Embarking on Our Journey at Quest Therapeutics in Bend, Oregon
Starting this blog feels like the right way to dive into the world of psilocybin facilitation here in Central Oregon. Oregon's Measure 109 (the state law legalizing psilocybin for therapeutic purposes) rollout has been a bit of a whirlwind and particularly mystifying for professionals already holding licenses as counselors, social workers, psychologists, RN’s, MD’s, PA’s, and NP’s. A lot of us who completed (or are in the process of completing) psilocybin certificate training programs have been holding back to enter this space and waiting to see how things unfold. There's a lot to unpack, and there is some added uncertainty for licensed mental health and medical professionals who intend to participate as licensed psilocybin facilitators. More on that later.
For now, I just want to introduce myself and Quest Therapeutics, Inc. I’m the founder of this company, situated in beautiful Bend, Oregon. I look forward to working with other amazing, licensed facilitators in delivering our epic framework in the months and year to come. Of course, I’m biased, but our approach to psilocybin facilitation services is special. You can find more details on our website, and in upcoming posts, I'll delve into our approach even further.
I wear some different hats in my life. Above all, I’m a partner and a dad. My family is my anchor. I spend as much time with them as I can, and I’m grateful that having a family invited me to have greater balance. I’m still learning how to navigate this balance, but I’m more and more open to the idea that my career is not what solely defines me (I’ll have to share more about this another time). I graduated with my PhD in counseling in 2013, and since then, I’ve been questing to make my mark in academia. I developed the construct of EcoWellness (I’ll talk more about this in later posts), and I’ve explored how this construct relates to things like self-esteem, overall wellness, and self-efficacy. I even developed a fly-fishing program based on EcoWellness. I finally achieved tenure about a year ago at a research-intensive university, which certainly has provided some relief. I can breathe a bit more and expand my interests. Since 2013, I’ve also had a private practice in Bend where I work with people presenting with depression, anxiety, PTSD, work and family stress, amongst other challenges. As a trauma-informed clinician, I’ve specialized in several modalities, including EMDR, EcoWellness, CBT, relational cultural theory, and mindfulness-based approaches.
The timing of my tenure and promotion at the university aligned well with the progression of Measure 109 in Oregon. I had been following the literature on psychedelic therapy for several years (i.e., psilocybin and MDMA-assisted therapy), and I was excited to explore how I might integrate psychedelic therapy into my work. I completed my psilocybin facilitation training through Fluence. There’s a lot of training programs out there, and I chose Fluence because it focused its efforts on training licensed mental health and medical providers. It has considerable emphasis on the empirical literature and ethical psychedelic therapy practice, as multiple of Fluence’s lead trainers have been part of the clinical trials in both psilocybin and MDMA facilitated therapy. I finished my program in August, and I will be licensed as a facilitator in the coming several months. Please be in touch if you may be interested to join our waitlist!
In upcoming blog posts, I’ll address more about the “why” underlying my interest and emerging passion for psilocybin facilitation. As both a clinician and researcher (and soon, a licensed psilocybin facilitator in Oregon), I’m fascinated by and impressed with the therapeutic potential of psilocybin. Quest Therapeutics, Inc. embodies purposeful and ethical psilocybin facilitation. Stay tuned for more insights and experiences on this journey.
Be well!
Ryan
