The Synthesis Institute
The different initiatives to decriminalize and regulate access to psychedelic psychotherapies, in conjunction with positive changes in public perception, all signal an important reappraisal of the therapeutic and spiritual potential of these powerful substances. A tide is turning—one in which practitioners of diverse backgrounds are coming together to synthesize a new way of working legally with psychedelics in the United States and around the world.
This has led to growing interest in our psychedelic retreats and trainings, and has created the need for us to expand our team.
Deeply rooted in a vision that everyone should have access to psychedelic care, Synthesis is pioneering a unique integration of clinical research, wisdom traditions, scientific findings, and contemplative practices. Our organization is a global leader in advancing research, building community, educating the public, and developing protocols to reduce risk, optimize benefits, and promote safe and legal access to psychedelics.
Synthesis operates uniquely as a for-profit stewardship entity in a complex regulatory and operating environment. The Synthesis Institute is based in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, with our Digital Education division based in Oregon in the United States. We are accepting candidates globally and will consider those willing and able to work remotely, provided they meet the requirements of the position.
Psychedelic Practitioner Training Content Advisor
Our Psychedelic Practitioner Training program is opening registrations for our second cohort in 2022. We are seeking a team of highly qualified “advisors” to support our content development team as it continues to develop our multiple-disciplinary and multi-lensed curriculum. The ideal candidates seek a dynamic relationship with emerging and new content and are committed to seamlessly integrating it into the throughline of the program.
Each Content Advisor is recognized as an impeccable and distinguished professional (whether it be academic scholar or facilitator-in-the-field) within the subject area they are representing, not only demonstrating wisdom and knowledge in this area, but also an exceptional modeling of best practices and high quality standards professionally.
A Content Advisor is responsible for supporting the content development team in a variety of ways, including envisioning new content, reviewing developed content, brainstorming potential guest faculty (and/or serving as guest faculty themselves), and generally being a sounding board for the content development team through the development and delivery process.
A brief description of each Content Advisor is included here:
Embodied Wisdom Advisor
The Embodied Wisdom track is grounded in the knowledge that we each have a wellspring of wisdom inside us that we can access by committing to a path of personal growth and development. Not only is this fundamental to living a meaningful and intentional life, the capacity to access our own embodied wisdom is a prerequisite for being able to create and hold space for others. Through this lens, we support our participants to establish and/or enhance ongoing somatic, spiritual, and self-reflection practices; examine their personal ethics; articulate their personal values; and integrate their learnings from the other lenses in an ongoing and uniquely personal way. The ideal Embodied Wisdom Advisor is deeply grounded as a student and teacher in at least one practice area and is also knowledgeable about embodied wisdom practices generally so as to be able to think holistically about this track in a complex and grounded manner.
Cognitive Wisdom Advisor
The Cognitive Wisdom lens focuses on the contributions of history, philosophy, and science to our modern-day understanding of psychedelics. From neuroscience to psychopharmacology to harm reduction to best practices for psychedelic facilitation, this lens explores what is knowable through study, observation, and thought. The ideal Cognitive Wisdom Advisor brings a strongly traditional academic perspective, rigor, and background to the subject areas covered in this lens, while also having “real world” experience either guiding psychedelic ceremonies or supervising them as part of a clinical trial.
Sacred Wisdom Advisor
The Sacred Wisdom lens explores the variety of ways that people make meaning in their life, including spiritual, philosophical, nature-based, and wisdom-based approaches that cultures developed long before, and in parallel with, modern scientific thinking. It acknowledges the wisdom keepers who have used their maps of consciousness and sense-making systems to help people navigate liminal spaces, as well as contemporary practices informed by those traditions that help people connect to themselves, others, and the more-than-human world.The ideal Sacred Wisdom Advisor brings a wealth of knowledge to multiple cultural meaning making systems, both in the past and in our present.They will be conversant in comparative religion and philosophy; anthropology; mythology; transpersonal psychology; and, perhaps, Jungian thought, while also, ideally,having deep personal experience in a specific “wisdom tradition” . They are able to address issues and themes of cross-cultural meaning making systems and cultural appropriation, are committed to ethics of mutuality, and are adept at connecting with and weaving in voices from the multitude of global wisdom traditions in the world.
Relational Wisdom Advisor
The Relational Wisdom lens focuses on what we, at Synthesis, hold to be true—that life happens in relationship – the relational space. We are always relating to the people, organizations, or the environment around us. This lens asks us to develop a deeper awareness of our role in the greater ecosystem of our life. We look at ways to build relational skills; examine the role we wish to play with clients and in the psychedelic community; and explore how to be deliberate and intentional as we bring this important work into the world. The ideal Relational Wisdom Advisor is deeply experienced in relating and facilitating professionally in many contexts – from one-on-one therapy or coaching, to facilitating group transformative processes, either as a consultant, coach/facilitator or transformative educator. This person is able to hold deep relational space in the most intimate of relationships and broadly across a group, and is an exceptional teacher and model to our participants for how that’s done.
Roles And Responsibilities
- Be available as needed for the Content Development team to brainstorm module content and associated guest faculty suggestions, review drafts of material, and answer associated questions regarding curriculum development, delivery, and materials
- Serve as a liaison with the larger psychedelic community by making referrals and introductions to potential guest faculty
- Respond to most pertinent student questions as collated and prioritized by program team and dictated for posting in Circle
- Gather quarterly for 90-minute meeting with program team and other Content Advisors to review and evaluate the training and its components
Compensation: Monthly stipend of $1500/month
Commitment: 10-15 hours per month
Reports To: Director of Program and Product Development
As an organization, we take our responsibility to create a just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive psychedelic future seriously. We strongly encourage individuals from historically marginalized communities (BIPOC, LGBTQ, differently abled, women, and more) to apply.
To apply for this job please visit thesynthesisinstitute.teamtailor.com.