BeginnerLive ClassesNo New Dates

Roots of Psychedelic Therapy: Shamanism, Ritual and Traditional Uses of Sacred Plants

The Roots of Psychedelic Therapy course offered by the Chacruna Institute is an introduction to the foundations of the use of sacred plants. Through lectures, students will explore topics such as shamanism in Amazonia, peyote use among the Wixárika, psilocybin use among the Mazatec, and iboga in Afr

Provider

English

Details

150 years
16 modules

Enrollment

$1,100
This course is currently marked as no new dates.

Course Overview

The Roots of Psychedelic Therapy course offered by the Chacruna Institute is an introduction to the foundations of the use of sacred plants. Through lectures, students will explore topics such as shamanism in Amazonia, peyote use among the Wixárika, psilocybin use among the Mazatec, and iboga in Africa.

Additionally, students will learn about critical social issues such as globalization, tourism, cultural appropriation, commodification, patents, reciprocity, conservation, legality, ethics, sexual abuse, practitioner’s training, and more. The course seeks to create bridges between the worlds of ceremonies and psychedelic therapies and will help students to incorporate this knowledge into their professional practices and personal lives.

The course offers students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the expanding future of psychedelic plant medicines in ways that are equitable, safe, and just, and ways to give back to and honour the cultures from which these practices stem.

This course was last held in the Fall of 2022.

Who is this for?

People working in clinical practice, social science research, ceremonial settings, or those seeking a deeper understanding of psychedelic plant medicines.

About the Provider

Chacruna is a nonprofit psychedelic education and advocacy platform based in the United States with global reach through online publishing, courses, conferences, and multilingual programming. Its work centers on psychedelic plant medicines, ethics, cultural justice, reciprocity, and Indigenous knowledge, with content and activities aimed at researchers, clinicians, educators, policy audiences, and the broader public. The organization says it bridges ceremony and science and makes academic knowledge more accessible through public-facing education. Chacruna plays an explicit role in psychedelic justice and policy-adjacent advocacy by foregrounding cultural context, equity, and protection of sacred plants and traditions. Current documented initiatives include the Indigenous Reciprocity Initiative of the Americas, which supports community-led Indigenous projects, the Psychedelic Culture conference, the bilingual Chacruna Latinoamérica platform, and courses on diversity, culture, social justice, ceremony, ethics, and reciprocity. These activities make it a potential partner for researchers, clinicians, funders, and policy groups seeking cultural consultation, educational programming, and community-centered collaboration.

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Course Details

  • Price$1,100
  • FormatLive Classes
  • Lifecycle statusNo New Dates
  • Skills
    psychedelic shamanismritual use of psychedelicssacred plants useHarm ReductionIntegrationPsilocybin TherapyMDMA-Assisted TherapyEthicsMusic and Set/SettingConservation of naturally occurring psychedelicsSustainability of sourcingAnalysis of colonialism in sacred plant knowledgeAnthropological application to ritualized practicesCritique of psychedelic tourism
  • Categories