End of Life & Existential Distress Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Training — April 9-12, 2026
End of Life & Existential Distress Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Training
April 9-12, 2026
The PRATI End-of-Life and Existential Distress Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (PAT) Training builds upon our Foundations in Psychedelic Medicine course, equipping practitioners with the clinical skills necessary to support patients and families facing end-of-life (EOL) concerns, existential distress, and palliative care needs. The program integrates practical clinical skills, current research, and supported ketamine experiences to inform and empower participants in this emerging area of practice. This unique training provides a strong grounding in end-of-life and existential distress psychedelic medicine, while also establishing a foundation for work with other psychedelic modalities, including psilocybin, as it becomes legally available.
Over four immersive days, participants will co-create a supportive and contained learning environment that fosters both personal reflection and professional development. Guided by PRATI’s experienced faculty, the training emphasizes emotional safety, relational depth, and thoughtful pacing, allowing participants to engage meaningfully with the material and experiential components. A high faculty-to-participant ratio supports individualized guidance, while shared moments of connection, warmth, and levity help cultivate a sense of community that many participants describe as a defining element of the training experience.
Important Note:Participation in the experiential component of this program requires completion of a pre-training virtual medical evaluation. An additional $330 medical services fee, which covers the required evaluation as well as medical support provided during the training, is billed separately and paid directly to Evolve Mind Wellness, our medical services partner. Medical evaluation appointments will be available in the month leading up to the training start date. Please plan accordingly prior to registering.
What You Will Learn
PRATI’s immersive training approach integrates didactic instruction with experiential learning in a retreat-style setting. Participants engage in dyadic work as well as large- and small-group formats, creating multiple opportunities for meaningful connection, reflection, and applied learning. Over the four-day program, we will co-create a supportive container for deep personal and professional growth, guided by PRATI’s expert faculty and informed by participants’ exploration of psychedelic medicine in the context of death and existential distress.
Because group cohesion and psychological safety are essential to the training experience, all participants are required to remain onsite at the venue for the full duration of the course.
This unique program builds upon participants’ foundational training in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and expands clinical, experiential, and contemplative competencies. Participants will gain practical skills and hands-on experience in the following areas:
Two optional ketamine-assisted experiences (contingent upon medical approval), supported in one-to-one and small-group formats
Existential and end-of-life concerns in mental health and medical practice
Theory and practice of working with grief and loss
Review of current research on end-of-life care, psychedelics, and existential distress, including demoralization and anxiety
Supporting patients and families through the end-of-life journey
Preparation and integration practices in end-of-life work
Personal and professional exploration of grief
Curation of the death experience
Examination of belief systems related to loss and death
Discussion of death rituals and ceremonial practices
Understanding clinical care models and family support systems at end of life and within palliative care settings
The role of spirituality in exploring impermanence and non-attachment for caregivers, patients, families, and clinicians
Skills for facing death as a gateway to end-of-life planning
Community building and professional networking opportunities
This training is designed to deepen clinical presence, expand therapeutic skill sets, and foster a grounded, compassionate approach to psychedelic-assisted care at the end of life.
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Program Eligibility
PRATI’s End-of-Life and Existential Distress Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (PAT) Training Program is intended for professionals currently working in clinical or care-oriented settings. Eligible participants include:
Nursing and medical professionals
Palliative care and hospice practitioners
Mental health professionals
Social workers, counselors,
Chaplains and spiritual guides
Completion of a recognized experiential ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) or PAT training program (e.g., PRATI, Polaris, Ketamine Training Center, or IPI) is required prior to attending this training.
PRATI acknowledges that practitioners interested in PAT come from diverse professional backgrounds. If you are uncertain about your eligibility, please contact us at christine.pateros@pratigroup.org before registering. Registrations may be canceled if eligibility requirements are not met.
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Tickets
Select your preferred ticket level (Standard or Scholarship) by clicking the link, and completing your checkout / registration to secure your space. Please carefully review the Cost tab below for registration fee and cancellation information.
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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 consider a range of socioeconomic factors when reviewing scholarship applications, including household size, number of dependents, expendable income, access to generational wealth, and debt-to-income ratio.
Scholarships are available across three tiers, reflecting different levels of financial support. Applicants select the tier they can afford within the application process. To apply, please purchase a Scholarship Ticket with a $500 deposit, after which you will receive a link to complete the scholarship application. The deadline for scholarship application submission is February 9, 2026.
Total Cost for Scholarship Recipients
For those awarded a scholarship, the total cost of the training includes:
A $500 deposit (paid at the time of application)
The selected scholarship tier amount, paid to PRATI
A prorated medical services fee, billed separately and paid directly to Evolve Mind Wellness, the contractor providing medical support for these events
The $500 deposit will be applied toward any remaining scholarship balance.
Prorated Medical Services Fees These reduced rates reflect a collaborative effort between PRATI and Evolve Mind Wellness to support scholarship access:
Full Scholarship: $130 medical services fee
Tier 1 Scholarship: $230 medical services fee
Tier 2 Scholarship: $280 medical services fee
Expenses Not Covered by Scholarships
Please note: Scholarships do not cover travel, food, or lodging. Food and lodging are arranged and paid separately through the event venue, Sunrise Ranch.
Notifications and Refunds
Applicants will be notified once scholarship decisions have been 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 toward your remaining scholarship balance.
The Application Process
The scholarship application is not a “test” of need. Questions related to personal identities, education, and licensure are not intended as definitive measures of lived or professional experience.
Within the application, you will select the scholarship tier you can afford from the following options:
Full Scholarship: $500
Tier 1 Scholarship: $1,650
Tier 2 Scholarship: $2,475
Scholarship Decisions
Due to limited resources and a small review team, we appreciate your patience during the application review process. Unfortunately, we are unable to approve all applications or provide individual feedback or status updates. Scholarship decisions are based on multiple factors and reviewed by more than one evaluator to ensure fairness.
Cancellation Policy
Full payment deadline: March 2, 2026
Deposits are non-refundable (with the exception of Scholarship Ticket holders) and non-transferable. Payments cannot be applied or transferred to a future training in the event of cancellation.
Cancellations made more than 60 days prior to the training start date will receive a full refund of the training cost, minus the deposit.
Cancellations made after the full payment deadline and up to two weeks prior to the training start date will receive a 50% refund of the training cost, minus the deposit.
Cancellations made within two weeks of the training start date will result in forfeiture of the full training cost.
All cancellation requests must be submitted in writing.
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Training Duration
The training will take place over four days, from April 9–12, 2026. Check-in at Sunrise Ranch begins on Wednesday, April 8, from 1:00–5:00 p.m. (Mountain Time). Participants may also arrive prior to the training start time of 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 9. The course will conclude at approximately 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 12. All times listed are in the Mountain Time Zone.
Please note that participants must be present for all didactic and interactive components of the training in order to receive a completion certificate. Early departures prior to 12:00 p.m. on Sunday do not meet course completion requirements. Please plan travel arrangements accordingly.
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Accommodations
In addition to the registration fees paid to PRATI, all participants are required to register separately with Sunrise Ranch for lodging and meals. Sunrise Ranch charges per bed (not per room), and this fee includes all meals provided during the training. Accommodation options include camping, shared rooms, and private rooms in shared apartments.
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 be disruptive to the supportive and immersive environment essential to the program.
Sunrise Ranch is located in the scenic foothills of the Rocky Mountains, approximately one hour from Denver. In addition to serving as a resort and retreat center, Sunrise Ranch is an intentional spiritual community and a working sustainable ranch. Its farm-to-table cuisine is widely appreciated for its quality and care.
Registration cost does not include accommodations or meals.
In addition to submitting payment to PRATI, all participants are required to register separately with Sunrise Ranch for lodging and meals. Sunrise Ranch charges by the bed, rather than by the room, and this fee includes all meals provided during the training. Accommodation options include camping, shared and private rooms.
To support participant safety and foster group cohesion, all trainees are required to remain onsite for the full duration of the training. Family members and friends are not permitted to stay with trainees at Sunrise Ranch during the training experience, as their presence may disrupt the supportive container essential to the program.
Course Director: Christine Pateros, MA, RN, is a global spiritual guide, ceremonialist, psychedelic-assisted nurse therapist, artist, author, healer, teacher and presenter. Chris serves as Course Director for PRATI’s End Of Life Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Training, and is Lead Faculty and Operations Director for other PRATI offerings. Grounding in ecocentric ritual, ceremony and practices, and called to existential work, Chris’ seeking and mystical soul-seeing has awakened her spirit to support others to own and share their potent gifts in the world by guiding individuals and groups in embodied conscious living and dying practices through her private practice based in Denver, Colorado. Chris is a lineage carrier of the Qero mystics of the Peruvian Andes. She is a trained and certified ketamine-assisted therapist (Ketamine Training Center, 2019) and Ecopsychologist (MA 2022) and is MAPS MDMA trained (2024). As a mother who has lost a child, Chris is intimate with living and thriving with grief as a part of the medicine of life that she carries in her work in the world. She currently lives in Denver, Colorado with regular time spent in Chicago and Kythira, Greece.
Medical Support: Dr. Arsalan Azam is an emergency medicine physician and founder of Daydream MD, an integrative mental/functional health practice based in San Diego which offers ketamine assisted psychotherapy in individual and group settings. He has previously worked in international development overseeing urban community health workers and rural health insurance programs in India. He later worked at trauma centers in East Harlem and Harlem providing care to underserved communities in New York City. His mission is to innovate new models of care in the mental health and psychedelic medicine space, both at his own organization and with partners across the country. Dr. Azam works actively in the end of life space as a consulting physician with Medical Aid in Dying programs.
Mary Cosimano, LMSW, Mary Cosimano, LMSW, Psychedelic Support and Integration LLC. Services include Psychedelic Integration Coaching; teaching; training and mentoring for Psychedelic- Assisted Therapy; Death Awareness/Death with Psychedelics Workshop. Mary was employed at Johns Hopkins University in the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research from 2000-2024. She served as Director of Clinical Services, Psychedelic Session Facilitator and as a Research Program Coordinator. She was involved with multiple psilocybin clinical trials and conducted over 500 study sessions including Club Drug studies with Salvia Divinorum and Dextromethorphan. Mary has trained postdoctoral fellows, faculty, clinicians, and research assistants as guides and taught individual and group meditation to breast cancer patients in a Johns Hopkins research study. She completed the MAPS MDMA/PTSD therapy training program and PRATI’s KAP foundational training and joined the PRATI team. She is a teacher and mentor at California Institute to Integral Studies for their Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research (CPTR) certificate program and conducts training for therapists in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. She presents a Death Awareness/Death and Psychedelics workshop. She initiated and facilitated a meditation group for Johns Hopkins employees from 2003-2020. She also has 15 years of experience with direct patient care as a hospice volunteer.
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.
Darren Fisher, RN, BSN, has served as a hospice nurse for adult and pediatric patients for the past 11 years. His study of psychology and Buddhism has shaped his holistic approach to patient care. After learning of the beneficial outcomes in clinical studies of psychedelic medicines for those with terminal illness, Darren attended PRATI’s Foundational Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy program in 2021 and has since become faculty for PRATI’s End-Of-Life/Existential Distress Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Training. In addition to facilitating psychedelic-assisted therapy sessions for non-hospice clients, Darren advocates for the adoption of ketamine-assisted therapy in the palliative care and hospice setting to enhance support to patients and their loved ones and co-created a ketamine therapy pilot at the hospice where he works part-time.
Charlotte Charfen, MD is a board-certified Emergency Physician with over 20 years of experience in the field of Life & Death, living on the Big Island of rural Hawaii. In addition to emergency medicine, she has a private practice focused on end-of-life and serious illness support and helped found the North Hawaii based nonprofit, Life & Death Wellness. Their mission is to educate and support on all of life matters, but especially the end as a method to embrace one's life fully. But it was her patients that taught her the power of psychedelics at end-of-life and prompted her training with PRATI in 2021. Dr. Charfen is convinced that addressing our own mortality in addition to mental, and spiritual poise, are the keys to thriving in our world at any phase of life.
Meghan Fagundes, Ph.D. (she/they) is an Assistant Professor and Licensed Clinical Psychologist from San Diego, California, who teaches doctoral courses in psychological assessment, cognitive and affective psychology, and behavioral neuroscience. Since 2002, they have worked in community-based organizations, outpatient, residential and inpatient facilities, hospitals, and prison, offering clinical services to historically marginalized groups such as those with severe mental illness, co-occurring disorders, the LGBTQIA+ community, low-income and forensic populations.
Dr. Fagundes specializes in integrative somatic trauma therapy, the neurobiology of trauma, and somatic psychedelic therapy. They have completed certificates in ketamine assisted psychotherapy, psychedelic medicine, and psychedelic medicine for end of life and existential distress through the Psychedelic Research and Training Institute (PRATI). In addition, Dr. Fagundes trained in MDMA assisted therapy through the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) education program. They have facilitated consultation groups for the Psychedelic Assisted Therapy program at the Integrative Psychiatry Institute and co-facilitate psychedelic medicine retreats with Integrate Psychedelic Wellness and Education.
Dr. Amezcua, MD, has more than 24 years of experience in health care leadership. Following her medical degree from UNAM, she received postgraduate degree in psychiatry from the National Institute of Psychiatry Juan Ramón de la Fuente with a specialty in adolescents and affective disorders. As a part of her training, she worked on community mental health projects at Veterans Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. Trained in Psychedelics assisted therapy by IPI, she currently teaches courses in medical cannabis, integrative psychiatry and psychedelic medicine. Dr. Amezcua is also an active participant in several community programs and NGOs. Mother, cook, artist and self-declared social phobic.
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.
Registration Fees
$3,000* – Professionals (all non-physicians)
$4,450* – Physicians (MD, DO)
$500 – Scholarship Ticket Deposit (professionals or physicians)
* A separate $330 medical services fee, billed by and paid directly to Evolve Mind Wellness, the contractor providing medical support for these events, is required in addition to your payment to PRATI.
Training registration fees do not include travel, accommodations, meals, or the medical services fee. Please see the Location and Accommodations tab for additional details.
Standard Tickets: Upon registration and payment of the deposit, your space in the training is confirmed.
Scholarship Tickets: Applicants submit a $500 deposit and complete a scholarship application for consideration. Applicants who are not selected will receive a full refund of their deposit.
Full payment of the remaining registration balance is due by March 9, 2026. Registrations with unpaid balances after this date may be canceled, and deposits forfeited. Registered participants will receive an email with a link to complete payment.
Cancellation Policy
Full payment deadline: March 2, 2026
Deposits are non-refundable (with the exception of Scholarship Ticket holders) and non-transferable. Payments cannot be applied or transferred to a future training in the event of cancellation. Please note that cancellations create an administrative and financial burden, and the following policy applies in cases where a vacated space cannot be filled.
Cancellations made more than 60 days prior to the training start date will receive a full refund of the training cost, minus the deposit.
Cancellations made after the full payment deadline and up to two weeks prior to the training start date will receive a 50% refund of the training cost, minus the deposit.
Cancellations made within two weeks of the training start date will result in forfeiture of the full training cost.
All cancellation requests must be submitted in writing.
I have participated in a variety of KAP trainings through different organizations over the last year and have learned a lot along the way and had lots of good experiences. PRATI's training, however, was above and beyond any expectations I have for quality of information delivered, skillfulness in group facilitation, and the safety of the holding environment for the experiential part of the training. I highly recommend training through PRATI.
- Amy Everson, LMFT
The PRATI organization is powerful, embodied, extremely inclusive and well organized. Highly recommend any training they offer. The staff is so experienced and knowledgeable and a very welcoming community. I can't wait to do more trainings with them!
- Carolyn Cubberly, RN
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
Course Director: Christine Pateros, MA, RN, is a global spiritual guide, ceremonialist, psychedelic-assisted nurse therapist, artist, author, healer, teacher and presenter. Chris serves as Course Director for PRATI’s End Of Life Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Training, and is Lead Faculty and Operations Director for other PRATI offerings. Grounding in ecocentric ritual, ceremony and practices, and called to existential work, Chris’ seeking and mystical soul-seeing has awakened her spirit to support others to own and share their potent gifts in the world by guiding individuals and groups in embodied conscious living and dying practices through her private practice based in Denver, Colorado. Chris is a lineage carrier of the Qero mystics of the Peruvian Andes. She is a trained and certified ketamine-assisted therapist (Ketamine Training Center, 2019) and Ecopsychologist (MA 2022) and is MAPS MDMA trained (2024). As a mother who has lost a child, Chris is intimate with living and thriving with grief as a part of the medicine of life that she carries in her work in the world. She currently lives in Denver, Colorado with regular time spent in Chicago and Kythira, Greece.
