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CU Denver pioneers legal psychedelic facilitator program
Posted
August 5, 2025
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August 5, 2025
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0:31Now PlayingColorado’s first and only state-approved psychedelic facilitator training program, offered by a public university, is a new 16-week hybrid training program for facilitators of psychedelic-assisted mental health care.
The University of Colorado Denver program was approved by the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, or DORA. Future facilitators will complete academic coursework at CU Denver before moving into hands-on practice with licensed partners, allowing them to become trainees in under six months.
RELATED: Denver issues first psychedelic healing center license
The training launches as public interest in psychedelic therapy surges. With mounting evidence showing its potential to treat conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, more mental health providers and policymakers are embracing the once-taboo treatments.
As Colorado builds out its regulated model, including licensed healing centers and affordable training programs, CU Denver will help shape national standards and best practices. The university is shaping how psychedelic therapy is introduced responsibly to the public.
The program is based on three skillsets, which is ethical integrity, psychedelic expertise and embodied presence. It's to teach trainees emotional regulation, self-awareness and the ability to stay grounded during client experiences.
“This program prepares facilitators to provide psychedelic care safely, responsibly and with compassion,” said Vivian Shyu, Ph.D., director of education and training at CU Denver’s Center for Psychedelic Research. “We’re helping to set the ethical and professional foundation for a field that’s still taking shape — and getting it right matters.”
Shyu is a teaching professor in CU Denver’s Psychology Department and a trained psychedelic-assisted therapy facilitator. Her research focuses on cognitive neuroscience and the evolving landscape of psychedelic drug use.
Colorado recently established a legal pathway to licensure for facilitators under the state’s Natural Medicine Health Act.
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