Jeffrey Guss, MD
“The NYU Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety Research Project’s Psychedelic Psychotherapy Training Program”

In September 2008, the NYU Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety Research Project began a training program for study therapists, in preparation to work with individuals suffering from existential anxiety in reaction to their cancer diagnosis. The program integrates training in palliative care with preparation to sit as a psychedelic psychotherapist.

In this presentation, I will discuss the hybrid of models necessary to conceptualize psychedelic psychotherapy training in a contemporary academic medical research setting. The three components of training – didactic, experiential and supervision – will be presented, with attention being given to experiential aspects of the training program. Adaptation to the context of an academic setting will be discussed as well as the question of therapists’ experiences with psychedelic agents.

Biography

Jeffrey Guss, MD is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine. He is an Investigator, Director of Psychedelic Psychotherapy Training and a study therapist in the NYU Psilocybin and Cancer Anxiety Research Project. Recent publications in: Psychoanalysis, Culture, and Society and Studies in Gender and Sexuality. A graduate of the NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, Dr. Guss maintains a private practice of psychiatry in New York City, specializing in psychotherapy as well as the outpatient treatment of addictive disorders.