Poetry, Symbols, and Story in Psychedelic Therapy

The Poetry, Symbols, and Story in Psychedelic Therapy course is a 12-week, interactive and experiential course that focuses on using poetry therapy as a tool in psychedelic therapy. Participants will delve into the theoretical foundations and practice techniques of Poetry Therapy and learn to use language, symbols, and stories to help clients in individual, group, and community settings.

The course will follow a structure that covers the pillars and pitfalls of the integration process and will use the Receptive, Expressive, and Symbolic (RES) model of Poetry Therapy by Nicholas Mazza as a guide. Students will be encouraged to read and discuss weekly readings and listen to special guests. Participants will also be able to apply the learning through writing, leading guided practices, and working with small groups or individual clients.

The course aims to help participants develop the skills to use poetry, symbols, and story in integration therapy and support clients in their meaning-making process. The learning objectives for the course include: understanding common motivations for seeking psychedelic therapy, using the RES model of poetry therapy, identifying the role of poetry, symbols, and story in integration therapy, providing poetry therapy as a clinician, discussing the integration process and challenges, and utilizing non-drug self-transformation efforts as part of integration therapy.