Speaker Bio
Paul Liknaitzky is Head of the Clinical Psychedelic Lab at Monash University, and Chief Principal Investigator on a program of psychedelic trials. He is a Senior Research Fellow within the Dept of Psychiatry at Monash University, and has an Honours degree in Neuroscience and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Melbourne. In Australia, he is an Investigator on many of the country’s initial psychedelic trials across multiple institutions, has coordinated several psychedelic therapist training and supervision programs, and leads the first clinical psychedelic lab. His work is focused on a rigorous program of research in clinical psychedelics that seeks to innovate on treatment design, evaluate therapeutic effects, mitigate known risks, explore potential drawbacks, and understand therapeutic mechanisms.
ICPR 2024 Abstract
Psilocybin-assisted therapist training: outcomes from a world-first study
After decades in the wilderness, psychedelic therapies are poised to re-enter medical care. While many basic clinical questions are still under investigation, the imminent prospect of a new class of treatments is motivation to explore questions surrounding their implementation. Key among these are methods of training psychedelic therapists and the associated competencies, arguably central to safe and effective clinical outcomes. As part of an extensive psychedelic therapist training program our Lab at Monash University provided psilocybin with support to therapist volunteers (n=14) working within a clinical psychedelic trial. Each participant received one preparation session, one dosing session (25 mg psilocybin), and one integration session. Findings from this world-first proof-of-concept study will be described, including therapist reported changes to professional competencies. The results from this study make an important contribution to the broader conversation surrounding methods of training therapists and the implementation of psychedelic therapies into healthcare.