Somatic
The body's intelligence
The body is where we feel volition, intention and authorship. We develop the capacity to notice inner states, regulate intensity, and let insight become embodied change.
The flagship certificate · October 2026 cohort
CPACT
Certificate of Psychedelic and Contemplative Therapies
From foundations to specialisation. A 200-hour, 12-month hybrid certification for practitioners seeking a deeply integrative, evidence-based and experiential approach to psychedelic-assisted therapy.
PACFA Category A CPD endorsed
Our next cohort journeys October 2026 to March 2027. Open to registered health professionals, facilitators working in lawful settings, and advanced students.
200Hours of training
12Months, hybrid
6Elective pathways
2Immersive retreats
Learning in the body, not only the mind
Experiential learning at the heart of CPACT
CPACT is felt as much as it is studied. Six opportunities for experiential learning, from intensives to trial and clinic placements, carry the theory into practice, ritual and relationship, the way this work is truly transmitted.
Immersive retreats
Two multi-day experiential intensives with your cohort, where the model becomes lived practice.
Holotropic breathwork
Guided breathwork with Anthony Olsen to safely explore expanded states and integration.
Therapeutic roleplays
Skills demonstrations and roleplays that build relational presence across the arc of care.
Study groups
Ongoing peer study groups between intensives, where you practise skills, reflect on real cases, and deepen the material together.
Trial placements
Supervised trial placements where you practise the full arc of care with peers, in a held, low-stakes setting.
Clinic placements
Clinical placements that carry your learning into real, supported practice with clients.
Clinical mentoring pathway
Supervised clinical mentoring via Rainbow Mandala Therapies
Our partnership with Rainbow Mandala Therapies opens supervised clinical mentoring pathways, so your learning can carry into real, supported practice.
The voyage
An integrative training for altered states
The Certificate of Psychedelic and Contemplative Therapies is a 200-hour, 12-month hybrid program designed for professionals, students and therapists seeking a deeply integrative, evidence-based and experiential approach to psychedelic-assisted therapy.
CPACT blends online and in-person experiential learning across two intertwined streams: 100 hours of core psychedelic-assisted therapy training, and 100 hours of contemplative or experiential electives you tailor to your own path.
CPACT is designed to be completed over twelve months, subject to elective dates and individual needs. All contemplative electives can be completed standalone and later recognised as Recognised Prior Learning when applying for CPACT.
There is vast beauty and salve in the psychedelic ocean of experience, and yet one may rapidly find themselves out of their depth. The SWIM manual
Who it is for
For those already walking the path
CPACT is aimed at people already working in, or training toward, mental-health and wellbeing roles. No prior psychedelic experience is required, though a genuine interest in contemplative practice is essential.
Health professionals
Psychiatrists, GPs, psychologists, psychotherapists, counsellors, nurses and allied health practitioners with current registration and indemnity insurance.
Facilitators and students
Psychedelic facilitators working in lawful settings, and final-year students in relevant fields, considered case by case.
Coaches and practitioners
Coaches and wellness practitioners with relevant experience who are ready to deepen their relational and ethical presence.
The curriculum spine
Woven through every module: SWIM
CPACT is organised around the SWIM model, an integrative map that holds psychedelic-assisted and contemplative work in four interwoven dimensions. Together they form a discipline for practice that is ethical, embodied and relationally grounded.
Wisdom
The art of orienting well
Philosophy, contemplation, ethics and flourishing in conversation. Wisdom keeps profound experience open to wonder without abandoning humility or ordinary life.
Interdependence
The self in relationship
Connection is not a byproduct of psychedelic-assisted therapy, it is the catalyst. Regulation emerges not in isolation, but in contact.
Metacognition
The mind meeting itself
You are not the cloud. You are the sky that holds it. Metacognition is the capacity to recognise mental activity as mental activity, and respond with flexibility.
100 hours · core
Building solid foundations
The clinical foundation of CPACT. One hundred hours combining contemporary psychedelic science, evidence-based practice, contemplative traditions and Indigenous wisdom, into a comprehensive, skill-based grounding for working with altered states. The core units are endorsed by PACFA as a Category A CPD activity.
What you study
Curriculum threads
- Pharmacology and neuroscience. The mechanisms of specific medicines, and how non-ordinary states arise in the brain and body.
- The SWIM model. Somatic, Wisdom, Interdependence and Metacognition as an integrative map for psychedelic-assisted and contemplative work.
- Clinical foundations. Our 4S's of set, setting, skill and system, and the arc of care from assessment, to preparation, through the dosing session, and into integration.
- Ethics, law and scope. Informed consent, professional boundaries and the Australian legal and regulatory landscape.
- Contemplative traditions. Wisdom practices, contemplative science, and meaning-making drawn across contemplative lineages.
- Ecological foundations. Indigenous wisdom, reciprocity and deep ecology inform practices that hold the work in reverence.
- FLOAT. A system of assessment and practice for supporting the approach, deepening and integration of non-dual experience.
How you learn
The learning journey
- 1Monthly study groupsLive study groups with core faculty, held in relationship.
- 2Guest webinarsMonthly webinars with core and visiting guest faculty.
- 3Experiential intensivesTwo four-day in-person intensives with roleplays, contemplative practices and a holotropic breathwork workshop.
- 4An online manual and portalA guiding manual for each phase, and a collaborative portal to connect with the teachings and your peers.
- 5Supervised placementsSix experiential learning opportunities carry the model into practice, culminating in supervised trial and clinic placements where your learning meets real, held work.
- 6Personal reflectionA reflection framework for continuous self-inquiry across the year.
Minimum 100 hours · electives
Nurturing your unique path
Choose a minimum of one hundred contemplative hours that align with your path, though many of our students choose to undergo more. Follow your curiosity, and specialise from the heart. Around $2,500 of the program fee is budgeted for completing electives.
Tap any elective to open its full brief.
Yin Yoga Teacher Training
With Michele Maselli (Mickey Space)
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Pranayama Breathwork Training
With Michele Maselli (Mickey Space)
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Peru Cultural Immersion Dieta
With Dr Alana Roy & Asháninka curanderos
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SWIM & FLOAT Meditation Training and Retreat
In the SWIM & FLOAT self-reflective approach
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Herbalism for Preparation & Integration
With Lily of the Herbs
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ACER Integration
With Dr Rosalind Watts
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Medicine-Assisted Retreat
With Neil Markey, Beckley Retreats
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EISP Somatic Psychotherapy
With Dr Lani Roy
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Yin Yoga Teacher Training
With Michele Maselli (Mickey Space)
Learn to teach Yin Yoga confidently, incorporating anatomical variation, Traditional Chinese Medicine, non-duality and trauma-informed practice. This teacher training weaves the stillness of long-held postures with the somatic intelligence at the heart of the SWIM model.
Pranayama Breathwork Training
With Michele Maselli (Mickey Space)
Dive deep into the ancient yogic science of pranayama, exploring traditional techniques, yogic philosophy and the energetic system, including the koshas, chakras and kundalini. A rigorous, embodied foundation for holding breath as a therapeutic and contemplative practice.
Peru Cultural Immersion Dieta
With Dr Alana Roy & Asháninka curanderos
Held deep in the Amazon with Asháninka curanderos and Anam Cara's ethical, evidence-based framework. A dieta experience alongside structured preparation and integration training, grounded in First Nations lineage and cultural reciprocity.
Herbalism for Preparation & Integration
With Lily of the Herbs
Bridging the wisdom of herbalism and contemplative therapies, an integrated approach to supporting psychedelic experiences before, during and after. Explore the plants that steady the nervous system and support self-care across the whole arc of the journey.
ACER Integration with Dr Rosalind Watts
With Dr Rosalind Watts
A year-long integration cycle for more thorough, thoughtful psychedelic integration and cyclical personal change, deepening connection to self, others and the natural world. ACER follows the turning of the seasons as a rhythm for lasting integration.
Medicine-Assisted Retreat with Beckley Retreats
With Neil Markey, Beckley Retreats
An advanced, legal, guided ceremonial psilocybin retreat with Beckley Retreats, informed by research from the Beckley Foundation, emphasising safety, ethics and community. A carefully held container for those ready to deepen their own experiential understanding.
EISP Somatic Psychotherapy
With Dr Lani Roy
Experiential learning in EMPATHS Integrative Somatic Psychotherapy, mentored by Dr Lani Roy. Cultivate body-based skills for regulation, neuroception and embodiment, so the felt sense becomes a trustworthy guide across the whole arc of care — preparation, journey and integration alike.
SWIM & FLOAT Meditation Training and Retreat
In the SWIM & FLOAT self-reflective approach
Contemplative units that cultivate meditation, metacognition and embodied awareness as the ground of the work. A steady self-practice in the SWIM & FLOAT approach, where turning attention inward becomes the quiet foundation beneath every skill you carry to others.
All offerings and pathways are available, including Herbalism, ACER integration with Dr Rosalind Watts, and medicine-assisted retreats.
See all offerings and pathways →
Creating community
Two immersive four-day retreats in nature
Connect with your cohort at two immersive four-day retreats in nature, held in a forested, waterside sanctuary and designed to support deep personal and professional growth in a nurturing setting.
Throughout these gatherings we journey through the SWIM and FLOAT model of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, exploring somatic awareness, wisdom practices, interdependence and metacognition as we deepen our capacity to feel, let go, open into awareness and transcend.
You will experience a rich blend of practices such as expressive and creative arts, ritual cooking, movement and embodiment, and community connection. In the second retreat we work with Holotropic Breathwork with Anthony Olsen to support expanded states of consciousness and integration.
More than retreats, these are invitations to build lasting friendships and a peer-supported community grounded in ethical, embodied practice. A space to rest, reflect, create and grow together.
How it runs
Delivery and rhythm
Hybrid and online-first
Delivered primarily online through our LearnWorlds learning platform, with self-paced modules, live study groups and guest webinars, plus two in-person experiential intensives.
Live attendance
Study groups and lectures require live attendance, with 80% attendance across the program. The comprehensive course manual is required reading throughout.
Assessment
Assessed through reflective essays, case discussions, skills demonstrations and an integrative project, with practical assessments held during the intensive retreats.
Where it leads
A pathway to AMAPP accreditation
On completion you receive a Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted and Contemplative Therapies. While no nationally agreed training standards yet exist in Australia, CPACT provides a pathway to accreditation with AMAPP, the Australian Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Practitioners, as a Psychedelic Prescriber, Psychedelic-Assisted Therapist or Psychedelic Facilitator.
CPACT does not itself qualify you for clinical practice or registration. It prepares practitioners to offer preparation, integration and therapeutic support within their existing scope of practice, and may count as continuing professional development depending on your professional association.
Trust signals
- PACFA Category A CPD endorsed core units
- Pathway to AMAPP accreditation
- Faculty from Swinburne, Monash, ANU, Imperial College, MAPS and Beckley
- Grounded in Australian law and AHPRA's Code of Conduct
- Supervised clinical mentoring pathways via our Rainbow Mandala Therapies partnership
Investment
Fees and scholarships
Scholarships available. We are committed to widening access to this training for those who carry it into community.
Full program
$7,500 AUD
The complete 200-hour certificate. Around $2,500 of this is budgeted for you to complete 100 hours of contemplative electives with external partners. Payment plans are available, considered case by case.
Scholarship rate
Upon request
Scholarship rate available upon request for First Nations Australians, veterans, those with an extensive volunteer history in psychedelics, and underprivileged individuals with demonstrated volunteer work.
Deposits are non-refundable. Course fees are non-refundable but may transfer to a future cohort. Deferrals are considered case by case.
Voices from the field
What graduates say
Lani and Melissa complement each other beautifully, bringing together a truly thoughtful and insightful curriculum. They create a psychologically safe and nurturing environment where participants connect and learn. I was especially impressed by the focus on emerging ethical issues in this field.
I have been thoroughly enjoying the CPACT course at Anam Cara Centre. The material is rich, thoughtful, and deeply engaging. The SWIM and FLOAT models have been particularly valuable in expanding my understanding while gently pushing the edges of my practice. The learning feels both grounded and practical, continually opening new areas for growth.
Their unique blend of skills, Lani's clinical expertise and Melissa's holistic approach, ensures a well-rounded understanding of assisted psychedelic therapy. Their ability to integrate science, safety, and the power of human connection makes this course stand out. Highly recommended.
Answer the call
How to apply
- 1
Register your interest
Contact us to receive the CPACT course syllabus and application form.
- 2
Meet the intake team
Our intake educators reply within one to two business days and schedule a brief conversation.
- 3
Begin the journey
Complete your application and join the October 2026 to March 2027 cohort.
Are you ready to answer the call?
We welcome the next cohort of psychedelic practitioners in October 2026. Begin a conversation with our intake team, request the syllabus, or read the frequently asked questions.
Scholarship rate available upon request