The MDMA Therapy Training Program completed their final two trainings for the year in October. The first training took place in October at Omega Institute in New York from October 9th to the 14th. Brooke Balliett, L.M.F.T. and Phil Lister, M.D. were the first pair of new trainers to step into the Lead Trainer role. The retreat included a team of eight trainers that also consisted of Evan Sola, Cristie Strongman, Chantelle Thomas, Joanna Simundic, Kevin Lutz, and Jose Mata. This marks an important milestone as the Training Team looks to elevate assistant trainers into the lead training role. The October Omega training also included the largest number of scholarship recipients in a single cohort this year. There were 31 Health Equity Leaders enrolled.
On October 22-28, the MDMA Therapy Training Program delivered their final training in collaboration with the Mount Sinai Center for Psychedelic Psychotherapy and Trauma Research. The training ,led by Michael Mithoefer and Annie Mithoefer with support from Chris Stauffer, took place in New York. The training was supported by the Bronx VA Training Team and members of the MAPS PBC Training Team. 48 VA clinicians and veterans from across the country joined for the week-long training.
Ensuring that the network of MDMA-assisted therapy practitioners is vast and able to support a broad spectrum of trauma is critical in our mission towards mass mental health for all. In its second year, the MAPS Health Equity Leadership Program for Practitioners selected 131 applicants as Health Equity Leaders. We are humbled by the opportunity to foster connection and community with all our Health Equity Leaders. We are excited to announce a virtual gathering in December for all 2022 Health Equity Leaders. The MAPS Health Equity Leadership Program for Practitioners is part of a larger commitment to increasing inclusion and equity in our programs. Over the course of this year, we were able to allocate and award $622,240 in scholarships. We are currently working to continue to expand this initiative into 2023 and beyond. All of the 2022 training cohorts are now complete. The MDMA Therapy Training Program is not accepting applications at this time. Practitioners interested in learning more about the MDMA Therapy Training Program and future training opportunities can sign up for the training newsletter to receive updates.
