Up-level your Plant Medicine Facilitation Skills,
Cultivate your Confidence,
and Lead with Trauma-Awareness and Safety for All.
Gain the tools, skills, and heart-centered guidance to facilitate plant medicine sessions with deep integrity and care.
Working with sacred plant medicines can present enormous psycho-spiritual challenges. Although many seek to heal trauma imprints through plant medicines, few facilitators are equipped with trauma awareness education and lack the skills to respond effectively to trauma imprints when they arise in psychedelic sessions.
Our unique and specialised 85-hour trauma-informed plant medicine facilitator program equips facilitators to skilfully respond to trauma imprints with attunement, presence, repair, and care, thus ensuring a safe and trauma-sensitive ceremonial space.
Plant medicines have an enormous power to heal the body, psyche, and spirit, release psychological defences, and can often reactivate past unresolved trauma. At times, the latter happens in a way that is too fast and intense, and repercussions could be re-traumatising and psychologically harmful. Many trauma survivors may lack the resilience, tips, and tools for navigating such an experience, and it is our sacred responsibility as facilitators to care for such survivors in a way that prioritises their safety and creates repair.
As facilitators, we uphold an ethical duty to prioritise our participants’ health and well-being throughout the entire ceremonial experience, including the screening, preparation, and integration process. It is fundamental to understand the essential concepts of trauma recovery and to learn the best practices for responding effectively to signs of trauma imprints.
This 85 hour training will provide you with the foundation you need to become trauma-informed as a plant medicine facilitator, expanding your somatic skills, and deepening interpersonal and emotional attunement to hold a healing space for yourself and others.
Our Program Description:
This newly revised 85 hour training is delivered over 3 modules spanning 3 months from 21st April – 21st July 2024. The program includes a combination of:
- Online live zoom workshops (40 hours) with Atira Tan and guest teachers
- Experiential practice cohort sessions (5 hours)
- Video lectures (20 hours)
- Q & A sessions (6 hours)
- Bonus Video demonstration sessions (4 hours)
- Trauma-informed masterclasses with Ayahuasca, Bufo and Psilocybin. (5 hours)
- Self-study (5 hours).
The course is delivered over 13 weeks of online learning, and all students who complete our certificate requirements will receive our certificate of completion.
Our Schedule:
“Ayahuasca can evoke direct but long-suppressed memories of trauma.
It can also trigger emotional states and visions of horror and pain that are not direct recollections, but emotional imprints of trauma.”
– Dr. Gabor Mate.
“Atira’s extensive knowledge on the subject of trauma and working within the plant medicine context has been immensely beneficial.
I’ve gained a deeper sense of how to hold the container of healing, which in turn, opens doors for journeyers to be met with more compassion, understanding, and safety to move through their process.”
– SIMONE MACKAY, Founder of Somah Journeys, Canada
“Wow!! I just want to say thank you for holding space for such an incredible informational experience.
I feel that I have SO many resources now to draw upon now. Atira is filled with experience and holds such beautiful, vibrant energy that is powerful. I feel safe, and seen in her presence! This training was true magic!”
– MOLLY MOON, Grandmother Facilitator, Isreal.
As a Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Facilitator,
you’ll be able to:
- Reduce the risk of retraumatisation in participants.
- Recognise trauma imprints and identify signs of trauma in participants during the preparation, ceremonial and integration phases of plant medicine work.
- Create safe spaces and establish environments and facilitator-participant relationships that foster safety, trust and attunement.
- Understand trauma awareness based on neuroscience and somatic psychology.
- Posses knowledge of foundational principles of trauma and the nervous system to inform your facilitation approach.
- Skilfully navigate psycho-spiritual challenges in non-ordinary states, addressing them with sensitivity and expertise.
- Provide trauma-sensitive post-ceremony and integration support for trauma resolution.
- Communicate in a trauma-informed manner, which is compassionate and empathetic, ensuring safety in the interpersonal relationship.
- Support trauma survivors to build their inner resilience and “Window of Presence” through somatic resourcing.
- Uphold your ethical responsibility by prioritising the wellbeing and health of participants, both physically and psychologically.
- Respond resourcefully to various trauma imprints and nervous system patterns, employing somatic resourcing strategies that lead to repair and prevent re-traumatisation.
- Provide participants with psycho-education on trauma awareness, and support them in preparing for their ceremonial experience with mindfulness, somatic resources and support.
Module 1:
TRAUMA-INFORMED FACILITATION SKILLS IN CEREMONY
21st April – 6th June 2024
MODULE 1 KEY CORE CURRICULUM SUBJECTS
- Overview of Trauma and the Nervous System
- Working with the Polyvagal Theory in Non-Ordinary States.
- The different categories of trauma that show up frequently in altered states of consciousness.
- The Shamanic Paradigm vs Western Contemporary Paradigms of Trauma Recovery
- Understanding Soul Loss and Disassociation
- Tips and Tools for mitigating the risk of re-traumatisation.
- Identifying nervous system patterns and presentations in clients.
- The Body is Key: Support the intelligence of the body for healing in non-ordinary states.
- The importance of Self-Regulation and Co-regulation.
- Essential somatic skills for safety, grounding and resourcing.
- Trauma-Informed Communication and relational skills.
- Using Somatic Touch as a resource.
- Consent, healthy boundaries and ethical responsibility.
- Your role as facilitator in each phase of the trauma-informed plant medicine paradigm.
- Working with Ayahuasca and important tips for facilitators.
MODULE 1: SCHEDULE AND DETAILS
You’ll receive…
- 24 hours of LIVE Online big group conferencing 11& 12th May, and 18th & 19th May. The LIVE Zoom workshops will be recorded and you have 1 year access.
- 2 x 90 mins Q & A session with Atira 9th May & 6th June.
- 90 mins Q & A session: Working with Psilocybin with Atira and guest teacher.
- 18 mini video lectures (9 hours)
- Masterclass on Working with Psilocybin
- Your Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Facilitator Module 1 PDF manual.
- Your video lecture study workbook.
- Access to our private Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Online Community on Mighty Networks.
- Personal and Professional Resources and Templates.
Our Schedule….
♥ 21st April: Opening Ceremony and Intention Setting.
♥ 9th May: Study Session and Q & A.
♥ 11th & 12th May: Module 1 Part 1 Live Zoom Workshops & Community Connections. (12 hours)
♥ 18th & 19th May: Module 1 Part 2 Live Zoom Workshops & Community Connections. (12 hours)
♥ 23rd May: Working with Psilocybin with Guest Teacher
♥ 6th June: Q & A and Integration Circle with Atira
* Available for self-paced and hybrid learners.
“I’m so deeply grateful for this profound work. I began the Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Facilitation Program as a way to become a better facilitator, but it has literally changed my life, and the lives of my family.
I feel that there’s more of me here and embodied each week. I’ve never felt so positive about what the future holds for me personally, and for my medicine work.”
– Kanachiari, Facilitator, Canada.
“The Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Facilitator program was instrumental in my sacred healing personal journey. I can honestly say that this course is the best investment I’ve ever made.
Atira is an amazing educator, and she creates a safe, compassionate and accessible learning environment for everyone no matter their plant medicine experience, education, or professional background which was wonderful to experience. She models trauma-informed facilitation beautifully, and the reason why deep healing happens in this container of safety.
I’m so grateful to have had this experience and the community connection with others, and now share this wisdom and hold space to support others on their plant medicine integration journey.”
– Maria Koehn, Sound Healer, Canada.
Module 2:
TRAUMA-INFORMED ASSESSMENTS, SCREENING, AND SOMATIC INTENTION SETTING
7th June – 27th June 2024
MODULE 2: KEY CORE CURRICULUM SUBJECTS
- The Principles of Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Screening and Assessment.
- The Process of the Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Preparation Flow Chart.
- Assessing the Participant and their Trauma History.
- Medical Screening Template for Psychedelic Sessions & Retreats
- Choosing the applicant from a Trauma-Informed Lens
- Building the Relationship with trauma sensitivity
- Trauma-informed interpersonal and communication skills.
- Decision Making: Is this person the right fit for plant medicine?
- Trauma-Informed Psychedelic Preparation: Intention Setting for trauma healing.
- The Somatic Plant Medicine Intention Setting model.
- Building resilience and resources to increase the “Window of Presence”.
MODULE 2: SCHEDULE AND DETAILS
You’ll receive…
- 12 hours of LIVE Online big group conferencing 15th-16th June. The LIVE Zoom workshops will be recorded and you have 1 year of access.
- 90 mins. Q & A: Working with Ayahuasca with Guest Teachers.
- 6 mini video lectures (4 hours)
- Masterclass on Working with Ayahuasca.
- Your self-study video lecture workbook.
- Your Trauma-Informed Module 2 PDF manual
- Access to our private Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Online Community on Mighty Networks
- Personal and Professional Resources and Templates.
“I cannot recommend this training enough for anyone working in the plant medicine space; whether you are pouring medicine, a supporter/facilitator, a pre or post-ceremonial integration specialist, or even a student of the plants. I strongly feel that this training should be the basic foundational training (alongside 1st Aid) for all healers and support plant medicine staff.
Atira is an excellent bridge and guide into the intersectional realms of plant medicine and trauma therapy.”
– SKYE MENDOZAY, Work That Reconnects Facilitator, South Africa
“This program’s deep dive into the realms of living impeccable service has been nothing short of life-changing.
I remembered so much about the nervous system, about my life, about my purpose, about the bridges between paradigms and the collective trauma on the Earth. I was deeply warmed, inspired, challenged, and excited by the entire experience.
Atira transmits genuine, care, curiosity, understanding, and expertise. She is devoted to providing safe spaces for people to heal and her life’s work is a testimony to her wisdom. This body of work is a must for all.”
– MELE MAI, Art Therapist & Facilitator, Australia.
Mod 3:
Post-Ceremony and Integration Care
28th June – 21st July 2024
MODULE 3: KEY CORE CURRICULUM SUBJECTS
- An Introduction to Embodied Integration
- The Hero’s Journey: An Application to Trauma-Informed Integration
- The Objectives and Goals of Psychedelic Integration.
- Trauma-Informed Post-Ceremony Tips and Best Practices.
- Aspects of Self for Plant Medicine Integration
- Working with trauma imprints in post-ceremony care and integration.
- An introduction to Somatic Plant Medicine Integration approach.
- Post-Ceremony therapeutic care.
- Psychedelic Integration Document Templates
- Running an integration workshop.
- Working with groups in integration circles.
- Using art, metaphor and symbology in meaning-making in plant medicine integration.
- 3 Psychedelic Integration Categories.
MODULE 3: SCHEDULE AND DETAILS
You’ll Receive…
- 12 hours of LIVE Online big group conferencing 20th-21st July. The LIVE Zoom workshops will be recorded and you have 1 year of access.
- 90 mins. Q & A: Working with Bufo with Atira and Guest Teacher on the 11th July
- 6 mini video lectures (2 hours)
- Masterclass on Working with Bufo
- 2 x Bonus demonstration videos on somatic psychedelic integration.
- Your Trauma-Informed Facilitator Module 3 PDF manual
- Your video lecture study workbook.
- Access to our private Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Online Community on Mighty Networks
- Personal and Professional Resources and Templates.
* Pre-requisite for Mod 3 is the completion of Mod 1.
“As someone who has supported hundreds of individuals through deep-immersion plant medicine healing, I always felt there was a missing piece in my skill set. While the traditional shamanic lens is profoundly powerful, my role as a facilitator is largely about building a bridge between the worlds of our foreign participants and the indigenous healing modalities they are participating in.
This trauma-informed plant medicine facilitation course has put language and science to the most important aspects of my work in ways I never could. I feel it empowered me to create safer, more integrated, and more compassionate healing containers for myself, the healers I work with and of course, the participants.
I now feel that anyone working to facilitate healing of any kind should be trauma-informed as a foundational part of their approach. In fact, as we face the mounting challenges of todays world, I feel we can’t afford not to be.”
– Lara Charlotte, Co-Founder at The Garden of Peace, Ayahuasca and Master Plant Healing Centre, Peru.
“Thank you for the amazing Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Facilitation Program. It absolutely exceeded every possible expectation. Over the last few years I have taken many plant medicine courses and nothing comes close to what Atira has to offer.
I have already started using some of the practices from this course with clients and it has been transformational. I’m looking forward to deepening my practice with even more from the knowledge and skills from this program.”
– Nicole Marie Gray, USA, Integration Coach.
DETAILS & INVESTMENT
Where: Live and Online. Available for self-paced learning.
Full 3-month, 85 hour training: 21st April – 21st July 2024
Mod 1: 21st April – 6th June 2024 (45 hours)
Mod 2 Dates: 7th June – 27th June 2024 (20 hours)
Mod 3 Dates: 28th June – 21st July 2024 (20 hours)
Zoom Workshop Times: 7 am PST/ 10 am EST/ 4 pm CEST/ 3 pm BST/ 9 pm ICT
Q & A session times: 8 am PST/ 11 am EST/ 5 pm CEST/ 4 pm BST/ 10 pm ICT
** Times may be subject to change.
** Please read our Terms and Conditions before booking. Your booking is confirmation that you have read and agree to our terms and conditions.
MODULE 1
TRAUMA-INFORMED FACILITATION SKILLS IN CEREMONY
- 24 hours of LIVE Online big group conferencing 11th & 12th & 18th & 19th May. The LIVE Zoom workshops will be recorded and you have 1 year access.
- 2 x 90 mins Q & A session with Atira 9th May & 6th June
- 1 x 90 mins Q & A session: Working with Psilocybin with guest teacher 23rd May.
- 18 mini video lectures (9 hours)
- Your PDF manual
- Your video lecture study workbook.
- Access to our private Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Online Community.
- Personal and Professional Resources and Templates.
21st April – 6th June 2024
♥ 21st April: Opening Ceremony.
♥ 9th May: Study Session and Q & A.
♥ 11th & 12th May: Module 1 Part 1 Live Zoom Workshops & Community Connections.
♥ 18th & 19th May: Module 1 Part 2 Live Zoom Workshops & Community Connections.
♥ 23rd May: Q & A Working with Psilocybin with Atira & Guest Teacher.
♥ 6th June: Integration Circle & Q & A.
* Available for self-paced and hybrid learners.
MODULE 2
TRAUMA-INFORMED PREPARATION, SCREENING, AND INTENTION SETTING
- 12 hours of LIVE Online big group conferencing 15th-16th June. The LIVE Zoom workshops will be recorded and you have 1 year of access.
- 90 mins. Q & A: Working with Ayahuasca with guest teachers 20th June
- 6 mini video lectures (2 hours)
- 2 x Bonus demonstration videos on somatic intention setting.
- Your PDF manual
- Access to our private Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Online Community.
- Personal and Professional Resources and Templates.
7th June – 27th June 2024
♥ 7th – 14th June: Mini-video Lectures and self-study.
♥ 15th – 16th June: Module 2 Live Zoom Workshops and Community Connections
♥ 20th June: Working with Ayahuasca Q & A.
* Available for self-paced and hybrid learners.
MODULE 3
TRAUMA-INFORMED POST-CEREMONY AND INTEGRATION
- 12 hours of LIVE Online big group conferencing 20th-21st July. The LIVE Zoom workshops will be recorded and you have 1 year of access.
- 90 mins. Q & A: Working with Bufo with guest teacher 11th July
- 6 mini video lectures (2 hours)
- 2 x Bonus demonstration videos on somatic psychedelic integration.
- Your PDF manual
- Access to our private Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Online Community
- Personal and Professional Resources and Templates.
21st April – 6th June 2024
♥ 21st April: Opening Ceremony and Intention Setting.
♥ 9th May: Study Session and Q & A.
♥ 24th – 27th May: Module 1 Live Zoom Workshops & Community Connections.
♥ 6th June: Q & A Working with Ayahuasca with Atira & Guest Teacher.
* Available for self-paced and hybrid learners.
Participants who finish the full program and our certificate requirements will be presented with a certificate by AYA Healing Retreats. Experienced graduates can have the opportunity to join our facilitation team at the AYA Healing Retreats center in Iquitos, Peru.
“My heart is bursting with gratitude for the Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Facilitation Training. I am so grateful to have been able to be part of this training program and to be able to take what I’ve learned and share it with my wider community.
I truly believe sharing the trauma-informed way is medicine to the world. Thank you for creating this program and creating this community so that the knowledge you hold can be shared and rippled through the world. Atira and her team have created something very special and it is truly an honour to be part of it.
– Estera Zajanckauskaite, USA. Photographer
“My mind and heart are in deep amazement and gratitude as I apply all that I learned in the Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine program.
I highly recommend this course/workshop, not only to those who are interested in the relationship between trauma and plant medicine but to anyone who is curious about understanding human relational patterns to self and society. Atira shares in-depth knowledge and expertise of trauma studies and this work is much needed in the world.”
– ELIZABETH GOTTWALD, Kambo Facilitator & Photographer, USA
PAYING IT FORWARD
OUR SOCIAL CHANGE MODEL
We believe that every girl and woman deserves to determine her future.
As part of our social change model, this training “pays it forward” to assist women and girls from Nepal & India who have experienced sex slavery, trafficking and exploitation.
One student will sponsor ONE woman to receive a trauma toolkit and therapeutic support for a year. with our charity partner Art to Healing.
YOUR TEACHER
Passionate about creating safer spaces for everybody, and bringing healing and awareness in the “shadowy” areas of life, Atira has worked as a trauma-informed integration trauma specialist in retreat centres such as the Temple of the Way of Light and is currently the head of integration at AYA Healing Retreats.
Atira has mapped the trauma recovery of hundreds of plant medicine participants in her private practice as an integration trauma specialist and co-facilitates Trauma-informed Plant Medicine retreats and dietas in Peru with AYA Healing Retreats. She is also the pioneer and founder of the Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Program and the Somatic Plant Medicine Integration Model, of which has over 900 graduates.
She possesses an Masters in Art Therapy, has a background in Transpersonal Art Therapy and Holistic Counselling, and is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, amongst decades of training in various other trauma-informed approaches.
Atira has also worked for over a decade internationally in community organizations and international development as a consultant, clinician, and supervisor, as well as an educator in non-for-profit settings. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the European Graduate School in Switzerland, researching the effectiveness of somatic and creative trauma recovery interventions for sex-trafficked survivors in Asia. Atira also has presented at numerous conferences alongside Dr. Peter Levine, Dr. Stephen Porges, Dr. Pat Ogden, and Dr. Gabor Mate, just to name a few.
The CEO and Founder of Art to Healing, an Australian charity which supports the recovery of child sex slaves, Atira has also initiated international women’s health, art therapy, and trauma-informed programs for women and girls who have experienced sex slavery and exploitation internationally for the past 19 years.
Pre-COVID, Atira taught workshops, retreats & teacher trainings in 4 continents around the globe including Australia, Europe, Asia, and South America. Now, she works virtually, specialising in supporting women, men, and children, particularly those who have experienced sexual abuse to recover from trauma, in groups & individually in her private practice and international development settings as a trauma specialist through the embodied somatic psychologies and other holistic approaches.
Testimonials
“Not only has the Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Facilitator Program brought me to a much deeper theoretical understanding of the foundations of trauma and the nervous system, but it’s taught me how to combine this knowledge with the very practical, on-the-ground, in-the-moment foundational practices necessary for facilitating and holding space in a truly grounded, ethical, and embodied manner.
This program is full-bodied and thoughtfully orchestrated, organised, and presented; it offers a cohesive combination of trauma-informed and somatic-oriented values, foundations, principles, frameworks, and tools for facilitating during ceremonies/retreats, and supporting participants beforehand or thereafter.
Atira’s breadth of knowledge combined with her years of experience, clear and compassionate communication, and gentle, caring personality all make for a safe and well-held container for learning and practicing.
I’ve seen remarkably positive impact in bringing these tools and resources into my work, life, and relations, and definitely recommend this program to anyone who works in the field.”
“This course is, hands down, one of the most effective, thorough, and beautifully executed online training experiences I have had the honour of participating in.
Witnessing Atira hold the container for this training was a true gift of transmission of trauma-informed facilitation, and by the end I felt like I had experienced my own personal healing in addition to gaining important knowledge and perspective.
This program has been a true gift. I have attended many trainings, workshops, retreats in the last 4+ years, and never has one encompassed so much alignment and clarity for me.
I would absolutely recommend this course to those in the plant medicine facilitation world, especially because of the prevalence of trauma in all its many forms, and how it can emerge during altered states of consciousness. This course comes at a time when this kind of dialogue can profoundly up-level this work.”
“What a life-changing experience. This training is a true treasure of knowledge and wisdom and shared with a caring and loving presence.
The depth of insights into a variety of tools to create safer spaces is the most I have ever experienced in any training.
Besides the theoretical teachings, what touched me the most was how the space was held in such safety and care and naturally became the soil for our personal softening into the journey.
And with that, we were able to truly experience the effect of a teacher who fully embodies what she teaches.
This is a priceless gift that I will benefit from for the rest of my life.”
“After completing the Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Facilitator training, I organised an Ayahuasca retreat for close friends (with an experienced curandero) and implemented the trauma-informed principles throughout the entire journey.
Just WOW – the trauma-informed tools, resources and techniques was so well-received and created such a nourishing, supportive environment for the group to dive deeper into their own healing. Witnessing their breakthroughs and transformations was pure magic for me.
Thank you for equipping me with the education, tools, and the trauma-informed lens to be able to hold a safe container. It truly makes such a difference in everyone’s plant medicine experience, and I’m very grateful for all of the wisdom that Atira has shared with us!”
“Participating in this training gave me profound insight into my role as a ceremony guide and integration & microdosing coach. It illuminated areas where I can grow, and strengthened & expanded my toolbox of resources, practices, processes, protocols and tools to be able to support people in their healing journeys beyond my expectations.
Atira carries a strong and very clear vision of the importance of a trauma-informed approach and awareness to work in this rapidly growing field of plant medicine & psychedelic assisted therapies.
Being in her presence and receiving her teachings was extremely inspiring and motivating for me to continue showing up for this very much-needed work.
I highly recommend the Trauma Informed Plant Medicine Facilitation Training for anyone involved in facilitating, curating or providing psychedelic & plant medicine assisted therapies and healing who is interested in providing a space for embodied change and long-lasting positive results.”
“As different cultures around the world continue to share and integrate their wisdom for us to heal physically, socially, mentally, energetically and spiritually through psychedelics and plant medicine, I believe it is essential that we understand how to navigate the trauma imprints that each culture carries and how each modality or treatment can affect them differently.
Through the Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Facilitator program, I was able to get a deeper and more detailed education and perspective in how to create safer spaces (before, during and after ceremony), in order to facilitate “real” trauma healing, and to truly care for a patient’s needs.
In my experience, this is something tremendously important and very few facilitators have yet managed to incorporate this approach of trauma-sensitivity into their practices. I’m very grateful to Atira and her team for sharing this knowledge and for creating a safe and beautiful container with wonderful humans who are on similar paths to mine.
I recommend this training 100%!”
