Psychedelics, Altered States and Transpersonal Psychology

This one-year course is considered part time. It includes three modules, spanning four months each. The course offers an immersive and intensive learning journey that is designed to stretch you.

You can expect to spend approximately 10-12 hours per week studying learning resources, partaking in webinars, communicating in forums, preparing assignments, and engaging in peer dialogue, as well as supervision sessions.

The course structure should be manageable alongside your other responsibilities. We will provide you with comprehensive schedule information, so you can plan ahead.

Psychedelics – “mind/soul manifesting” – or entheogens – “creating the divine within” – are substances that stimulate profound qualitative changes to one’s state of consciousness.

These substances, in the form of flora, fungi, and occasionally fauna, have been used by humans for millennia in their magico-spiritual practices, often termed ‘shamanic’.

More recently these substances have been explored scientifically and medically for their potentially beneficial properties in the treatment of psychological and, increasingly, physical health problems, as well as in the catalysis of creative problem solving and spiritual insight, and for personal growth.

Core to the psychedelic and altered states journey is the enhanced occurrence of ‘exceptional human experiences’ – a range of psychic manifestations that have largely been ignored, pathologized or demonised within Western culture – but which can be a wellspring of personally transformative events that can lead to psychological, philosophical, moral, spiritual, ecological and inter-personal reorientation, insight, healing and growth, albeit dependent to a large extent upon of a culture and community of understanding, preparation, integration and acceptance.

In the current era of what has been called the psychedelic research renaissance, it is becoming increasingly important to explore, study and understand the transpersonal dimension of psychedelic experiences, and concomitantly other altered states of consciousness, as these have been shown to go hand in hand with these experience and they have important implications for the treatment of psychological conditions in clinical research.

Furthermore, much can be learned about the nature of consciousness and its underlying neurobiology from examining the transpersonal nature of psychedelic experiences and other altered states and this research is at the cutting edge of consciousness research.

It is a strong assertion that students do not participate in any illegal activity – e.g., some psychedelics are controlled substances in some countries – nor endanger themselves mentally or physically beyond their normal activities, experience or ability, and that they take responsibility for themselves, nor put anyone else at risk.

Any proposal for reflexive study that is considered a risk in this regard, beyond that individual’s current experience and activity will be rejected.

All research-based projects must be ethically sound to be accepted

Observation can either be one’s personal activity – example pursuits above –  or the research – e.g., ethnography, online survey, case report – of others’ experience.

Examples of observation and research of others’ activities could include reflexive reports of working with people having psychedelic experiences.

Such as a therapist, a retreat experience ‘sitter’/facilitator, or as a festival drug welfare volunteer.

Ethnographic research, such as interviews, live observation – with trance mediums, neo-shamanic practitioners, meditators, yoga practitioners, etc.

Or anonymous online surveys exploring telepathic experiences among MDMA users.