Open Source Guidelines

• Journeyers - Journeyers are individuals who consume psychedelics.
• Practitioners - Practitioners are individuals who support journeyers. They may be trip-sitters, guides, facilitators, coaches, clinicians, therapists, psychiatrists, guardians, shamans, or other roles in service of the psychedelic experience.
• Operators - Operators are individuals or teams who produce environments in which psychedelics may be consumed. They may be solo, clinic, or retreat operators.

Synopsis

The Open Source Psychedelic Therapy Project is a freely available repository of evidence-based practices, guidelines, and resources for Psychedelic Assisted Therapy (PAT). It is designed for Journeyers (patients), Practitioners (guides, therapists, et al), and Operators (organizations) to safely and effectively leverage psychedelics in pursuit of healing and transformation.

The Project collects wisdom, research, and exercises from the most recent medical research to the most experienced shamans. The goal is to provide an objective, inclusive, and pragmatic approach that intersects science and spirituality, offering best-in-class information that is immediately accessible and useful. To this end, the Project is scoped as a process-driven series segmented as Preparation, Journey, and Integration (before, during, and after).

For more information on how to contribute, please contact austin@austinmao.com.

Mission

Deliver a best-in-class, all-inclusive Psychedelic Assisted Therapy (PAT) preparation, journey, and integration program to any and all journeyers and facilitators.

Objectives

1. Create an efficacious integration program
2. Support patients without the need for certified facilitators via peer-to-peer coaching
3. Provide resources for patients to discover integration facilitators
4. Enable practitioners to adopt a vetted integration program
5. Collect wisdom from the community via the open source model

Values

1. Service: a gift to uplift humanity
2. Pragmatism: provide actionable resources
3. Objectivity: be non-dogmatic
4. Inclusivity: open and available to all
5. Integrity: honesty and alignment
6. Humility: we don’t know it all
7. Compassion: meet people where they are
8. Wisdom: respect for all wisdom keepers
9. Community: support and love one another
10. Vulnerability: dive deep and share

Team

• Austin Mao - entrepreneur, psychedelic facilitator, 1Heart leadership
• Anna Yusim - psychiatrist, author, professor of Spiritual Psychology at Yale, 1Heart J10
• Alex Atwood - entrepreneur, therapist, 1Heart J4,8 Elevation Leader
• Adam Abrahami - VP Strategy for Maya Health, 1Heart J7
• Diana Cobas - project manager, 1Heart leadership
• Sandy Indermuhle - Director at Phoenix hospital, founder of Ketamine clinic, 1Heart J7

Versions

These are proposed versions of the project

• General Information for Journeyers
• General Information for Facilitators
• Peer Support Groups for Facilitators
• PAT Coach Training Foundations
• PAT Therapist Training Foundations

Most information will be pieced together from a variety of sources, including books and manuals. Novel content will include exercises, the AHM model, diagnostics, and guidelines for peer support.

General Information for Journeyers

Provide those who are considering or about to undertake a journey to have education, strategies, and resources to maximize their pending psychedelic experience and reduce harm.

1. PAT Background
   1. Benefits
   2. History
   3. Research
2. Pre-journey preparation resources, including…
   1. Guidelines for set, setting, and intention
   2. Information on common entheogenic drugs
   3. Contraindications
   4. Exercises for intention setting and contemplation
   5. Supportive practices, including diet, exercise, meditation, breathwork, etc.
   6. Recommended further reading
3. In-journey resources, including…
   1. ???
4. Post-journey integration resources, including…
   1. Recommended guidelines for interaction with relationships (friends, family, partnerships, workplace)
   2. Scaffolding of Awaken/Heal/Manifest structure with background, processes, basic exercises, and basic diagnostics)
   3. Recommended further reading

General Information for Practitioners

Provide an expanding, singular go-to resource for practitioners to provide best-in-class support (essentially replicating prior art including MAPS Manual, Zendo Training, Zendo Manual for Psychedelic Support, and more).

1. Preparation
   1. Screening questionnaire
   2. Legal considerations
2. Journey
   1. Recommendations for trip sitting and guiding (not therapy yet). This includes the Harm Reduction Model.
   2. Recommendations for recruiting a team
   3. Recommendations for setting (space)
3. Integration

General Information for Operators

1. Screening
   1. Medical screening for prior physical and mental health conditions
   2. Drug screening for contraindications
   3. Qualification screening for alignment of what practitioners are prepared for
2. Safety protocols
   1. Safety protocols
   2. Medical protocols
   3. Covid protocols
   4. Qualified support, a/k/a what level of care are the practitioners qualified to provide
3. Agreements
   1. Customer
   2. Facilitator
   3. Medical practitioner
   4. Venue
4. Venues
5. Payments
6. Legal and liability

Peer Support Groups for Practitioners

Provide guidelines and exercises for facilitators to create and support effective peer groups. This will leverage prior art from Landmark by alexatwood@gmail.com

Consider recommending covalent.live

1. Preparation
   1. How to form and lead peer support groups
   2. Training manual for peer support facilitators (a/k/a Elevation Leaders)
   3. Preparation exercises
   4. Preparation schedule
   5. Resources for finding peer support groups
2. Journey
   1. How to run peer support groups before/after journeys
   2. Exercises
   3. Schedule
   4. Resources
3. Integration
   1. How to run peer support groups for integration
   2. Exercises
   3. Schedule
   4. Identifying when you need an integration coach, therapist, or psychiatrist
   5. How to find professional support
   6. Resources