Clients are increasingly bringing psychedelic experiences into ongoing psychotherapy. These experiences may arise in clinical trials or clinics abroad, but also through unsupervised personal use. The question is no longer simply, “What happened?” but, “How do we work with it in therapy?” This is where well-facilitated integration can help transform a chaotic, sometimes overwhelming experience into meaningful change.
This is an advanced course because it focuses on understanding and facilitating integration within psychotherapy. No psychedelic substances are used, and the course does not cover preparation for psychedelic sessions or the administration or use of psychedelic substances; these substances remain illegal in Poland.
Instead, it explores what happens afterwards: how to make sense of the material, integrate it into the therapeutic process and draw on your existing clinical toolkit, so that integration becomes a coherent part of therapy rather than a separate or peripheral topic.
This course takes a clinical perspective: it prepares professionals to address psychedelic-related material with people who are already in treatment. We approach the subject openly, regardless of a person’s reasons for using a substance. A clinical perspective does not exclude other non-medical ways of understanding the experience.
Within a harm-reduction framework, participants learn to understand motivations, risks and the experience itself, and to integrate material brought by the client within the boundaries of their professional role and the treatment already under way.
What psychedelic integration is
Integration is the process of making sense of an experience and translating its implications into everyday life. In the context of psychedelics, it means therapeutic work with material that emerged during the experience – emotions, images and insights, but also fear or disorientation. Integration is not an exercise in analysing a ‘trip’, nor does it encourage further psychedelic use. It draws on the fundamentals of psychological and psychotherapeutic work while paying particular attention to the nature of psychedelic states. This advanced course focuses on incorporating that work into the psychotherapeutic process as a whole.
Who this course is for
- Psychologists and psychotherapists who already have a grounding in psychedelics – through the introductory course or equivalent clinical experience – and want to undertake integration work within therapy.
- Clinicians whose clients bring psychedelic experiences into ongoing psychotherapy and who want to understand and incorporate them into the process rather than treat them as a separate or peripheral topic.
- Therapists working in different modalities who want to explore how their existing toolkit – psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural, somatic, parts work or existential – can contribute to integration.
- Professionals working with trauma, addiction or existential crises who encounter the subject of psychedelics and want to explore it in depth rather than merely ‘manage’ it in the consulting room.
New to this area? Begin with the introductory course "Psychedelics in the consulting room for psychologists and psychotherapists".
Programme
The course comprises seven modules over three days – from the phenomenology of psychedelic experiences, through integration within psychotherapy and the use of your existing clinical toolkit, to live supervision. The programme is a working draft and may change slightly before the date is announced.
- 01
What integration is – and what it is not
- Models of integration and their limitations
- Boundaries: integration versus analysing a ‘trip’, and integration versus encouraging further experiences
- What integration cannot resolve: setting realistic expectations
- 02
The phenomenology of psychedelic experiences
- Types of material: mystical, distressing (‘bad trip’), biographical, disorganising and somatic
- How to make sense of and organise what a client brings into the consulting room
- What research tells us about the persistence and significance of these experiences
- 03
Integration within psychotherapy
- Incorporating integration into an ongoing therapeutic process rather than treating it as an adjunct
- Contract, therapeutic frame and pace: when integration becomes central to therapy and when it remains a discrete episode
- Working with a client who is planning an experience and with one who has already had an experience
- 04
Drawing on your existing clinical toolkit
- What different modalities can contribute to integration: psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural, somatic, parts work (IFS), and existential–humanistic approaches
- How to draw systematically on your own toolkit when understanding and working with an experience
- Matching interventions to the material and the client
- The limitations of your own modality: what not to overinterpret
- Time for reflection: what in your own therapeutic training can support this work, and what can make it harder to incorporate a psychedelic experience into therapy
- Space for shared reflection and an exchange of good practice among participants
- 05
Working with difficult material
- Stabilisation and regulation: anxiety, disorganisation and material experienced as intensely meaningful
- Making sense of the experience and translating insight into everyday life – without ‘spiritual bypassing’
- Setbacks, idealisation of the experience and the trap of chasing ‘breakthroughs’
- 06
Risk, boundaries and ethics – advanced level
- Red flags and differential diagnosis: psychosis, mania, dissociation and PTSD
- The legal status of psychedelics in Poland and clear communication about your professional role
- Supervision and self-care for therapists working with this subject
- 07
Case study and live supervision
- Analysis of authentic, anonymised integration processes
- Work with cases brought by participants
- Live questions and answers
What you will learn
- You will be able to facilitate integration as a coherent part of the psychotherapeutic process, rather than as an isolated ‘conversation about the trip’.
- You will recognise different types of psychedelic experience and select suitable approaches from your existing clinical toolkit for each.
- You will learn to work with difficult material – anxiety, disorganisation and mystical content – in a stabilising way, without naivety or ‘spiritual bypassing’.
- You will recognise when psychiatric consultation or referral is needed and maintain clear professional boundaries.
Format and logistics
- Format
- In person in Bydgoszcz (lectures, workshop and supervision)
- Duration
- 3 days
- Level
- Advanced; prior grounding in the subject is required
- Materials
- Course handbook and reading list
- Certificate
- Certificate of completion for participants
- Date and price
- To be confirmed; join the interest list to be among the first to know
Your instructor
Łukasz Warchoł is a psychologist, neuropsychologist and psychodynamic psychotherapist. He co-founded and leads Propsyche Centrum Medyczne and Promente Clinical Research Centre in Bydgoszcz. For several years, he has trained therapists in psychedelic-assisted therapy and worked on international clinical trials involving psilocybin and other compounds. As a consultant for COMPASS Pathways and a trainer at Fluence, he helps recruit and train therapists for clinical trials. He combines a researcher’s perspective with day-to-day clinical work and takes a cautious, non-evangelical approach to psychedelics.
Please note: the course is delivered in Polish. An English-language edition can be arranged on request.
Frequently asked questions
Are psychedelic substances administered during the course?
No. This course concerns psychological work only: the integration of experiences that a client brings into the consulting room. It does not involve administering, obtaining or using any substances. Classic psychedelics remain illegal in Poland, and the course fully complies with current law.
Do I need previous knowledge or experience?
Yes. This is an advanced course. We assume a grounding in work with psychedelic-related material, whether gained through the introductory course “Psychedelics in the consulting room for psychologists and psychotherapists” or through equivalent clinical experience. A background in psychology or psychotherapy is also required.
Where does the course take place, and how long does it last?
The course takes place in person in Bydgoszcz over three days. The precise address and timetable will be provided when the date is announced.
Will I receive a certificate?
Yes. Participants receive a certificate of completion. Details of any continuing professional development credits or accreditation will be provided when the date is announced.
When will the course run, and how much will it cost?
Leave your details in the form below. I will let you know as soon as registration opens and send you the full programme.
Join the interest list
The dates and final programme are still being arranged. Leave your details and I’ll contact you with the date, agenda and information about taking part. Joining the list does not commit you to attending.
Have a question, or would you like to arrange this course for your team? Send me a message through the contact form or email me directly at kontakt@lukaszwarchol.com.