Foundational KAP Training: April 24–27, 2025

Foundational Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Training

April 24–27, 2025

 

PRATI’s Foundational KAP Training equips medical and mental health professionals with the core skills to become effective psychedelic medicine practitioners. Learn from experienced providers and educators in the emerging field of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, employing a specific focus on ketamine-assisted psychotherapy.

We believe ketamine offers the best entry point for working with psychedelic medicines and exploring the healing potential found in nonordinary states of consciousness. As ketamine is currently the only legal and widely used psychedelic in the U.S., gaining proficiency with it will lay a strong foundation to expand into other psychedelics as they become available.

Over four empowering days, participants will co-create a supportive space for deep personal and professional growth, guided by PRATI’s expert educators and enriched by your own exploration of ketamine medicine. Our training environment is thoughtfully designed to foster emotional safety and connection, with a high trainer-to-participant ratio ensuring personalized guidance and care. Along the way, you’ll find moments of warmth, joy, and play infused into the experience, cultivating a sense of community and camaraderie that participants often describe as a highlight of the program. This training will be limited to 32 participants to support an intimate and personal experience.

You will be required to complete a pre-training virtual medical evaluation in order to participate in the experiential components of the program. Appointment slots for these evaluations will be available over the month leading up to the training start date. Please plan for this in your schedule before registering.

 

What You Will Learn

PRATI’s immersive training integrates engaging didactic presentations with dynamic experiential components in a serene, retreat-style setting surrounded by pristine nature. The program fosters learning and connection through dyadic experientials, small-group discussions, and large-group activities.

This unique program equips you for the clinical application of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy while providing a solid foundation in psychedelic medicine. Participants will build essential skills and gain firsthand experience, including:

  • Two optional ketamine experiences (intramuscular and sublingual) contingent on medical approval and supported by a fellow trainee
  • Harm reduction and ethical practices in psychedelic medicine
  • Preparation and integration strategies for psychedelic experiences
  • Guiding clients through nonordinary states of consciousness
  • Facilitating transformative sessions using effective tools and techniques
  • The role of music and playlist creation in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy
  • Clinical care for severely depressed and suicidal individuals
  • Ketamine dosing and administration best practices, including various routes of delivery
  • Exploration of set and setting, ceremony, and ritual in psychedelic medicine
  • Perspectives on worldview and systemic change within the psychedelic paradigm
  • Community-building and networking opportunities with like-minded professionals

At PRATI, we tailor our programs to nurture and enrich all parts of you—mind, heart, and spirit. Through a blend of leading-edge research, collaborative learning, and opportunities for deep personal growth and exploration, you can expect to leave feeling inspired and well-prepared to practice psychedelic medicine with greater confidence and compassion.

Join us in embracing a new paradigm of mental healthcare—one that honors the innate healing potential within each of us!

 

Program Eligibility

PRATI’s Foundational KAP Training is designed for clinically licensed professionals in medical or mental health-related fields. To qualify for the program, candidates must meet both of the following criteria:

  • Active Licensure: Hold an active professional license in good standing in a medical or mental health-related field. Provisional licenses (e.g., PLPC, LPCC) are accepted. Chaplains and end-of-life doulas may also qualify with proof of certification.
  • Clinical Experience: Demonstrate at least 1,000 hours of direct experience providing clinical services.

PRATI welcomes professionals from diverse backgrounds. In addition to medical and mental health practitioners, eligible fields include:

  • Acupuncturists (L.Ac.) or practitioners of East Asian Medicine
  • Chaplains
  • Chiropractors
  • End-of-life doulas
  • Naturopathic doctors
  • Nurses
  • Physical therapists

Please note that massage therapists are not eligible for this program.

If you are unsure about your eligibility, contact us at trainings@pratigroup.org before registering. Registrations from individuals who do not meet eligibility requirements may be canceled, and deposits may be forfeited.

 

Tickets

Select your preferred ticket level (Standard or Scholarship) by clicking the link above on this page and complete the checkout process to secure your registration. Please carefully review the Cost tab below for registration fee and cancellation information.

Scholarships

PRATI is pleased to offer partial scholarships in five categories to promote diversity, inclusion, and accessibility within our community:

  • Person of the Global Majority (historically/systemically excluded individuals)
  • LGBTQIA2S+
  • Person with a disability
  • Veteran
  • Person with financial need

We take into account various socioeconomic factors when granting scholarship awards, including household size, number of dependents, expendable income, access to generational wealth, and debt-to-income ratio.

Scholarships are available across three registration fee tiers and are limited based on available resources. To apply, please purchase a Scholarship Ticket with a $500 deposit, after which you will receive a link to complete the application. You’ll indicate the registration fee tier amount you can afford within the application. Please note that scholarships do not cover food or lodging fees, which are paid separately to the event venue.

Applicants will be notified once scholarship decisions are made. Those not selected will receive a full refund of their deposit. Please apply for only one training scholarship at a time. If awarded a scholarship, your deposit will be applied to any remaining registration fees.

 

The Application Process

  • The scholarship application form is not a “test” of need.
  • Questions about personal identities, education, and licensure are not definitive reflections of your lived or professional experience.
  • Within the application, you will select the total registration fee amount you can afford from the following tiers:
    • $500
    • $1,650
    • $2,475

Decisions and Notifications

  • We currently have limited resources and a small team reviewing applications; your patience is greatly appreciated.
  • Unfortunately, we cannot approve all applications or provide status updates or individual feedback on decisions.
  • Scholarship decisions are based on a variety of factors and involve multiple reviewers to ensure fairness.

 

Cancellation Policy

Full payment deadline: March 17, 2025
  • Deposits are non-refundable and non-transferable (except for Scholarship registrants).
  • Registration payments cannot be transferred to future trainings. Cancellations place a burden on our staff, and the following policy ensures we can cover costs if a spot cannot be filled.
  1. On or before the full payment deadline: Full refund of registration fees, minus the deposit.
  2. After the full payment deadline and up to 2 weeks before the training start date: 50% refund of registration fees, minus the deposit.
  3. 2 weeks or less before the training start date: No refund; all registration fees are forfeited.

 

Training Duration

The training runs for four days from April 24–27, 2025. Check in at Sunrise Ranch begins on Wednesday, April 23 from 1:00–5:00 p.m.. You may also arrive prior to the training start time of 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 24. The course will wrap up around 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 27. All times listed are in the Mountain Time zone. An optional post-training integration Zoom call (about 2 weeks after) rounds out the training with the opportunity to reflect on your experience.

Please note that participants must be present for all didactic and interactive course components to receive a completion certificate. Early departures from the training event prior to 12:00 p.m. on Sunday will not meet requirements for course completion. Please make your travel arrangements accordingly.

 

Accommodations

In addition to paying registration fees to PRATI, all participants must register separately with Sunrise Ranch. Sunrise Ranch charges by the bed (not the room) and this payment includes all meals provided during the training. Accommodation options include camping as well as shared and private rooms. To ensure safety and foster group cohesion, all participants are required to stay onsite for the duration of the training course. Family and friends are not permitted to stay with participants at Sunrise Ranch during the training, as this can disrupt the supportive environment we create for the experience.

Sunrise Ranch

Loveland, Colorado

Sunrise Ranch is nestled in the picturesque foothills of the Rocky Mountains, approximately one hour from Denver. In addition to being a resort and retreat center, it is also an intentional spiritual community and a working sustainable ranch. The food served is both delicious and thoughtfully prepared, made with love and attention to quality.

In addition to paying registration fees to PRATI, all participants must register separately with Sunrise Ranch. You will receive an email with a link to secure your accommodations with Sunrise Ranch after completing your PRATI registration.
Accommodation prices range from $91 to $207 per night (roughly $360-$820 for a 4-night stay), with a variety of options including camping, dorm style arrangements, and private rooms in shared apartments. These fees include all meals provided while onsite at the training.
To ensure safety and foster group cohesion, all participants are required to stay onsite for the duration of the training. Family and friends are not permitted to stay at Sunrise Ranch during the training, as this could disrupt the supportive environment we strive to create.

Training Director: Stephen Thomas, LCSW, is a psychotherapist and KAP practitioner based in Fort Collins, Colorado. With a background in nonprofit development, Stephen has spent over a decade actively promoting psychedelic medicines through media, education, and events. Trained in MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy by MAPS, Stephen has contributed to clinical trial research on both MDMA and LSD-assisted therapies. He also served for six years as a board member of the Nowak Society, a Colorado nonprofit dedicated to fostering community and advancing meaningful dialogue within the psychedelic movement. Stephen is passionate about the potential of psychedelics in addressing psychospiritual distress and healing the disconnection at the root of ecological, social, and political crises. As the Director of PRATI's Foundational KAP Training program, Stephen combines his expertise with a love for music, curating therapeutic KAP playlists to enhance growth and transformation.


Medical Lead: German Ascani, MD, has a broad range of clinical experience having worked over a decade in public psychiatry, community mental health systems, and private practice in California. In his current Colorado practice he uses an integrative approach and uses Ketamine, including Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy. He is a study physician and MAPS trained therapist working on the phase 3 study on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD. German has particular interests in the potential for psychological, emotional and spiritual healing that new and emerging psychedelic medicines bring to the mental health field. He supports the clinical use of these powerful transformative tools to open up a process of deep exploration, self-reflection and lasting growth.


Wilhelmina De Castro, LCSW, (she/they) serves as PRATI's Executive Director and is trained in KAP (Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy) through PRATI and MDMA Assisted Psychotherapy through MAPS. They support organizations in building justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives, systems, and cultures. Wilhelmina also works as a lead therapist in a Psilocybin Phase 3 Clinical Trial for Treatment-Resistant Depression and sits on the Advisory Board for Thank You Life. As a Queer, Filipinx, non-binary person, they are deeply committed to anti-oppressive work, diversifying the psychedelic space, and uplifting the voices of BIPOC and LGBTQIA2s+ people. Wilhelmina is currently practicing KAP with individuals, groups, and families, and offering low-cost/donation-based KAP. She specializes in the areas of anxiety, depression, trauma, and life transitions. She has significant experience in working with the Queer folx and People of the Global majority and communities that have been impacted by global and systemic oppression.


Christine Pateros, RN, is a Shamanic Energy Medicine practitioner and ketamine therapist guiding and teaching private clients and groups to connect to their inner wisdom and essence. After “dying” in the Amazon jungle in 2011 in her own life affirming psychedelic journey, Christine’s course as a healer was transformed from nurse and clinical drug researcher to Cranio Sacral therapist, energy healing practitioner, and psychedelic therapist. Christine’s deep interest in research and the healing powers of psychedelics fuels her work so these medicines may be accessible to those they can help.


PRATI Faculty: Course Director Scott Shannon

Scott Shannon, MD, has been a student of consciousness since his honor’s thesis on this topic in the 1970s. Following medical school, MDMA assisted psychotherapy became a facet of his practice before this medicine was scheduled in 1985. Scott has been a transformative agent in mental health and a visionary leader in integrative medicine for over two decades. He is a cannabidiol and MDMA researcher as well as a sought-after trainer and speaker. Currently, Scott works extensively with a broad range of ketamine services including ketamine-assisted psychotherapy in his large innovative clinic. He lectures all over the world to professionals interested in a deeper look at mental health issues, ketamine, psychedelics and a paradigm shifting perspective about transformative care.


PRATI Trainer: Arsalan Azam

Arsalan Azam, MD, is a board-certified emergency medicine physician with am interest in mental health and wellness.  He began his career practicing in deeply underserved communities in Cleveland, OH and Harlem, NY.  Dr. Azam pivoted to working with mental health and psychedelics when he founded Daydream MD in 2022.  Daydream is focused on developing scalable models for integrating psychedelic medicines with traditional behavioral healthcare, and delivering these services to marginalized communities.  Dr. Azam works extensively with ketamine and has provided consulting services for practices working with psilocybin, 5 MeO DMT and ibogaine.


PRATI Faculty: Jason Sienknecht

Jason Sienknecht, LPC, CAC II, is a psychedelic psychotherapist with an interest in the potential for expanded states of consciousness to bring about healing and wholeness. He is a trained ketamine-assisted therapist and currently uses oral and intramuscular ketamine to help people heal from treatment-resistant depression and PTSD. He is also a MAPS trained MDMA-assisted psychotherapist.


Danielle Wise, PhD, (she/her) has an MA in counseling psychology, an MA and PhD in depth psychology and somatics, is a certified Embodied Imagination Therapist, and KAP trained with PRATI. She has been a coach for over 30 years, a psychotherapist for 20, and was an adjunct professor at University of Denver, UCOL for 10 years. She has worked with at-risk youth, gangs, domestic violence, individuals and families, and advised businesses on intra and interpersonal communication. Danielle has also worked on the Denver decriminalization campaign, as an advisor with US and Canadian companies, and is a consultant for Psychedelics Today.


Event Coordinator: Stephanie Thomas, PharmD, NTP, CGP, is a pharmacist, a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, and a certified GAPS practitioner focusing on the interplay between nutritional and mental health. In conjunction with the experience she has gained through her 400-hour Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training, she is well versed on the delicate and complex synergy between the gut, mind and body and is passionate about the healing potential these holistic treatment modalities can provide.

$3,300  - Professionals (all non-physicians)

$4,750 - Physicians (MD, DO)

$500 - Scholarship Ticket Deposit (Professionals or Physicians)


  • A portion of the registration fees will be directly paid to the medical provider who will conduct your evaluation and medical services for training experientials.
  • Training registration fees do not include accommodations or meals (see Location and Accommodations Tab).
  • Standard Tickets: upon registering and paying the deposit, your space is secured for this training.
  • Scholarship Tickets: you will pay the deposit and submit an application to be considered for a scholarship award. Scholarship applicants not selected will receive a full refund for their deposit.
  • Full payment of the registration fee balance is due by March 17 or your registration may be canceled and you will lose your deposit. You will receive an email with a link to pay the balance.

 

Cancellation Policy

Full payment deadline: March 17, 2025
  • Deposits are non-refundable and non-transferable (except for Scholarship registrants).
  • Registration payments cannot be transferred to future trainings. Cancellations place a burden on our staff, and the following policy ensures we can cover costs if a spot cannot be filled.
  1. On or before the full payment deadline: Full refund of registration fees, minus the deposit.
  2. After the full payment deadline and up to 2 weeks before the training start date: 50% refund of registration fees, minus the deposit.
  3. 2 weeks or less before the training start date: No refund; all registration fees are forfeited.

This training expanded my understanding of the potential for psychedelic medicines to be integrated into mental health care. The group learning, experiential, and integration sessions were powerful and illuminated the wide range of possibilities with this medicine while reinforcing that this can be all be centered around self-awakening and growth. My group was profound and healing for me, and I would encourage anyone who has an interest in ketamine and/or psychedelic medicines to join PRATI on their journey to help restore connection to the sacred: self, community, nature, and spirit.
- Anuj Khattar, MD

The most valuable training experience I have ever known. All levels were addressed. I was affected both personally and professionally in an extremely profound way. Unforgettable. Thank you so much!
- Evonne Halligan, LMFT

After having several experiences where I felt ignored and/or harmed in psychedelic training spaces as a Black woman, coming to PRATI was a healing and corrective experience I am so happy to have had. The only program I plan on doing psychedelic trainings with going forward. Thank you!
- Mercedes Hightower, MSW, LCSW-C

The PRATI KAP Training was excellent. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to train with them, and learn from their experience and their example.
- Joe Tafur, MD

Words of gratitude don't do justice for the appreciation and respect I have for the PRATI KAP training. The staff were able to create a safe, welcoming, environment, where I was able to explore my joy, sorrow, and darkness. I felt completely safe and in good hands throughout the entire training. PRATI helped us to come together as a group. I came to this thinking I would leave with some KAP skills, but I left having found a new community in KAP. Thanks PRATI!
- Eric Pierce, LCSW

This experience created a turning point in my life, both personally and professionally. The training itself is one of the most thoughtfully prepared and masterfully implemented I've attended, and the staff/presenters of PRATI are kind, fun, and experts in their fields. What I didn't know to expect was the deep, lasting, and very real impact the work would have in my own life. This will change how I work with clients forever, and has reignited a love for myself, my community and this beautiful world in which we live.
- Jason Gruhl, MA, Psychotherapist

The PRATI group of professionals helped to bring the spirit of this work to life over the course of the training. They approached this work through a multi-faceted lens, offering a clinical, medical, experiential, natural, and spiritual experience which helped integrate the training in a very meaningful and impactful way. This training has helped me feel confident about entering into this area of my field as a clinician, and for me it also regenerated vitality towards this very important work. I feel grateful for this group of professionals, who more than anything showed their humanity and compassion towards the trainees, and made this feel like a family focused on the goal of healing and hope. I would highly recommend this training to anyone interested in working with psychedelic medicine in any capacity.
- Ibrahim Choudhary, LCSW

PRATI’s KAP training gave me the knowledge, skills, and experience I needed to competently and confidently offer this potentially life-saving and life-changing therapy right away to my clients in only a few days! Every staff member was clearly passionate and excited about sharing and offering this powerful, transformative medicine as a tool with the mental health community. They each had unique offerings and contributions which blended and overlapped in a comprehensive, professional, fun, and exciting way. I feel grateful and hopeful to bring this holistic, integrative, and innovative therapy to my community.
- Darlene Egelhoff, LPC, LAC

PRATI offers an excellent training that is truly holistic considering the whole person. I am leaving the training feeling inspired and knowledgeable to start offering KAP. But even more important, I feel transformed on a personal level by the experientials and the deep connections I made. I am very grateful for this sacred experience in community.
- Lauren Going, LCSW-C

The PRATI team and their foundational Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy training is a phenomenal experience for learning and growing my potential as a future KAP therapist, and simultaneously is a wonderfully impactful personal growth exploration. The setting, curriculum, experiential component, and the people who gather for this training make for a particularly unique and special collective journey. I would call it a "once-in-a-lifetime" experience, except for the fact that I'll probably return for another PRATI training in the future – after I've been able to implement the many skills and experiences I now feel confident in delivering to/with my clients. 10/10 recommend!
- Amy Bingham, CMHC, EdD