Discernment in Psychedelic Therapy | Safety & Emergency Training | Texas

Professional Training • Safety • Discernment

Discernment in Psychedelic Therapy

Beyond Safe Set & Setting

A two-day professional training in discernment, safety, emergency preparedness, scope of practice, and CPR/AED education for psychedelic and ceremonial practitioners.

October 3–4, 2026 Coldspring, Texas Professional Training

Why This Training Matters

When Is an Intense Experience Part of the Process— and When Is More Help Needed?

As psychedelic therapies, ceremonial medicines, and expanded states of consciousness become more widely used, practitioners increasingly encounter experiences that can be difficult to interpret.

Most journeys unfold safely. Some become emotionally or psychologically intense. A small number may involve genuine medical or psychiatric emergencies.

The challenge is knowing the difference—and knowing what to do next.

This training was created to help practitioners recognize warning signs, understand the limits of their role, respond appropriately, and know when additional professional or emergency support may be needed.

This is where science, safety, and spirituality meet.

Who Should Attend?

Built for Practitioners Working in Expanded States

The training is designed especially for professionals, practitioners, facilitators, and support people who may encounter intense physical, emotional, psychological, or spiritual experiences in their work.

Psychedelic facilitators and sitters
Ceremony leaders and shamanic practitioners
Integration coaches
Retreat staff
Harm-reduction and peer-support professionals
Breathwork, somatic, meditation, and energy practitioners
Spiritual guides
Mental health and healthcare professionals

Two-Day Professional Training

From Discernment to Emergency Preparedness

Day 1 • Saturday, October 3

Discernment in Psychedelic Therapy

Learn practical frameworks for distinguishing between an intense but potentially manageable psychedelic experience and a situation requiring additional medical or psychiatric evaluation.

Understanding Altered States

  • Common psychedelic and psycho-spiritual experiences
  • Psychological distress, trauma responses, and spiritual emergence
  • Physical, emotional, and behavioral responses in non-ordinary states

Recognizing Red Flags

  • Significant changes in consciousness
  • Breathing and circulatory concerns
  • Seizure recognition
  • Heat-related illness
  • Cardiac warning signs
  • Severe agitation or confusion
  • Potential medication interactions
  • Situations exceeding a facilitator’s scope

Medical Crisis vs. Psycho-Spiritual Crisis

Explore practical ways of considering whether an experience may represent transformation, trauma activation, panic, psychological distress, or a potential medical or psychiatric emergency.

Scope, Ethics & Referral

Understand when supportive presence may be appropriate—and when consultation, referral, or emergency medical services may be necessary.

Communication During Crisis

Explore strategies for communicating with participants, families, healthcare professionals, and emergency responders.

Creating a Culture of Safety

Preparation, screening, observation, documentation, emergency planning, and collaborative care.

Day 2 • Sunday, October 4

Emergency Response & CPR/AED Training

Practical Skills for Safer Ceremonies & Retreats

Day 2 moves from discernment into practical emergency preparedness. Participants will explore how to respond when an unexpected event occurs in a psychedelic, ceremonial, retreat, or consciousness-expansion setting.

Emergency Response Education

Practical emergency response education and CPR/AED training designed to help participants recognize, respond, communicate, and escalate appropriately.

CPR/AED certification may be provided upon successful completion of the designated training and all requirements of the applicable certifying program.

Recognize. Respond. Know Your Limits. Know when to call for help.

A Culture of Responsible Care

Psychedelic Safety Requires More Than Set & Setting.

It requires discernment. It requires preparation. It requires knowing the limits of your role. And it requires relationships between medical, psychological, and ceremonial communities so that people can receive appropriate support when they need it.

We believe the future of responsible psychedelic care can be strengthened when science and spirituality are willing to sit at the same table.

Education. Discernment. Collaboration. Safety.

October 3–4, 2026

Reserve Your Space

Space is intentionally limited to support hands-on practice, meaningful discussion, and interactive learning.

Full Two-Day Training $650
Saturday Only $395 Discernment in Psychedelic Therapy
Sunday Only $295 Emergency Response & CPR/AED Training

Vegetarian lunch is included each day.

Golden Hill Retreat Center
7160 FM 224 Rd
Coldspring, TX 77331

Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is this psychedelic safety training for?

The training is designed especially for psychedelic facilitators, sitters, ceremony leaders, shamanic practitioners, integration coaches, retreat staff, harm-reduction and peer-support professionals, breathwork and somatic practitioners, spiritual guides, and mental health or healthcare professionals interested in psychedelic support.

What will participants learn?

Participants will explore altered states, warning signs, medical versus psycho-spiritual crises, scope of practice, communication during crisis, emergency planning, observation, documentation, referral, and appropriate escalation.

Does the training include CPR/AED certification?

Day 2 includes emergency response education and CPR/AED training. Participants who successfully complete the designated training and all requirements of the applicable certifying program may receive the corresponding CPR/AED certification from the authorized training provider.

Does this certify me as a psychedelic therapist or medical professional?

No. The program provides educational training and a Certificate of Participation or Completion only. It does not confer a medical license, clinical credential, psychedelic therapy credential, or authorization to diagnose or treat medical or psychiatric conditions.

Important Educational & Scope-of-Practice Notice

This program is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Participation does not confer a license, medical credential, clinical qualification, or authorization to diagnose, treat, prescribe for, or independently manage any medical or psychiatric condition.

The workshop is intended to improve general awareness, emergency preparedness, recognition of potential warning signs, understanding of professional boundaries, and appropriate escalation or referral. Participants are responsible for practicing within the scope permitted by their individual education, training, licensure or certification, and applicable laws and regulations.

Completion of this program provides a Certificate of Participation or Completion only and should not be represented as certification or credentialing in psychedelic therapy, medicine, emergency medicine, or mental health treatment.

CPR/AED certification is separate. Participants who successfully complete the designated CPR/AED training and all requirements of the applicable certifying program may receive the corresponding CPR/AED certification from the authorized training provider.

This training does not replace professional medical evaluation, emergency medical services, mental health assessment, or other appropriately licensed healthcare services. In an actual or suspected emergency, participants should activate appropriate emergency services and follow established emergency protocols.

Participation in this course does not create a physician-patient, therapist-client, or other healthcare-provider relationship between attendees and the host, Golden Hill Retreat Center, or affiliated organizations.

“What does this person need right now— and who is best qualified to provide it?”

Education. Discernment. Collaboration. Safety.

Meet Your Hosts

Held by the land, guided by experience, and supported by those devoted to creating spaces for transformation, connection, and remembrance.

Dr. Nelson Valena

Dr. Nelson Valena

Founder • Host • Wholistic Practitioner

Dr. Nelson Valeña is a board-certified Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation physician with a subspecialty in Brain Injury Medicine and more than 30 years of clinical experience.

Following his own recovery from a stroke in 2011, his work expanded into integrative medicine, energy medicine, medical hypnotherapy, shamanic healing, and psychedelic-assisted therapies.

Having participated in psychedelic work in both clinical and traditional ceremonial settings in the United States and internationally, Dr. Valeña advocates for safe, ethical, and responsible dialogue around psychedelic therapies.

As co-founder of Golden Hill Retreat Center and founder of the Entheogenic Practitioners Network (EPN), his mission is to help create meaningful collaboration among physicians, therapists, researchers, first responders, psychedelic facilitators, and traditional practitioners.

Stephanie

Dr. Stephanie Burgos

Host • Practitioner • Guide

Emergency Medicine Physician • Shamanic & Somatic Practitioner • Breathwork Facilitator

Dr. Stephanie Burgos is a board-certified Emergency Medicine physician whose work bridges modern medicine, nervous-system regulation, somatic practice, and sacred healing traditions.

Her years in emergency medicine have cultivated the ability to remain calm and discerning during medical, psychological, and emotional crises. Combined with her experience in shamanic, somatic, breathwork, and ceremonial practices, she brings a multidisciplinary perspective to psychedelic care.

Dr. Burgos will share practical insights into screening, risk assessment, medical contraindications, emergency recognition, and the discernment required when considering psycho-spiritual experiences alongside situations requiring professional medical or psychiatric intervention.

Valerie

Valerie McKenzie

Host • Practitioner • Guide

Founder, Ancient Roots Alchemy • Trained First Responder • CPR/AED/First Aid Instructor • Advanced Master Herbalist • Trauma-Informed Practitioner

Valerie McKenzie brings more than a decade of experience across emergency response, medical, and holistic wellness environments, including more than six years supporting plant medicine ceremonies, breathwork, somatic practices, and integrative healing spaces.

Her work bridges practical emergency preparedness with trauma-informed and ceremonial approaches to care.

Valerie will provide practical tools for emergency response, early warning recognition, risk reduction, and safety protocols while emphasizing that effective emergency preparedness begins long before an emergency occurs.

Held by people. Supported by place. Activated through connection.