The MDMA Therapy Training Program will be delivering trainings entirely online in 2021. We are excited about the possibility of expanding access to training with the shift to online education. Our program staff are developing an updated online program, and are continuing to engage in a training curriculum design initiative to support the growth and continued quality of the program. To better support training thousands of future therapists, we are also developing training protocols for new supervisors and trainers, some of whom are contributing their expertise to the curriculum design initiative.
MAPS’ Health Equity Plan was announced last fall and we are excited to work closely together to carry out the proposed initiatives to bolster health equity in our programs. One key focus of MAPS’ Health Equity Plan is to expand opportunities for training therapists, supervisors, and trainers from communities who experience high rates of trauma and insufficient access to care. This year the MDMA Therapy Training Program will launch a scholarship program with the goal of providing funding to train therapy providers from historically marginalized communities. MAPS is committed to developing a network of MDMA therapists, supervisors, and trainers who are reflective of the diverse demographics of the countries where we expect MDMA to be approved as a medicine. For more information, please see the article Prioritizing Public Benefit Means Healing for All: Announcing MAPS’ Health Equity Plan in the MAPS Autumn Bulletin, by MAPS staff Natalie Lyla Ginsberg, M.S.W., Ismail Lourido Ali, J.D., Ritika Aggarwal, M.F.T. Candidate, and Fede Menapace, M.B.A.
MAPS recently hosted a workshop series for therapists who attended the 2019 MDMA Therapy Training for Communities of Color, which will culminate in the creation of an organizer toolkit to support therapists and organizers building therapeutic networks in communities of color. Trainees from this cohort have contributed their expertise to these workshop sessions on topics such as harm reduction, psychedelics and somatic practice, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, and community integration.
The MAPS Bulletin issue also featured an article written by Shannon Carlin, M.A., M.F.T., MAPS PBC Director and Head of Training and Supervision, and Sarah Scheld, M.A., MAPS PBC Training and Supervision Associate, titled Developing Ethical Guidelines in Psychedelic Psychotherapy. The article describes in detail the process of developing the MAPS Code of Ethics for Psychedelic Psychotherapy, with a particular focus on the ethics of sexual boundaries. To better support participant safety and ethical care, the training program is also currently developing a Participant’s Bill of Rights.
We look forward to re-opening enrollment for the MDMA Therapy Training Program. To receive updates on upcoming trainings and training program admissions, sign up for the MDMA Therapy Training Program Newsletter.• Learn More
