Ask our alumni!

Discover the benefits of the Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research training at CIIS and hear real-life career outcomes. Join our alumni panel to meet several accomplished graduates of the certificate to learn about their work in the field after earning the certificate.

Panelists

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Arlene Samen, APRN, 2016 alum, is a trained family nurse practitioner with over 40 years experience in maternal child health and psychedelic assisted therapy. For 24 years she was CEO of One Heart World Wide, a US-based nonprofit working in developing countries to reduce maternal and newborn deaths. In 2016, she graduated from the California Institute of Integral Studies in the first Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Certificate program. She was trained by the Ketamine Research Foundation. In 2021, she started working for Novamind as a dosing monitor and now at Numinus Wellness as a clinical research dosing monitor and has worked in a variety of clinical trials for psychedelics.

 

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Dawn DeCunha, CPsych, is a clinical psychologist in private practice with three decades of experience in trauma-informed psychological assessment and treatment. She has worked in criminal, educational, and health/rehabilitation psychology. She considers herself privileged, having been raised by parents of mixed cultures, leaving her with an Eastern heart and a Western mind. When she is not gardening, she is a committed traditional Okinawan martial artist and maintains a Tai Chi practice. She graduated from the CIIS/CPTR post-graduate program in 2018 and has since participated in further training at Compass Pathways and CAMH in Toronto. She participates in ongoing Health Canada-funded research exploring psilocybin and treatment-resistant depression, runs a busy Psychedelic Clinic providing Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, and teaches/trains emerging psychedelic psychotherapists in Psychedelic Psychotherapy. In the Spirit of Plant Medicines, she is looking forward to including a focus on Nature-Based Therapy including Outdoor Journeys and Integration and developing a like-minded, community-based group of local practitioners.

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Dominique Morisano, CPsych (she/her) is a clinical psychologist and Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto and University of Ottawa. She is of Sicilian-Lithuanian-Polish ancestry, plays clarinet, and studies Italian for fun. She grew up in rural northern Connecticut and is a US-Canadian dual citizen, now residing in Toronto, ON. She lives and works with a chronic post-accident physical disability. She served in executive leadership at the psychedelic therapy company Field Trip Health for 2 years, and runs a trauma/addiction-focused private practice (New York/Ontario/Alberta), including KAP. She facilitates at Beckley Retreats, runs a peer consultation group at Journey Clinical, and is an Advisor/Consultant for several companies and professionals in the psychedelic therapies space. She is a mentor at CIIS and Mind Foundation, and lectures at Psychedelics Today’s Vital Program, Naropa University, Mind Foundation, and Fluence. She is also co-Founder/Chair of the Board of the nonprofit Psychedelics R2R, which was behind the 2022 international psychedelics research conference “From Research to Reality: Global Summit on Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Medicine” (Toronto; open-access to all talks on fromresearchtoreality.com). Website: drmorisano.com.

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Robert Koffman, M.D., MPH, is the former Medical Director for the Semper Fi Fund/America’s Fund (2015-2019) and is the present Senior Medical Adviser for Warrior Canine Connection, additionally has recently become the Military and Veteran Liaison for Sunstone Therapies where he directs new and emerging treatments using psychedelic assisted therapies for the benefit of service members and Veterans suffering from military trauma. Capping an acclaimed 32-year career as a naval medical officer, psychiatrist, and aerospace medicine physician, he continues caring for Wounded Warriors as a Red Cross Volunteer. Koffman’s terminal military assignment was the Chief of Clinical Operations at the premiere National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) aboard the Walter Reed campus in Bethesda, Maryland. Koffman, lauded for his work in integrative medical practices, had the unprecedented opportunity to craft the nation’s renown, evidenced-based holistic recovery program for combat wounded veterans at the NICoE, a facility where for the last seven years, he has volunteered his services as a Red Cross provider. A board-certified psychiatrist, he obtained his doctorate from the University of Santo Tomas, and his Master of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health, focusing on psychiatric epidemiology.

About the Program

The Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research Certificate Program serves a growing need for the training of skilled therapist researchers who will ideally seek advanced training for future FDA-approved psychedelic-assisted and entactogen-assisted psychotherapy research, as well as therapeutic work during expanded access clinic research programs. Enrollees are from specific licensed professions in mental health and medicine.

For more information, see the Certificate Program page or download the 2024-2025 Information Packet.