices in the field of psychedelic care, including people who have been trained by (and been instructors at) MAPS and CIIS, those who come from traditional Indigenous-led medicine practices and those who are conducting clinical research.
In addition, the lived experience and vocation of our trainers is integral. We've brought together a group of educators, therapists, activists, clinicians, community organizers and healing justice practitioners. It's important to have this blend of disciplines so that we can bridge worlds and uplevel the field as a whole.
How rigorous is the training and licensure process?
This is serious work. The state will require 120 hours of training plus a 40 hour practicum; most programs last between 6-12 months. Once this portion is completed, students who receive certificates will have the opportunity to take a licensing exam with the state of Oregon. In other words: training programs certify and the state licenses. The core topics of study will be parallel across training programs; however, the analysis, depth of work, cultural components and frameworks for practice will vary significantly from program to program. Alma's educational component is 160 hours (before practicum), because we see a need to dive deeper into the history, cultural competence and trauma-informed care.
Unfortunately, there may be people who enroll in training programs and do not become certified because concerns emerge in the course of training. We need to be discerning and only graduate facilitators in whom we have the utmost confidence. We are looking to build a field of practice that is known for safety, ethics, integrity, community care and meaningful, positive outcomes. This can't be taught in 160 hours.
In my view, this initial training is really just the foundation of a lifelong learning that will begin in the months and years following licensure. For this reason, it's absolutely critical that we enroll people who are committed to participating in an ongoing community of peer consultation, mentorship and accountability after receiving their license. To support this need, we're creating a 300 hour apprenticeship program at Alma's service site in Portland for new facilitators to gain real-world experience in a supported environment.
What do you think makes for a great facilitator?
There are many things, but I'd highlight these five: capacity, shadow work, maturity, humility and community. Capacity to be present with and bear witness to a wide range of human experience in the course of a day, or a session, without getting lost in it. This often means being well supported and far enough along on your healing path to manage your own material, which will get triggered. Connected to this is shadow work, also called inner work—understanding the less favorable or less healed expressions of oneself and motives and really having an ongoing practice of self-reflection to see what lies beneath. Our shadows come to work with us and we need to be honest with ourselves about our blind spots and weaknesses in order to prevent them from getting in the way of serving clients. Maturity, in a field flooded with enthusiasm, there's no substitute for time, life experience and commitment to one's own healing path. Humility, because much of the work of facilitation is getting out of the way so the client can have agency in their own emergent process. Humility also looks like trusting the mushrooms, recognizing when serving someone is beyond your scope of practice and knowing when to reach out for help.
And finally, community, which is the bedrock of this work. Entheogenic practice has been held in community since time immemorial and I believe it's impossible to be a great facilitator in isolation. We need each other.
What aspects of developing a training program have been exciting for you?
One of the most exciting aspects has been hearing directly from people who want to enroll in the training program and the diverse communities they intend to serve. We are committed to prioritizing participation for people from marginalized communities, including Black, Indigenous, Communities of Color, queer and gender diverse communities, those with low incomes and people who are actively working to become allies with these groups. Expressed areas of focus include end of life care, substance use, trauma recovery, veteran care, language diverse services, climate grief, personal growth, ancestral healing, and supporting survivors of war, racial violence and incarceration. The varieties of existing skill sets and intended specialization really illuminates what is possible under a state regulated access program, if we are willing to do the hard work of removing barriers to participation.
What is the best way for people to support the Alma Institute right now?
We are a non-profit looking for sustaining members at the community level, Founding Supporter level and high level Supporting Partners. People who feel aligned and inspired to be a part of our work can make a one time or monthly financial gift. All gifts are tax deductible and go directly to supporting Alma's operations, curriculum development and scholarship fund.
Jackson County Deserves Access
In 2020, Jackson County residents voted in favor of psilocybin therapy, but the Jackson County Board of Commissioners have decided to send access to therapy back to the voters again in November. The No on 15-203 Campaign is advocating for unincorporated Jackson County to have access to psilocybin therapy and to ensure county residents have access to this promising treatment for those in our community struggling with addiction, PTSD, depression and end of life anxiety. Having psilocybin therapy in the rural areas of our state is vital as the combination of natural, private settings and psilocybin therapy is ideal for healing.
Learn more at www.vote-no-on-15-203.org.
Deschutes County Election Update
In 2020, Measure 109 was approved by 52.8% of the electors in Deschutes County, however Deschutes county will vote again on psilocybin ordinances in the upcoming November election. A “no” vote on 9-152 in Deschutes County will allow establishment and operation of psilocybin product manufacturing and psilocybin service centers.
Learn more at www.voteno9152.org
In the News
Many Oregon localities will be voting again on whether to allow psilocybin therapy locally, while county and city governments are considering particular time, place and manner requirements. Here is a sampling of media coverage from Deschutes County related to these deliberations:
Opinions Heard on Psilocybin Land Use at Deschutes County Public Hearing
Central Oregon Daily
Deschutes County needs a plan if voters in the county affirm the decision to allow therapeutic use of psilocybin or magic mushroom therapy in November’s election.
The planning commission heard from several people Thursday night, from lawyers and students to veterans.
Comments will help decide what recommendations head to county commissioners.
“You’re putting all these limitations on all these what ifs, could be, that you yourself are saying you don’t even know,” said one commenter.
Vote No On Measure 9-152 – Allow Psilocybin Manufacturing And Service Centers In Unincorporated Deschutes County
The Bend Source
If it feels like double jeopardy to be voting on a thing that we just voted upon in the last election cycle in 2020, that's because it is. Two of the commissioners on the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners—Tony DeBone and Patti Adair—have voted in favor of placing this item on the ballots of Deschutes County voters because they believe you don't know what you voted for back in 2020.