ET33 - Psychedelics, Art and Healing: Exploring Benefits, Risks, and Ethical Considerations (N/NY)

Rebecca is co-founder of Creative Wellbeing Workshops which provides therapy, supervision, consultation, and training to help individuals and organizations manage stress, reduce burnout, and improve wellbeing. Creative Wellbeing Workshops is a National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) approved continuing education provider in Positive Ethics, Creativity, Art Therapy, and Positive Psychology. CWW has offices in DC and Tucson, AZ. Rebecca is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Licensed, Registered, and Board Certified Art Therapist, and a Certified Trauma Therapist in the Instinctual Trauma Response ®. She completed the 250 hr training as a Certified Psychedelic Therapist with the Integrative Psychiatric Institute (IPI) and Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS/Lykos). Rebecca serves as adjunct faculty at the George Washington University Graduate Art Therapy Program, teaching Positive Psychology and Art Therapy, Art Therapy and Mental Illness, and Supervision.

Rebecca also served as a Wellness Specialist at the internationally renowned Miraval Spa in Arizona and a regularly featured creativity facilitator at the Smith Center for Healing and the Arts for clients affected by life-threatening illnesses and providers working with them. She was a regular trainer for Business Health Services providing professional development and training to private corporations and government agencies in the DMV area and she coordinated the Washington Adventist Hospital Expressive Therapies Department. She was awarded Clinician of the Year by the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) for outstanding contributions to art therapy for adults from diverse cultural backgrounds, her skills as a therapist, and for serving as a model of excellence in service to others. She was instrumental in developing AATA's Institute for Continuing Education and helped the Potomac Art Therapy Association and Smith Center gain NBCC provider status. She served as President of the Arizona Art Therapy Association. Rebecca's focus has been on crisis stabilization and it is through this work both personally and professionally that she has developed an appreciation for the power of the human spirit to prevail even in the darkest moments.

Specialties: trauma resolution, art therapy, psychedelic facilitation and integration, improving well-being, creativity, end-of-life issues, crisis stabilization, stress management, burnout prevention, substance abuse, codependency, affect regulation, group presentation, positive psychology, individual psychotherapy, ethics.

Alyssa Gursky, MA, LPC. Alyssa is a Psychedelic Assisted Art Therapist. They are currently a study therapist & research associate at the Portland VA Social Neuroscience and Psychotherapy Lab working on MDMA Assisted Group Therapy for Transgender and Gender Diverse Veterans. They have trained with Polaris Insight Center and Ketamine Training Institute for Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy. They hold 2 degrees from Naropa University, focusing on Transpersonal Psychology & Transpersonal Art Therapy. They are a Clinical Skills Practice Group Leader at Naropa University. They offer education on Psychedelic Healing & The Creative Process at various training institutions, including Alchemy Community Therapy Center & Tam Integration’s Coaching Program.