The Synthesis Four-Lens Approach Honors Many Ways of Knowing
The Synthesis approach recognizes that there are many ways of knowing. Our understanding of psychedelics, psychedelic care, and the psychedelic journey acknowledges and honors these different perspectives, using four primary lenses designed to capture the breadth and depth of the psychedelic field.
EMBODIED WISDOM
The capacity to access your own embodied wisdom is a prerequisite of being able to hold space for others. Through the lens of embodied wisdom practices including somatic, spiritual, and self-reflection exercises, personal conduct and ethics can be explored and developed in a holistic way.
COGNITIVE WISDOM
This lens looks at the contributions of history, philosophy, and science to our modern-day understanding of psychedelics.
SACRED WISDOM
This lens explores the variety of ways in which people create meaning in their lives, including spiritual, philosophical, nature-based, and wisdom-based approaches.
RELATIONAL WISDOM
This lens encourages us to develop a deeper sense of our role in relation to the wider ecosystem of life. Building relational wisdom and intelligence involves exploring ways of being more deliberate and intentional in our work, as we seek to make a meaningful impact in the world.
MEET YOUR PRESENTERS
Internationally recognized leaders bring to life a holistic and trauma-informed foundational course on ethical psychedelic care.
Dr. Rosalind Watts is a clinical psychologist, a mother, and a nature lover. She has become a leading voice in psychedelic research through her roles as Clinical Lead for Imperial College London's psilocybin trial and Clinical Director at Synthesis Institute. Noted among the “50 Most Influential People in Psychedelics” as well as one of the top “Top 16 Women Shaping the Future of Psychedelics”, her focus is on integration, harm reduction, and inclusion. She leads ACER Integration, an integration community that aims to provide experiential education around integrating singular experiences into the wider collective and connecting more deeply to the self, others, and nature.
Daan Keiman is a Synthesis Content Advisor and the former Lead Facilitator and Director of Program and Product Development at the Synthesis Institute. He holds an MA in Spiritual Care and is the co-founder of Guild of Guides Netherlands, an organization that seeks to professionalize psychedelic sitting services, and of the Communitas Collective, a psychedelic think-and-practice tank. He has guided and cared for people in altered states of consciousness for over 15 years, ranging from harm reduction work at festivals to his private practice as a psychedelic and Buddhist chaplain.
Daan draws from his personal Buddhist practices, psychedelic research, and professional experiences to create compassionate and powerful containers for personal and relational transformation. Currently, his interest lies in understanding the ethics of offering psychedelic care.
CLOSE
Camille Separa Barton (they/them) is an artist, consultant and educator who explores creative interventions that sustain life. Embodiment, healing justice, and drug policy are key threads within their work. Camille is certified in the Resilience Toolkit and previously led the Collective Liberation Project, providing workshops and training on embodied approaches to anti-racism. In recent years, Camille has taught within various programmes for psychedelic therapists in training. Since 2017, they have worked to ensure that MDMA Psychotherapy will be accessible to BIPOC and other communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs.
Meghan Kennedy, LCSW, CPTR, 30-year private practice specializing in trauma & systemic disequilibrium, she has been an international consultant on psychosocial and culturally-sensitive treatment issues for communities under siege due to war, political unrest and natural disasters. Her understanding of the interdependent features of trauma, addictions-formation and character structure lends to working with the parallel processes seen in greater cultural disequilibrium - and requiring greater healing modalities. International consulting experiences lead her to explore the utilization of psychedelic substances across varying cultural settings. In 2016 Meghan was certified in Psychedelic-assisted Therapies & Research at the California Institute of Integral Studies in their inaugural run of the first accredited university program of its kind. This lead to working in research with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies as an adherence rater for the trials on MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD. She has taught on the topics of trauma and transpersonal healing frameworks, as well as risk mitigation and integration of non-dual states of consciousness for several years. Meghan is also working to create mainstream structures that will assure a swift and just roll-out of these treatments and the training necessary to provide them once governmental structures clear the way.Trust in the greater cosmology reached through this work is what fuels her belief in, and service to, this important healing paradigm.
CLOSE
Dr. Anja Loizaga-Velder is a German-Mexican clinical psychologist with a deep connection to indigenous psychedelic healing practices spanning over three decades. She co-founded the Nierika Institute in Mexico, dedicated to preserving indigenous traditions with sacred plant medicines and research around their therapeutic applications for mental health and personal growth. She has published several research articles and book chapters exploring the therapeutic potential of entheogens for treating mental health challenges and has presented her work as a speaker at many conferences. Anja collaborates as a learning facilitator and guest faculty in the Synthesis Psychedelic Practitioner Training program.
Be Part of a New Paradigm in Health and Wellness
by Joining Leading Psychedelic Professionals for a
3-Day Foundational Course in Ethical Psychedelic Care
Informed by current clinical research and wisdom practices, this course is built on our four-lens pedagogy and interdisciplinary framework shaped by the Synthesis Institute’s experience of guiding over 1,000 individuals through psychedelic-supported retreat programs.
DAY 1
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23rd
7 AM - 9 AM PT / 10 AM - 12 PM ET / 4 PM - 6 PM CET / 3 PM - 5 PM GMT
Opening and Orientation
7 AM PT - 7.15 AM PT
with Frederica Helmiere
Frederica is the Synthesis Psychedelic Practitioner Training Program Director and a designer and facilitator of transformational learning experiences -- in classrooms, workplaces, community groups, and in the backcountry. Fascinated by the ways that consciousness, worldviews, and discourses change and expand, she has spent the past twenty years exploring the tools available to respond to civilizational crises, especially the modern West's loss of the sacred.
Frederica holds master's degrees from Yale Divinity School and the Yale School of the Environment and a BA in Religion and Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College. She has served as a Peace Corps volunteer, taught 22 distinct university-level courses at the University of Washington and Seattle University, and worked as a global interfaith peacebuilder at the United Religions Initiative. Prior to Synthesis, Frederica served as Director of Education at Spiritual Directors International, designing online learning experiences for advanced spiritual professionals. An avid backpacker, triathlete, and mountain enthusiast, she lives in Seattle with her husband and two daughters.
7.15 AM PT - 8.45 AM PT
Workshop #1: Community and Nature-Based Models for Psychedelic Care by Dr. Rosalind Watts
Dr. Rosalind Watts is a Synthesis faculty member, clinical psychologist, a mother, and a nature lover. She has become a leading voice in psychedelic research through her roles as Clinical Lead for Imperial College London's psilocybin trial and Clinical Director at Synthesis Institute. Noted among the “50 Most Influential People in Psychedelics” as well as one of the top “Top 16 Women Shaping the Future of Psychedelics”, her focus is on integration, harm reduction, and inclusion. She leads ACER Integration, an integration community that aims to provide experiential education around integrating singular experiences into the wider collective and connecting more deeply to the self, others, and nature.
-2.png)
Closing Practice
8.45 AM PT - 9 AM PT
with Dr. Léla Mosemghvdlishvili
Dr. L. (Léla) Mosemghvdlishvili is a transformative educator working on the intersections of academia, wisdom traditions, and embodied practices. Lela has served as a board member of the Amsterdam Psychedelic Research Association (APRA) since 2017. At the University of Amsterdam, they designed and have been teaching an interdisciplinary elective project Critical Issues in Psychedelic Renessainsefor the past five years. A notable part of Lela's life is devoted to the ongoing study and practice of Maha and Ati Yoga, experiential dancing, and regular silent retreats for introspection. These modalities are vital sources of insight and understanding to them. Lela is also an authorized Feeding Your Demons® facilitator, and meditation teacher.
DAY 2
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24th
8 AM - 12 PM PT / 11 AM - 3 PM ET / 5 PM - 9 PM CET / 4 PM - 8 PM GMT
Opening and Centering
8 AM PT - 7.15 AM PT
with Frederica Helmiere
Frederica is the Synthesis Psychedelic Practitioner Training Program Director and a designer and facilitator of transformational learning experiences -- in classrooms, workplaces, community groups, and in the backcountry. Fascinated by the ways that consciousness, worldviews, and discourses change and expand, she has spent the past twenty years exploring the tools available to respond to civilizational crises, especially the modern West's loss of the sacred.
Frederica holds master's degrees from Yale Divinity School and the Yale School of the Environment and a BA in Religion and Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College. She has served as a Peace Corps volunteer, taught 22 distinct university-level courses at the University of Washington and Seattle University, and worked as a global interfaith peacebuilder at the United Religions Initiative. Prior to Synthesis, Frederica served as Director of Education at Spiritual Directors International, designing online learning experiences for advanced spiritual professionals. An avid backpacker, triathlete, and mountain enthusiast, she lives in Seattle with her husband and two daughters.
8.15 AM PT - 9.45 AM PT
Workshop #2: The Ecology of Ethics in Psychedelic Care by Daan Keiman
Daan Keiman is a Synthesis faculty member, content advisor, and Synthesis’s former lead facilitator and director of program development. Daan holds an MA in Spiritual Care and is the co-founder of the Guild of Guides Netherlands, an organization that seeks to professionalize psychedelic sitting services, and of the Communitas Collective, a psychedelic think-and-practice tank. He has guided and cared for people in altered states of consciousness for over 15 years, ranging from harm reduction work at festivals to his private practice as a psychedelic and Buddhist chaplain. Daan draws from his personal Buddhist practices, psychedelic research, and professional experiences to create compassionate and powerful containers for personal and relational transformation. Currently, his interest lies in understanding the ethics of offering psychedelic care.
10 AM PT - 11.30 AM PT
Workshop #3: Embodied Psychedelic Care: Somatics and Social Justice by Camille Barton
Closing Practice
11.30 AM PT - 12 AM PT
with Mina Samuals
Mina Samuels is a writer, speaker, playwright, and performer, and in a previous incarnation, a litigation lawyer and human rights advocate; as well as an athlete and meditation practitioner, trained in Non-Violent Communication and Internal Family Systems. Mina offers workshops and one-on-one facilitations on the transformative power of the body-mind connection and how it nourishes our whole self. Her books include, Run Like A Girl 365 Days: A Practical, Personal, Inspirational Guide for Women Athletes and Run Like a Girl: How Strong Women Make Happy Lives and she writes regularly for Medium and Fit Is A Feminist Issue. She has also created and performed two award-winning solo shows and an ensemble play.
DAY 3
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25th
8 AM - 12 PM PT / 11 AM - 3 PM ET / 5 PM - 9 PM CET
Opening and Centering
8 AM PT - 8.15 AM PT
with Frederica Helmiere
Frederica is the Synthesis Psychedelic Practitioner Training Program Director and a designer and facilitator of transformational learning experiences -- in classrooms, workplaces, community groups, and in the backcountry. Fascinated by the ways that consciousness, worldviews, and discourses change and expand, she has spent the past twenty years exploring the tools available to respond to civilizational crises, especially the modern West's loss of the sacred.
Frederica holds master's degrees from Yale Divinity School and the Yale School of the Environment and a BA in Religion and Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College. She has served as a Peace Corps volunteer, taught 22 distinct university-level courses at the University of Washington and Seattle University, and worked as a global interfaith peacebuilder at the United Religions Initiative. Prior to Synthesis, Frederica served as Director of Education at Spiritual Directors International, designing online learning experiences for advanced spiritual professionals. An avid backpacker, triathlete, and mountain enthusiast, she lives in Seattle with her husband and two daughters.
8.15 AM PT - 9.45 AM PT
Workshop #4: Harm Reduction Practices and Trauma-Informed Psychedelic Care by Meghan Kennedy
10 AM PT - 11.30 AM PT
Workshop #5: Many Ways of Knowing: Indigenous and Clinical Perspectives by Dr. Anja Loizaga-Velder
.png)
Closing Practice
11.30 AM PT - 12 AM PT
with Costanza di Prisco
Costanza di Prisco is the Lead Facilitator of the Synthesis Immersion Experience Training Retreats. She began working with psychedelics in 2012, first as a participant and later training as a psychedelic practitioner and breathwork facilitator. Costanza studied body psychology and somatic therapy in Mexico and has taken teacher training in yoga, meditation, and acupressure. Costanza follows the lineage of the Shipibo tribe from Peru and has completed a master plant dieta with Noya Rao. Her facilitation style includes traditional practices to create profound transformational experiences.
