Media contact: Brad Burge (Fluence)
· Fluence and Wavepaths to present a one-time exclusive webinar for clinicians with the leading scientific voice in psychedelics and music
This week, the promise of psychedelic therapy took the spotlight when the front page of The New York Times announced that “The Psychedelic Revolution is Coming. Psychiatry May Never Be the Same.” The article came after Monday’s publication, in Nature Medicine, of the outstandingly positive results of the largest-ever clinical trial of a psychedelic-assisted therapy, in this case MDMA in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder. According to The New York Times, current research has placed psychedelics like MDMA and psilocybin “on the cusp of entering mainstream psychiatry.”
Anticipating the demand for psychedelic-assisted therapies to treat a wide variety of mental health conditions, researchers are already exploring how to maximize treatment outcomes and enhance the safety of psychedelic-assisted therapy sessions. The context, or what has been called the “set and setting” of psychedelic therapy, plays an essential role in shaping how—and whether—psychedelic therapy works for patients, and music is especially important for creating positive treatment outcomes.
On Saturday, June 5, Fluence and Wavepaths will host a five-hour online workshop with Dr. Mendel Kaelen for clinicians working with music in any therapeutic setting, both psychedelic and traditional. The workshop is designed for mental healthcare practitioners wishing to explore the use of music in their practice.
“Understanding the relationship between music and the psychedelic experience is a critical skill for psychedelic therapists,” says Fluence co-founder Elizabeth Nielson, PhD. “Music can also be a powerful tool for integration therapists and other practitioners who don’t work directly with psychedelics, as it can help patients prepare for and work with psychedelic experiences. We are excited to bring this learning opportunity to clinicians.”
The workshop includes an experiential component in which therapists will explore the effects of music on their own state of consciousness, which they can apply in their clinical practice with psychedelics or other non-ordinary states of consciousness.
Mendel Kaelen, PhD, is one of the leading scientific voices in this field. Dr. Kaelen’s work since 2012 as a neuroscientist at Imperial College London was the first to demonstrate music’s central role in psychedelic therapies. His research has been featured in Nature News, San Francisco Chronicle, VICE, Rolling Stone, TEDx, and more. Dr. Kaelen is founder and CEO of Wavepaths, which researches and develops technologies and methods for the use of music in psychedelic therapy.
“Music is profoundly influential on the experience and outcomes of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies, yet few clinicians know where or how to begin to offer music to their clients,” says Dr. Kaelen. “Wavepaths’ mission is to help fill this knowledge gap, supporting a rapidly growing community of therapists to achieve the highest possible standard of care for their clients.”
Webinar participants will also receive early access to the Wavepaths Music Guide [beta], and be invited to join the Wavepaths and Fluence community of therapists. Space is limited, so those wishing to attend the workshop are advised to register soon.
About Fluence
Fluence is an expertise-driven educational platform that provides professional certification and training in psychedelic therapy and psychedelic integration for psychiatrists, psychotherapists, social workers, and other healthcare practitioners. Fluence’s mission is to give healthcare providers the clinical skills and knowledge to provide effective, compassionate, evidence-based psychedelic therapy and integration services to patients through dynamic, interactive online and in-person training.
About Wavepaths
Wavepaths evolved out of the first clinical trial into psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression at Imperial College London, and provides an approach to wellbeing that reconnects us with our innate capacities to heal through music, technology, and psychedelic science.
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