Cybin Launches Psychedelic Facilitator Training Program

Cybin, a biotechnology firm specializing in progressing psychedelic therapeutics, has announced the launch of a facilitator training program for its EMBARK psychedelic treatment model.

EMBARK (Existential-spiritual, Mindfulness, Body aware, Affective-cognitive, Relational, Keeping momentum) is Cybin’s psychotherapy model that integrates clinical approaches to promote supportive healing with psychedelic medicine. The model was created by Bill Brennan, PhD (cand.) and Cybin chief clinical officer Alex Belser, PhD.

The training program offers psychedelic clinical trial facilitators foundational training for the provision of care to participants receiving psychedelic treatment. The model focuses on experiential learning, starting with in-person education at the Whidbey Institute in Washington state.

Cybin said in a news release that the fall cohort of the EMBARK training program is a collaboration with the University of Washington, and that facilitators are preparing for the first clinical trial to explore the potential for psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to treat healthcare workers who have experienced COVID-19-related distress, focusing on symptoms of depression, anxiety, burnout, and post-traumatic stress. The study will be hosted in Seattle, one of the first US cities to be hit with a COVID-19 outbreak.