Mind-blowing research: Novel UC Berkeley program trains, certifies psychedelic guides

THERE’S A RESURGENCE in psychedelics, banned since 1970 by the federal Controlled Substances Act. That law, signed by then-President Richard Nixon, halted what had been promising research into the drugs’ therapeutic and medicinal potential. Today, psychedelics have been shown in recent, approved clinical trials to alleviate mental distress, even addiction. As a result, efforts to legalize their use also are on the rise.

This fall, 24 people in a first-of-its-kind training program at the year-old UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics are learning to safely guide patients’ psychedelic experiences in therapeutic and research settings. The group of advanced professionals chosen for the nine-month, 175-hour program includes doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, chaplains and others.