Introduction to Psychedelic Facilitation (Level 1) — and the Level 2 Oregon/Colorado licensure track — InnerTrek: cost, curriculum, and what the certificate actually lets you do

What it is

InnerTrek was founded by Tom Eckert, the architect of Oregon's Measure 109 and chair of the state's first Psilocybin Advisory Board. It sits at Damascus, outside Portland, and it is one of fifteen programs currently on the Oregon Health Authority's list of psilocybin training programs with approved curriculum — verified directly against OHA's own list on 6 August 2026, not against InnerTrek's marketing. It is also on Colorado DORA's list of approved Natural Medicine Training Programs. The Guardian, visiting the campus in January 2024, described it as 'the first government-recognized licensed and operating training program in the world, according to staff.' On the specific question this directory exists to answer — does the certificate do anything a regulator recognizes — InnerTrek is the rare yes.

The important structural fact is that InnerTrek runs three levels and only Level 2 is the licensure track. Level 1, the page in the URL above, is a $3,200, roughly eight-week hybrid introduction: 30 hours of online didactic work plus a three-day supervised psilocybin retreat at a licensed Oregon service center, where students rotate between journeyer and observer roles and legally consume psilocybin. InnerTrek says plainly: 'Completion of Level 1 training does not make students eligible for licensure.' It is a legal, hands-on taste of the work and a $1,000 credit toward Level 2. It is not a step you must take — 'Level 1 Training is not a prerequisite for applying to Level 2.'

Level 2 is the seven-month program that meets Oregon and Colorado requirements: 'over 160 hours of didactic training and 40 hours of supervised practicum,' against Oregon's rule minimum of 128 core hours (OAR 333-333-3050) and 40 practicum hours (OAR 333-333-3070). It runs September 2026 to April 2027 with weekly Wednesday evening Zoom classes, biweekly small home groups of 7-10 students, biweekly skills practice groups, three optional in-person weekend intensives near Portland, and two supervised three-day practicum weekends in Portland or Golden, Colorado, taken in early-to-mid 2027. Residency in Oregon or Colorado is not required and never has been for the Colorado program; Oregon's own two-year residency requirement for facilitators expired on 1 January 2025 under ORS 475A.325(2)(c). A Californian can do this and can be licensed.

Then comes the part a prospective student should sit with. Oregon's psilocybin program is contracting. As of June 2026 there were 383 licensed facilitators and only 22 of 35 ever-licensed service centers still operating; the Guardian reported the center count down by nearly a third by December 2025. Quarterly client numbers hit an all-time low in Q1 2026, down more than 40% year on year, and the average client household income reached $172,000. Amanda Gow, who runs a service center in Bend and holds both a therapy license and a facilitator license, told Lucid News in February 2026 that most of her facilitators see 'one to two psilocybin clients a month' and that 'for facilitators who thought this was going to be their full-time business, it's just not possible.' A facilitator at one Portland center is paid $560 per session as an independent contractor. Against that, the annual Oregon facilitator license costs $2,000. And in June 2026 InnerTrek itself let the lease lapse on its own Portland service center, saying it would focus on training, education and practicum partnerships rather than 'operating a single licensed Service Center location' — a decision that reads differently depending on whether you take it as national expansion or as a training school stepping back from the delivery side of the market it trains people for.

The program’s own page →

See it and hear it

**PPS Facilitator Training Series - InnerTrek**A third-party community organization's session on InnerTrek specifically, rather than InnerTrek's own marketing — useful for hearing the program described by and to people already inside Oregon's facilitator community, which is where the honest answers about client volume tend to come out.Portland Psychedelic Society · nothing loads from YouTube until you press play

What it lets you do

This is the section the program’s own marketing is least specific about, so it runs before everything else. It was established against the program’s own materials and against the two state registers that matter — Oregon’s approved-curriculum list and Colorado’s.

This does not change your license or your scope of practiceIt is a credential from a school, not from a regulator. California’s Board of Behavioral Sciences neither recognizes nor requires it, and holding it adds nothing to what you may lawfully do as an LMFT in this state.

With this you can

Complete Level 2 and then apply for a genuine Oregon Health Authority psilocybin facilitator license. The full requirements are: 21 or older, high school diploma or equivalent, criminal background check, completion of an OHA-approved training program including core training, 40 hours of practicum and a comprehensive skills exam administered by the school, a passing score of 75% or above on the OPS-administered regulations exam (retakeable until passed), a submitted social equity plan, a $150 non-refundable application fee, and a $2,000 annual license fee ($1,000 if you are a veteran or receive SSI, SNAP or Oregon Health Plan). Renewal is annual and requires four hours of continuing facilitator education. There is no residency requirement — the two-year Oregon residency rule in ORS 475A.325(2)(c) applied only 'until January 1, 2025' and has lapsed.
With that license, legally sit with clients through preparation, psilocybin administration and integration sessions — but only at an Oregon-licensed psilocybin service center, with the client physically in Oregon.
Also qualify for Colorado natural medicine facilitator licensure. InnerTrek is on Colorado DORA's approved training list, and InnerTrek states graduates are eligible for licensure in both states. Colorado's requirements are set by DORA and are not identical to Oregon's — verify separately.
Do Level 1 alone as a legal, supervised, first-hand psilocybin experience with instruction wrapped around it, useful for a California therapist who wants to know what the state actually feels like before recommending or integrating it.
Bring the training back to California as integration work and as ketamine-assisted psychotherapy competence — which is what most Californian graduates will actually monetise, since neither requires an Oregon license.

You still cannot

Change your California license or scope of practice. An Oregon psilocybin facilitator license is a separate, parallel credential from a separate state's health authority. The California BBS neither recognizes it nor is affected by it.
Do anything with psilocybin in California. Psilocybin and psilocyn are Schedule I under California Health & Safety Code §11054(d)(18)-(19) and Schedule I federally. An Oregon license is territorially useless outside Oregon: you cannot transport product, treat a Californian client remotely, or hold sessions in California.
Practice as a therapist during the psilocybin work, even in Oregon. OHA is explicit: licensed facilitators 'may not practice on other professional licenses while providing preparation, administration, or integration sessions.' Oregon's HB 2387 relaxed this from 1 January 2026 — but only for people licensed by seven named Oregon boards (Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists, Naturopathic Medicine, Psychology, Medical Board, Nursing, Licensed Social Workers, Pharmacy). A California LMFT is not covered by any of them. Psychedelic Alpha notes that OPS does not recognize out-of-state licensure for regulatory purposes.
Get licensed on Level 1 alone. 'Completion of Level 1 training does not make students eligible for licensure.'
Rely on the Level 2 didactic-only option ($6,700) for licensure. The 40-hour supervised practicum is a regulatory requirement (OAR 333-333-3070) and it costs an extra $2,600.
Direct the client's experience. Oregon's model is statutorily non-directive: facilitators 'support clients through psilocybin services without directing the client experience.' This is a real constraint on a therapist trained to intervene.
Count on making a living at it. See voices below — this is the single most important thing to understand before spending $11,000-$13,000.

Completion of Level 1 training does not make students eligible for licensure. While Level 1 is not a prerequisite for Level 2, it is reviewed favorably during the application process.— InnerTrek, in its own materials

Why the answer is this narrow →

Cost, length and who can apply

Cost$3,200 is Level 1 standard tuition for the Summer 2026 cohort (60 hours of instruction, three-day psilocybin retreat, all materials; psilocybin itself is purchased separately). $400 deposit, refundable to 14 days (elsewhere stated as 5 days) before the start; early-enrollment credits ran $200-$400 off on published deadlines. Level 1 does NOT lead to licensure. The licensure route is Level 2: $6,700 virtual core; +$2,600 for the two required practicums = $9,300 (the Oregon/Colorado licensure pathway); +$600 per optional in-person intensive weekend, or $10,900 for the full virtual + three intensives + practicum bundle. $1,000 deposit, payment plans over 3, 5 or 7 months. Level 1 graduates get $1,000 credited as their Level 2 deposit. On top of tuition, the Oregon license itself costs a $150 non-refundable application fee plus a $2,000 annual license fee ($1,000 reduced for veterans, SSI, SNAP or Oregon Health Plan recipients). Total first-year cost of the Oregon license via InnerTrek is therefore about $11,450 (virtual + practicum) to $13,050 (full experience), before travel and lodging to Oregon or Colorado, which are not priced. InnerTrek also sells a standalone Open Practicum to graduates of other approved schools for $3,000.

LengthLevel 1: described variously on InnerTrek's own pages as four weeks, six weeks and eight weeks — the FAQ's '8 weeks / 60 hours total' is the most specific. Level 2: seven months, September 2026 to April 2027, with practicum weekends running February to early May 2027.

HoursLevel 1: 60 hours — 30 didactic (8 self-paced online, 4 required live online, plus recorded expert sessions) and 30 hours across a three-day in-person psilocybin retreat. Level 2: 'over 160 hours of didactic training and 40 hours of supervised practicum' (two supervised practicums of 20+ hours each). Oregon's regulatory floor is 128 hours of core training (OAR 333-333-3050) plus 40 practicum hours including at least 30 hours direct practice and 10 hours consultation (OAR 333-333-3070).

FormatHybrid. Level 1: self-paced Moodle modules, live Zoom orientation and two home groups, then a three-day in-person psilocybin retreat at a licensed Oregon service center with prep and integration calls either side. Level 2: weekly live Zoom classes Wednesdays 4-6pm PT, biweekly 90-minute home groups of 7-10 students with a dedicated educator, biweekly optional skills practice groups, weekly optional office hours, three optional in-person weekend intensives at Palais De Leon ten minutes from Portland (recorded for virtual students), and two mandatory in-person supervised practicum weekends in Portland, Oregon or Golden, Colorado. Oregon rules require all practicum, direct practice and consultation to be conducted in person.

WherePortland / Damascus, Oregon — hybrid, with required in-person practicum in Oregon or Colorado

Who can applyLevel 1: at least 21, no formal education required, no prior psychedelic experience required, but applicants 'must demonstrate emotional and psychological readiness during the admissions process.' Anyone worldwide may apply. Participation in the psilocybin journey is required for completion, though someone medically unable to consume may attend the retreat as an observer. Level 2: 'competitive, though there are no formal prerequisites' — InnerTrek says strong applicants tend to be clinicians and healthcare professionals, therapists, counselors and social workers, alternative healers and wellness practitioners, or people with meaningful experience in space holding. 'Residency in Oregon or Colorado is not required.' Level 1 is not a prerequisite but is 'reviewed favorably.' The underlying Oregon license requires only: 21 or older, high school diploma or equivalent, criminal background check, completion of an OHA-approved training program, and a passing score on the OPS regulations exam.

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What you would study

Level 1 core curriculum
Introduction to Holding Space (Tom Eckert & Emma Knighton); The Art of Non-Directive Facilitation (Eckert); Ethics & Consent in Altered State Work (Knighton); Preparing a Client for the Journey (Eckert); The Medicine Session: Core Facilitator Skills (Tal Sharabi); Foundations of Group Facilitation (Eckert); Trauma-Informed and Culturally Responsive Care (Knighton); Introduction to Integration and Meaning-Making (Knighton); Facilitator Self-Work and Readiness (Sharabi); The Future of the Movement (Eckert & Nate Howard).
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Level 2 Section 1 — Introduction to Psychedelic Facilitation
Historical and current role of plant medicines across wisdom traditions; cultural impact of psychedelics in the West; basic pharmacology and neuroscience of psilocybin; 65 years of research milestones; theories of consciousness and personal transformation; embodied grounded presence; core participant-centered communication skills; problematic facilitator dispositions; self-care systems; working with diverse populations.
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Level 2 Section 2 — Intake, Preparation, and Orientation
Rapport and alliance; required intake forms and information-gathering interview; a preparation session covering screening, scope of practice, safety planning and expectation setting; assessing readiness and goodness of fit; orienting a participant to the service sequence; establishing the facilitator's role, responsibilities and authority; dosing strategies; drug and supplement interactions.
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Level 2 Section 3 — Client Populations
Adapting facilitation to diverse populations; effects of psilocybin and other psychedelics on specific mental health populations; current research findings by population.
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Level 2 — Ethics, law and professional standards section
Ethical issues of psychedelic facilitation and commitment to core values; working across diverse social locations and cultures; racial justice and systemic inequity in delivery of healthcare and behavioral health services; professional development and leadership presence; 'a detailed understanding of related laws, regulations, and professional standards as they pertain to the rights and ongoing professional obligations of licensed facilitators'; responsible referral and support systems.
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Level 2 — Supervised practicum (40 hours)
Two supervised practicums, 20+ hours each — phase 1 mid-program, phase 2 after the didactic program. Students support participants through psilocybin journeys, experience a facilitated psilocybin journey themselves pending health screening, and practice facilitation skills under supervision within the regulated model. Held in Portland, Oregon or Golden, Colorado. A DORA training license is required to participate in Colorado practicums. InnerTrek's separately-sold Open Practicum runs Thursday to Sunday with students in triads rotating through journeyer, facilitator and observer roles, capped at 6 students journeying per day and 18 students total.
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Oregon's mandated curriculum floor (for comparison)
OAR 333-333-3050 requires at least 128 hours of core instruction with fixed minimums per area: Historical, Traditional and Contemporary Practices 12h; Cultural Equity 12h; Safety, Ethics and Responsibilities 12h; Pharmacology, Neuroscience and Clinical Research 12h; Core Facilitation Skills 16h; Preparation and Orientation 16h; Administration 20h; Integration 12h; Group Facilitation 16h. At least 50% of non-in-person training must be delivered as live online synchronous learning.
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Who teaches it

Faculty is a large part of what these programs actually sell, and it changes between cohorts — check the current list before you decide on this basis.

Tom Eckert, MS — founder and executive director; a psychotherapist who was the architect of Measure 109, led the 2020 campaign, and chaired Oregon's Governor-appointed Psilocybin Advisory Board in its first year. He also established the Sheri Eckert Foundation. He is the reason this school exists and the reason it was first through OHA's door.
Emma Knighton, MA — somatic trauma therapist and psychedelic-assisted therapist; co-founder of the American Psychedelic Practitioners Association; teaches nationally on consent and trauma-informed care in psychedelic services. She carries the ethics and consent material, which given the field's history is the most consequential part of the curriculum.
Tal Sharabi, MA — psychotherapist trained in psychedelic psychotherapy and research at CIIS, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy through Polaris Insight Center, and MAPS-certified MDMA-assisted therapy Parts A-D. The most directly relevant faculty member for a California therapist, because her own training path is the one a Californian would recognize.
Jason Foster, MA — Seattle private-practice therapist, former lead supervisor with the Zendo Project, 15+ years in psychedelic facilitation and education; trained in Core Energetics.
Elyse Gardner, MA — licensed transpersonal psychotherapist and retreat leader; Director of Operations for the nonprofit Right To Heal.
David Kahl — entrepreneur, executive coach and licensed psilocybin facilitator who designs and leads multi-day psilocybin retreats; brings group facilitation and retreat design.
Lisa Snyder — InnerTrek graduate, state-licensed facilitator in both Oregon and Colorado, and InnerTrek's Director of Operations; a live example of the credential's ceiling.
Nate Howard — director of operations, described by the Guardian as having played a large role in developing Oregon's program.
Leonie Wolff, RN and Henry Fields — experiential facilitators for Level 1 retreats; both InnerTrek graduates and licensed facilitators.

What people say about it

Quoted with the source attached in every case, including the program’s own claims about itself — which are labeled as such — and the critical ones.

The attrition is setting in, and a lot of people are not renewing their license because it is hard to make money.Gary Bracelin, owner of Drop Thesis Psilocybin Service Center, quoted in The Guardian, December 2025 For facilitators who thought this was going to be their full-time business, it's just not possible. … Most of Bendable's facilitators see one to two psilocybin clients a month. It's not their full-time business. … I just spent $2,000 yesterday for my license for the year, whereas my therapy license is $300 every two years.Amanda Gow, co-founder of Bendable Therapy service center, Bend OR, and a dual-licensed therapist and facilitator, quoted in Lucid News, February 2026 After a wave of people trained to become facilitators, many dropped off because there weren't enough clients. … It's like a cart before the horse.Max Kelemen, executive director of the Portland Psychedelic Society, quoted in The Guardian, December 2025 There are still growing concerns that the number of trained facilitators is becoming unsustainable and increasingly misaligned with the number of licensed service centers and, by extension, available facilitator roles. Many are already struggling to secure full-time employment within OPS. … Training programs typically range from $4,500 to $12,000 (with the mean sitting around $10,000), with practicum components adding another couple of thousand dollars. … Altogether, the first year can easily exceed $10,000.Psychedelic Alpha, Oregon Psilocybin Services Tracker, updated through Q1/June 2026 His facilitators are independent contractors paid $560 per session.The Guardian on Dr Eric Lee's Space Psychedelic Center, Portland, December 2025 — the only published per-session facilitator pay figure found We've been focused solely on one license type (service centers), and we're failing to talk about the story of almost 400 licensed facilitators and the fact that this model established a new healthcare profession. … From a safety standpoint, and a service center's ability to deliver and provide services, things seem to be going quite well.Angela Allbee, Oregon Psilocybin Services Section Manager, Oregon Health Authority, quoted in Lucid News, February 2026 I push back on the idea that these closures are signaling any type of issue with the program being in jeopardy. What we are seeing is exactly what early-stage market maturation in the first couple of years looks like for any licensed and regulated industry.Sam Chapman, Executive Director, Center for Psychedelic Policy, quoted in Lucid News, February 2026 But first, they'll need to complete a program like the one taking place at InnerTrek – the first government-recognized licensed and operating training program in the world, according to staff.The Guardian, 'Field trip: inside America's first magic mushroom school,' January 2024 June 2026 marks the successful completion of the InnerTrek Center for Psilocybin Services' three-year lease. As InnerTrek continues to grow as a national training organization, we have made the decision to focus our energy on training, education, and practicum partnerships across the United States rather than renewing and operating a single licensed Service Center location. … the space has supported more than 1,270 clients and participants.InnerTrek's own service center page, 2026. Psychedelic Alpha independently records a service-center license expiring or surrendered in June 2026 'with the latter shifting focus to facilitator training and education.' Note that InnerTrek's Level 2 page still advertises practicums at 'InnerTrek's licensed psilocybin service center in Portland, Oregon.'One editorial in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry noted that Oregon's psilocybin training requires just 25% of the 625 hours mandated for a massage therapist license. … while the OHA approves training programs, it does not regulate individual facilitator licensure. The burden of evaluating and endorsing candidates falls on the training programs themselves, many of which are small, privately-run enterprises. … just one facilitator license application has been denied to date.Psychedelic Alpha, Oregon Psilocybin Services Tracker, 2026 — a structural criticism that applies to every OHA-approved school including InnerTrek

Where it stands right now

Enrolling — verified 6 August 2026. Level 2 Fall 2026 (September 2026 - April 2027) is in open enrollment with an open house on 12 August 2026 and early-application encouragement. Level 1 Summer 2026 started 14 July 2026 with an application deadline of 19 July and a retreat on 14-16 August 2026, so that cohort has closed; InnerTrek's Level 1 page also still carries a stale FAQ line giving the retreat as 29-31 May 2026. InnerTrek remains on OHA's approved-curriculum list (checked directly against psilocybin.oregon.gov/training-approved on 6 August 2026, where 15 programs are listed) and on Colorado DORA's approved training list. InnerTrek's own Portland service center ceased operating in June 2026.

What I could not establish

These are the things I looked for and could not establish. Take them to the program, and notice how quickly and precisely they answer.

Level 2 cohort size. InnerTrek publishes home-group size (7-10 students with 1 educator) and practicum caps (6 journeying per day, 18 students total), but not total cohort enrollment.
Whether Level 2 practicum tuition includes the psilocybin product. Level 1 states psilocybin 'is provided at the retreat and purchased separately'; the Level 2 tuition breakdown does not address it.
Where InnerTrek's Oregon practicums now take place, since its own service center closed in June 2026 and the Level 2 page still names it. The Open Practicum page says only 'Portland, OR' or 'Golden, Colorado.'
Lodging and travel costs. On-site lodging for intensives is listed as 'TBA'; nothing is published for practicum weekends. For a Californian this is a material and unpriced part of the total.
Graduate outcomes. Neither InnerTrek nor OHA publishes how many InnerTrek graduates obtain licenses, how many are actively working, or what they earn. The $560/session figure is from one center reported by the Guardian.
Colorado's specific licensure requirements, fees and hour counts. I verified only that InnerTrek is on DORA's approved list and that a DORA training license is required before a Colorado practicum; DORA's fee schedule and full requirements were not established here.
Any statement from the California Board of Behavioral Sciences about California licensees holding an Oregon psilocybin facilitator license, or working psilocybin sessions in Oregon. Nothing on bbs.ca.gov mentions psychedelics, psilocybin or ketamine. Oregon's HB 2387 disciplinary protections explicitly cover only seven Oregon boards, so a California LMFT's exposure to their own board is genuinely unresolved and worth a lawyer, not a directory entry.
Independent student reviews of InnerTrek. Reddit is unreachable from this environment and general web-search engines were blocked; the criticism recorded above is program-level and market-level, not school-level.

Sources for this page (20)

Where to go next

All 16 trainingsCompared on cost, modality and whether the credential does anything in a regulated market The law as it standsWhat a California therapist may and may not do with psychedelics today MFT programsThe degree that comes first, if you are not licensed yet

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Introduction to Psychedelic Facilitation (Level 1) — and the Level 2 Oregon/Colorado licensure track