Training the Next Generation: What It Takes to Become a Certified Psychedelic Integration Coach

Psychedelic use is on the rise, and as more clinical trials unlock the benefits of plant medicines and more people use them to heal, the demand for psychedelic integration coaching will only continue to go up.

So, how can you join this wave of psychedelic specialists and help people on their journey of transformation? It’s easier than you might realize, and in this guide, we’ll discuss the necessary steps to make it as a certified psychedelic integration coach.

Step Up Your Coaching Expertise

You don’t need prior coaching experience to become a psychedelic integration coach, but a little coaching experience may introduce you to the field and teach you some essentials about life coaching and psychotherapy.

Many psychedelic coaches begin as life coaches or executive coaches, with their psychedelic coaching certifications adding another string to their bow, allowing them to target more people and provide existing clients with more options.

This is especially helpful in the field of executive coaching. Tasked with assisting entrepreneurs, CEOs, and high-value executives, executive coaches help clients improve self-confidence while encouraging creative and innovative approaches. They often use a structured coaching plan to achieve these goals, one that begins by establishing what the client wants and then helping them achieve it.

In the last few years, many executives have turned to plant medicines to provide additional support, with advocates like Sergey Brin and Elon Musk helping to boost the popularity of psychedelics. By incorporating microdosing into their repertoire, executive coaches can provide much-needed expertise in this area and offer their clients the complete experience.

Of course, you don’t need to be certified to be a life coach, but it doesn’t hurt to explore your options, take a course or two, and absorb whatever information you can about executive/life coaching.

Familiarize Yourself With Plant Medicines

Third Wave’s live training sessions explore plant medicines like psilocybin, ketamine, LSD, and ibogaine in great detail. You will learn about these plant medicines and their uses over time, but it’s important to give yourself a strong foundation. If you’re going to be working with psychedelics and helping clients on their journey with them, you need to know what you’re working with.

You will learn about the effects and benefits of psychedelics from experienced tutors who have worked with plant medicines for many years. You’ll also be part of a community of over 6,000 members, all of whom regularly share their experiences with both psychedelics and coaching.

Learn from people who sit with plant medicines on a regular basis. Chat with fellow coaches. Immerse yourself in a community of like-minded people who have invaluable experiences and are more than happy to share.

Go On Your Own Personal Journey with Psychedelics

It’s not mandatory to use psychedelics before becoming a psychedelic coach, but it’s how many coaches get started. They experience plant medicines on a personal level, achieve some degree of personal healing, and then seek to help others achieve the same.

If you are completely new to psychedelics, we recommend getting started with our Microdosing Experience, led by Third Wave founder Paul F. Austin. This 45-day journey combines self-exploration with teaching and group coaching, giving you a taste of what it’s like to be a psychedelic coach while also assisting with your own personal psychedelic experiences.

Learn From Another Psychedelic Coach

There’s a growing community of certified psychedelic coaches on Third Wave. They can provide some excellent insights into your experiences with plant medicines while also showing you what it takes to be a psychedelic coach.

Learn from the best! Discover how these coaches can help you and then step into their shoes as you seek to provide the same benefits to others. Psychedelic coaching often consists of a few short sessions in which you prepare for an experience with psychedelics and then discuss it at length, but you can also hire a psychedelic coach after a previous experience.

The sooner you hire them, the better, but you can work with a psychedelic coach for as long as your last psychedelic journey remains fresh in your mind.

Complete the Practitioner Certification Program

Once you have familiarized yourself with the world of psychedelics and psychedelic coaching, it’s time to complete our Practitioner Certification Program. This 10-month program covers everything you need to know to help people on their journey, including:

12 weeks of classes covering the ‘theory’ of psychedelic coaching
Week-long psilocybin intensive in Costa Rica
6-month practicum, where you master the 5 key elements of psychedelic work

You can go from a complete beginner to a certified expert, and when you’ve successfully completed the course, you’ll be ready to start practicing as a psychedelic integration coach. It’s time to change lives!

Summary: Changing Lives as a Psychedelic Integration Coach

In a community post from December 2023, Third Wave founder Paul F. Austin asked community users about their “most impactful psychedelic experience”.

Janine Johnson stated that she wanted to make sure her next 20 years were joyous and without trauma after experiencing the deaths of multiple friends and family members. For Kip Greenhill, it was all about reducing “the anxieties and guilt from [the] past” in the final quarter of their life, while Christy Shannon expressed a desire to heal from PTSD so severe that they don’t leave their house if they don’t have to.

These are just a few of the stories from people who come to us seeking help, and they sit alongside countless posts from members who have more experience with plant medicines and have found the healing they sought.

As a psychedelic integration coach, it’s your job to help people transition from those difficult mindsets and traumatic experiences into a place of healing, health, and happiness. Achieving those goals provides the kind of fulfillment that all coaches seek—it’s why many of our coaches do what they do.

If you want to follow in their footsteps, sign up for our Practitioner Certification Program and start your journey as a certified psychedelic integration coach.