Deliberate Practice in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy

Deliberate practice exercises help trainees achieve competence in essential psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy skills and apply them in a range of clinical situations while honing their own personal style and language.

These exercises present role-playing scenarios in which two trainees act as a client and a therapist, switching back and forth under the guidance of a supervisor. The therapist improvises appropriate and authentic responses to client statements organized into three difficulty levels—beginner, intermediate, and advanced—that reflect common client questions and concerns.

Each of the first 12 exercises focuses on a single skill that include tending to clients’ bodily and emotional states before introducing psychedelic medicine to treatment, exploring ethical and cultural implications, and working with clients in altered states of consciousness to promote wellbeing. Two comprehensive exercises follow in which trainees integrate these essential skills into a single psychedelic-assisted therapy session.

Step-by-step instructions guide participants through the exercises, identify criteria for mastering each skill, and explain how to monitor and adjust difficulty. Guidelines to help trainers and trainees get the most out of training are also provided.

Shannon Dames, RN, MPH, EdD, is chair of psychedelic-assisted therapy programming and a nursing professor at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, British Columbia. She has expertise in resilience development and psychedelic-assisted therapy research and education. Dr. Dames’s work focuses on the collaborative, interdisciplinary development of equity and culturally informed service delivery, research, and education infrastructure development in the re-emerging field of psychedelic-assisted therapy. Her work acknowledges multiple ways of knowing, with a specific interest in collaborating to understand how Western and Indigenous ways of knowing might be shared for the healing benefit of all.
 
Andrew Penn, MS, PMHNP, is a clinical professor of nursing and a researcher at the Translational Psychedelic Research Program at University of California, San Francisco, where he teaches psychopharmacology and clinical psychiatry, and an attending nurse practitioner at the San Francisco Veterans Administration Hospital. He has taught around the world, including SXSW, Aspen Health Ideas Festival, TEDx, and the Singapore Ministry of Health. He is cofounder of the Organization of Psychedelic and Entheogenic Nurses (https://www.openurses.org/) and has advocated for and written about nursing in psychedelic therapy in the American Journal of Nursing and the Journal of Humanistic Psychology. Visit https://www.andrewpennnp.com/.
 
Monnica Williams, PhD, is clinical psychologist specializing in cognitive behavior therapies. She is a professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Ottawa, Canada research chair in mental health disparities, and director of the Laboratory for Culture and Mental Health Disparities. She is the clinical director of the Behavioral Wellness Clinic in Connecticut, and Behavioural Wellness Clinic in Ottawa. She was also director of the Center for Mental Health Disparities at the University of Louisville in Psychological and Brain Sciences (2011–2016). At the University of Connecticut (2016–2019), she had appointments in psychological science and psychiatry.
 
Joseph A. Zamaria, PsyD, ABPP, is an associate clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, where he is associate program director for psychotherapy for UCSF’s psychiatry residency and an attending psychologist in UCSF’s outpatient psychiatry clinics. Dr. Zamaria has worked for years as a therapist and researcher in clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted therapy to treat a range of conditions. Additionally, he is on the faculty at UC Berkeley within the Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics, where he directs the psychotherapy and clinical science curricula.
 
Tony Rousmaniere, PsyD, is program director of the Sentio Marriage and Family Therapy graduate program, and executive director of the Sentio Counseling Center. He has authored many books on deliberate practice and psychotherapy training and is coeditor of the book series The Essentials of Deliberate Practice(APA Books). In 2017, Dr. Rousmaniere published the widely cited article in The Atlantic Monthly, “What Your Therapist Doesn’t Know.” Dr. Rousmaniere supports the open-data movement and publishes clinical outcome data at drtonyr.com. He is president of Division 29 of APA.
 
Alexandre Vaz, PhD, is director of training at the Sentio Marriage and Family Therapy graduate program and Sentio Counseling Center. He has authored many books on deliberate practice and psychotherapy training and is coeditor of the book series The Essentials of Deliberate Practice (APA Books). Dr. Vaz has held multiple committee roles for the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration (SEPI) and the Society for Psychotherapy Research (SPR). He is founder and host of “Psychotherapy Expert Talks,” an acclaimed interview series with distinguished psychotherapists and researchers.

Shannon Dames, RN, MPH, EdD, is chair of psychedelic-assisted therapy programming and a nursing professor at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, British Columbia. She has expertise in resilience development and psychedelic-assisted therapy research and education. Shannon’s work focuses on the collaborative, interdisciplinary development of equity and culturally informed service delivery, research, and education infrastructure development in the re-emerging field of psychedelic-assisted therapy. Her work acknowledges multiple ways of knowing, with a specific interest in collaborating to understand how Western and Indigenous ways of knowing might be shared for the healing benefit of all.
 
Andrew Penn, MS, PMHNP, is a clinical professor of nursing and a researcher at the Translational Psychedelic Research Program at University of California, San Francisco, where he teaches psychopharmacology and clinical psychiatry, and an attending nurse practitioner at the San Francisco Veterans Administration Hospital. He has taught around the world, including SXSW, Aspen Health Ideas Festival, TEDx, and the Singapore Ministry of Health. He is cofounder of the Organization of Psychedelic and Entheogenic Nurses (https://www.openurses.org/) and has advocated for and written about nursing in psychedelic therapy in the American Journal of Nursing and the Journal of Humanistic Psychology. Visit https://www.andrewpennnp.com/.
 
Monnica Williams, PhD, is clinical psychologist specializing in cognitive-behavioral therapies. She is a professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Ottawa, Canada research chair in mental health disparities, and director of the Laboratory for Culture and Mental Health Disparities. She is the Clinical Director of the Behavioral Wellness Clinic in Connecticut, and Behavioural Wellness Clinic in Ottawa. She was also director of the Center for Mental Health Disparities at the University of Louisville in Psychological and Brain Sciences (2011-2016). At the University of Connecticut (2016-2019), she had appointments in psychological science and psychiatry.
 
Joseph A. Zamaria, PsyD, ABPP, is an associate clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, where he is associate program director for psychotherapy for UCSF’s psychiatry residency and an attending psychologist in UCSF’s outpatient psychiatry clinics. Dr. Zamaria has worked for years as a therapist and researcher in clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted therapy to treat a range of conditions. Additionally, he is on the faculty at UC Berkeley within the Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics, where he directs the psychotherapy and clinical science curricula.
 
Tony Rousmaniere, PsyD, is cofounder and program director of Sentio University. He provides workshops, webinars, and clinical training and supervision around the world. He is the author/coeditor of six books on deliberate practice and psychotherapy training and two book series: The Essentials of Deliberate Practice (APA Books) and Advanced Therapeutics, Clinical and Interpersonal Skills (Elsevier). In 2017, he published the widely cited article in The Atlantic Monthly, “What Your Therapist Doesn’t Know.” Dr. Rousmaniere supports the open-data movement and publishes clinical outcome data at drtonyr.com. He is incoming president of Division 29 of the American Psychological Association.
 
Alexandre Vaz, PhD, is cofounder and chief academic officer of Sentio University. He provides deliberate practice workshops and clinical training and supervision around the world. Dr. Vaz is the author/coeditor of four books on deliberate practice and psychotherapy training and two book series: The Essentials of Deliberate Practice (APA Books) and Advanced Therapeutics, Clinical and Interpersonal Skills (Elsevier). He has held multiple committee roles for the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration (SEPI) and the Society for Psychotherapy Research (SPR). Dr. Vaz is founder and host of “Psychotherapy Expert Talks,” an acclaimed interview series with distinguished psychotherapists and researchers.