RANZCP Psychedelic training framework for psychiatrists
Unlike the two US facilitator rules, RANZCP's framework is a clinical one: it sets the minimum knowledge, safety and hands-on competencies a psychiatrist should be able to self-assess a course against before prescribing MDMA or psilocybin under Australia's Authorised Prescriber Scheme. Its fourteen items span everything from pharmacology to supervised treatment of an actual patient and formal safety-and-quality recording.
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- Body
- Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP)
- Instrument
- Psychedelic training framework, version 2.0
- Dates
- First issued July 2023; version 2.0 approved June 2025 (clarifying that the College endorses no individual training programme).
- Official source
- RANZCP - Psychedelic training framework for psychiatrists
Unofficial comparison
This is an independent, unofficial comparison built by Blossom for orientation only. It is not legal, regulatory, or compliance advice, and it does not represent the position of any regulator or professional body. Always work from the official rules and framework text before making any training, licensing, or practice decision.
Mapping as of July 2026. Competency and skill items transcribed from the RANZCP Psychedelic training framework (June 2025) PDF, grouped under the framework's own three areas.
Requirements mapped (14)
Each requirement or module as named in the source, with the best-fit competency categories and any confident competency links. Categories link to the full competency list for that part of the taxonomy.
Basic mechanisms of psychedelic action
Medication and psychotherapy mechanisms, focused on MDMA for PTSD and psilocybin for treatment resistant depression.
Neurological principles of psychedelic brain activity
Including the effects of concurrent medications on psychedelic brain activity.
Linked competencies
General risks and benefits of psychedelic therapy
Linked competencies
Knowledge of the evidence base for the range of parameters for use
Patient eligibility, the limited evidence for dosages and protocols, psychotherapy options, adverse effects, holistic care and the importance of outcome-measure records.
Regulatory and professional standards landscape
RANZCP guidelines, TGA approval, local legislative and governance requirements, cultural safety and privacy.
Evidence base on efficacy and safety of MDMA for PTSD and psilocybin for TRD
Linked competencies
Screening, risk stratification and clinical care
Indications and contraindications; pre-treatment work-up; informed consent including physical touch; medication adjustment; monitoring response with rating scales; managing side effects; deciding when to cease treatment; and post-course care.
Diagnosis and management of medical emergencies
Setting of care
The clinical environment in which therapy is delivered.
Linked competencies
Recognising and addressing the needs of special populations
Including pregnant women and older people.
Linked competencies
Recognising disease-specific conditions, complications and exclusions
Including psychosis, mania, drug and alcohol problems, and physical health conditions.
Supervised treatment, management and follow-up of an actual patient
Supervision and instruction across the selection, treatment, management and follow-up of a real psychiatric patient treated with psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Linked competencies
Participation in psychotherapy provision as part of the treating dyad
Completion of the RANZCP framework for recording safety and quality in PAT
Using the College's safety-and-quality recording framework when delivering psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Category coverage
Which of the twelve competency categories this framework touches (12 of 12), and which it does not name.
- Safety and Basic KnowledgeMapped
- Pharmacology and Drug InteractionsMapped
- Setting ManagementMapped
- Compliance and Risk ManagementMapped
- Ethics and BoundariesMapped
- Cultural HumilityMapped
- Screening and Patient AssessmentMapped
- Informed ConsentMapped
- Psychological Support and PsychotherapyMapped
- Medical Monitoring and Crisis InterventionMapped
- Care CoordinationMapped
- Data, Documentation, and Outcomes MeasurementMapped
Where this framework is quiet
This framework names something in all 12competency categories. That breadth is unusual for the frameworks we have mapped so far. It does not mean the framework goes as deep as Blossom's trial-derived competencies in each area, only that every category is at least addressed.