NASW-CA EmpowerEd Program

Course Description

Psychedelics have been practiced in indigenous communities for thousands of years and, recently, they have been making a breakthrough in Western medicine. Social workers have a unique and important role in the development of new mental health modalities. In this course, participants will learn about direct client care with the use of psychedelic interventions, specifically ketamine. In addition, participants will learn about the benefits of psychedelic medicine to treat mental health and the importance of social workers' involvement in the psychedelic renaissance.

Target Audience

This course was created for clinical social workers, behavioral health practitioners, and healthcare professionals interested in an introductory overview of the use of psychedelics, specifically Ketamine, for treatment of mental health disorders, such as depression.

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, the reader will be able to do the following:

• Receive a general overview of the use of ketamine as a psychedelic medicine to help treat mental health disorders including depression, anxiety, and PTSD.
• Understand the basic components of current psychedelic assisted therapy practices, including the ethics of psychedelic assisted therapy.
• Contemplate the areas of social work, including micro, mezzo and macro, in which psychedelics play a role in.