The Future of Facilitation is Here. Are You Ready?
The next generation of psilocybin facilitation is unfolding here in Colorado, where it is legal, regulated, and alive with possibility. As the field re-emerges after decades of prohibition, how facilitators learn to show up, hold space, and walk in right relationship with this medicine matters. The mentors who shape you, the ethics that guide your practice, and the values you carry into the room with your clients will define not just your work, but the culture of regulated natural medicine for years to come.
The Memoru Center for Visionary Healing Arts Psychedelic Facilitator Training (PFT) is an 8 month, 150-hour program designed to train the next generation of integrative psilocybin facilitators. Our state-approved curriculum exceeds Colorado’s natural medicine licensure requirements, preparing graduates to practice with competence, integrity, and presence.
Is this Training Right for You?
This training is designed for those with experience supporting others, whether you're deepening an existing practice or intentionally stepping into this work for the first time. Participants come from a range of professional backgrounds, but all share a foundation of working with people and a genuine commitment to the maturity, presence, and ethical grounding psilocybin facilitation requires.
This Program is Well-suited For:
- Licensed psychotherapists and mental health clinicians
- Medical providers
- Chaplains and spiritual care providers
- Coaches, doulas, and hospice workers
- Wellness providers and community care workers
- Anyone 21+ with relevant experience and a demonstrated commitment to ethical, grounded facilitation practice
Why Now?
Colorado is at the leading edge of a national shift toward regulated psychedelic services. Passed in 2022, the Natural Medicine Health Act established two professional licensure pathways for facilitators, creating an innovative legal framework to practice and define new standards for ethical psychedelic care. As public interest in natural medicine grows, so does the need for facilitators who embody the values and reverence this work demands.
Our team of educators will prepare you to meet this moment, drawing from over six decades of research, clinical care, and training to shape practitioners who are not just certified, but equipped to lead with integrity, accountability, and a deep commitment to those they serve.
Colorado Offers Two Pathways For Those Seeking Licensure:
Open to any eligible adult 21+. Requires completion of a 150-hour state-approved training program, Basic Life Support (BLS) certification, 40 hours of supervised practicum, and 40 hours of post-training consultation.
For professionals who hold an existing DORA license in Colorado (psychotherapists, medical providers). This pathway allows clinicians to integrate psilocybin services into their existing scope of practice. Requires completion of a 150-hour state-approved training program, Basic Life Support (BLS) certification, 40 hours of supervised practicum, and 40 hours of post-training consultation.
The Memoru Approach
We believe facilitation is a practice, not just a credential. It requires critical self-inquiry, ethical commitment, humility, reverence for the sacred, and a recognition that we grow best in relationship and community. The PFT program is structured accordingly, built around small group mentorship, experiential skill-building, and a learning community that stays with you beyond graduation.
Our curriculum is grounded in the mindfulness and compassion-based traditions of Naropa University, and is brought to life by educators with more than 60 years of combined experience in the psychedelic field. Their work spans 750+ hours of MDMA clinical trials, extensive facilitation experience, and the training of thousands of psychedelic therapists worldwide. Here, clinical rigor and contemplative wisdom are not separate ideals, but mutually informing aspects of how we teach and practice.
The PFT program is further shaped by a deep reverence for the indigenous roots of plant medicine traditions and a commitment to equity, community care, and healing justice. Our training begins with an intensive study of the use of psilocybin across cultural traditions, and participants learn directly from lineage carriers who have stewarded these practices across generations. Our approach is firmly grounded in a social justice framework that recognizes the lasting impact of structural oppression and the War on Drugs, and holds the sovereignty of the client, the facilitator, and the medicine itself as foundational to ethical practice.
Program Modules & Schedule Overview
Trainees move through our 8-month program following a series of monthly modules. Attendance at all live classes, Pod groups, and intensives is required to complete the program.
Live Classes and Pods: Meet alternating Thursdays (excluding holidays) via Zoom, 5:00–7:00 pm MT.
Weekend Intensives: Three immersive, two-day virtual intensives held via Zoom in October, January, and May, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm MT each day.
Self-Guided Work: Plan to spend approximately six hours per month on independent learning activities, including asynchronous content, readings, reflection journaling, assignments, and facilitator self-care activities.
Dates, times, and additional program details are outlined in the following schedule overview. Prospective applicants are encouraged to review the schedule before applying to ensure alignment with the program’s format and time commitments.
- Program Overview and Learning Expectations
No live class or pod groups
- Traditional Cultural Use and Decolonial Approaches to Psilocybin Facilitation
- Racial Justice and Intergenerational Trauma
- Empathy vs Compassion and Facilitator Self-Care
- Building Community and Establish Group Agreements
- The Memoru approach: Values & Ethics
Pods: October 1, 15, 29 | 5:00 - 7:00 pm MT
Live Classes: October 22 | 5:00 - 7:00 pm MT
Intensives: October 10-11 | 10:00 am - 4:00 pm MT
- Facilitator Best Practices and Core Competencies
- Mitigating Risk
- Abuse of Power and Ethical Facilitation
- Determining Client Eligibility
- Safety Considerations and Referral in Screening
Pods: November 12 | 5:00 - 7:00 pm MT
Live Classes: November 5, 19 | 5:00 - 7:00 pm MT
- Developing Therapeutic Rapport
- Informed Consent
- Developing a Safety Plan
Pods: December 3, 17 | 5:00 - 7:00 pm MT
Live Classes: December 10 | 5:00 - 7:00 pm MT
- Dosing Strategies and Subjective Experience
- Challenging Behaviors in Administration Sessions
- Traumatic Stress, De-escalation, and Safety in Administration Sessions
Pods: January 14, 28 | 5:00 - 7:00 pm MT
Live Classes: January 21 | 5:00 - 7:00 pm MT
Intensives: January 9-10 | 10:00 am - 4:00 pm MT
- Establishing and Maintaining Therapeutic Boundaries
- Trauma Physiology
- Trauma-Informed Communication Skills
Pods: February 11, 25 | 5:00 - 7:00 pm MT
Live Classes: February 4, 18 | 5:00 - 7:00 pm MT
- Integration Modalities and Resources
- Somatic Integration
- Nature as Integration Support
- Coordination of Care in Integration
Pods: March 11, 25 | 5:00 - 7:00 pm MT
Live Classes: March 4, 18 | 5:00 - 7:00 pm MT
- Integration Modalities and Resources
- End of Life and Palliative Care
- Spiritual Care
- Affinity-based Care
Pods: April 8, 22 | 5:00 - 7:00 pm MT
Live Classes: April 1, 15, 29 | 5:00 - 7:00 pm MT
- Boundaries and Group Dynamics in Group Facilitation
- Providing Individual Care and Navigating Challenging Experiences in Group Administration Sessions
- Setting Up a Compliant Facilitation Practice
- Colorado Natural Medicine Law, Licensing, and Scope of Practice
Pods: May 6, 20, 27 | 5:00 - 7:00 pm MT
Live Classes: May 13 | 5:00 - 7:00 pm MT
Intensives: May 22-23 | 10:00 am - 4:00 pm MT
Our Learning Model
Live classes are held every other week and are led by Lead Educators on a rotating basis. Each session focuses on a specific topic that aligns with the broader curriculum and integrates with what is being explored in Pods and asynchronous coursework.
Sessions combine didactic instruction with discussion and applied learning. Topics include: Traditional Roots & Healing Justice, Presence, Ethics & Harm Reduction, and Preparation, Set & Setting, and Safety Planning.
Pods are small, consistent cohorts that meet every other week and serve as the core learning environment of the program. Each Pod is led by one of our experienced Lead Educators, and offers space for deeper engagement with the curriculum, guided practice, and close mentorship.
Within Pods, trainees work through real-world scenarios, develop facilitation skills, and build relationships with their peers. These groups are intentionally small to support trust, accountability, and meaningful feedback throughout the program.
Three 12-hour weekend intensives are held at key points throughout the program. These immersive sessions are designed to deepen learning through extended instruction, practice, and group process. Led by program Lead Educators, and well as Memoru's cofounders, Sara Lewis, PhD, LCSW, Marcela Ot’alora G., MA, LPC, and Bruce Poulter, RN, MPH, these intensives offer trainees the opportunity to engage directly with senior faculty and highly regarded leaders in the field.
Participants complete approximately six hours per month of self-directed, asynchronous learning. This includes readings, recorded lectures, reflection practices, and assignments designed to deepen understanding and support integration of course material.
This format allows flexibility while ensuring continuity between live sessions and Pod-based learning.
Optional Practicum Add-On
For those who want to bridge didactic and experiential training, Memoru Center for Visionary Healing Arts practicums offers supervised facilitation practice within our licensed healing center.
Completion of a 40-hour practicum is required by the State of Colorado for individuals pursuing licensure as a Natural Medicine Facilitator or Clinical Facilitator. Our trainees have the option to complete this requirement at our licensed healing center in Boulder, working in small groups under the direct mentorship of our co-founders.
Practicum is where theoretical learning becomes applied facilitation. Trainees support one another in small facilitation pods where they also have the option to experience a facilitated psilocybin session as part of training. Up to 20 hours may be completed concurrently with didactic coursework.
Dates, details, and pricing will be shared when applications open.
Tuition Investment
What's Included:
- 150-hour Colorado state-approved curriculum
- Live instruction, immersive weekend intensives, and small group mentorship from senior clinicians
- 54 hours of asynchronous coursework
- Post-graduation licensure support
Deposit: $500 to secure your seat
Program: $7,455 divided into 3 payments
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and space is limited. A deposit is required to secure your seat.
Scholarships
Memoru Center for Visionary Healing Arts believes that equitable access to safe and ethical psychedelic medicine can support collective movement toward community healing and liberation. In support of this mission, we offer scholarships to participants from historically excluded communities, including People of the Global Majority, LGBTQIA+ individuals, veterans, people with disabilities, and those experiencing financial hardship. We aim to increase representation of diverse communities as psilocybin facilitators, and welcome all who feel called to this work.
Eligibility
- Be at least 21 years of age by September 24th, 2026
- Hold a high school diploma or equivalent
- Professional license in good standing, if applicable (for Colorado’s Clinical Facilitator tier)
International Participants
We welcome students from anywhere in the world. Please note that licensure pathways apply to Colorado only, but this training is open to all and there is no residence restriction for those who wish to pursue Colorado licensure.
Licensure is not required as a goal.
The program welcomes participants who are pursuing a Colorado facilitator license as well as those seeking training for personal or professional development without a licensure track.
Why Train with Memoru Center for Visionary Healing Arts
Memoru Center for Visionary Healing Arts grew out of a collaboration between the Naropa Center for Psychedelic Studies (NCPS) and internationally recognized researchers, clinicians, and trainers in psychedelic-assisted therapy. NCPS developed one of Colorado's first approved psilocybin facilitator training programs, and the contemplative traditions, ethical rigor, and commitment to social justice that defined NCPS programming remain the foundation of what we teach today.
Our founders bring over 60 years of combined experience across clinical research, facilitation, and practitioner training, including major contributions to MDMA-assisted therapy research and the training of thousands of psychedelic therapists worldwide. As operators of one of Colorado's first licensed natural medicine healing centers, we are not just educators, but engaged practitioners embedded in the current regulatory landscape. Our Lead Educators are senior clinicians, ritualists, and space-holders, bringing a depth of experience in liberatory medicine practice.
