Sacred Medicine

Consciousness expanding plants, fungi, and animals have been interwoven with the healing and visionary practices of indigenous people for millennia.

Modern science and clinical practice is beginning to catch up. A new paradigm of practice is emerging where severe and intractable conditions such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD are being treated with one or two doses of medication - within a therapeutic context - and yielding immediate, large and lasting reductions in symptoms.

We honor the cultures that these sacred medicine ways have come to us from and thank them for the sacrifices made to keep these ways alive.




We also honor the pioneers from medicine, psychology, and nursing who have gone against the grain in order to conduct research on the healing potential of medicines such as psilocybin, LSD and MDMA and the healing practices that support these medicines. 

Largely missing from the conversation has been the voice of nursing. We believe that nurses, able to combine their knowledge of medicine provision with deep caring and the ability to bridge cultural and medical knowledge, have so much to offer to the development of psychedelic therapy. 



We invite you to join this course to learn, to contemplate, to share, and to build the psychedelic nursing network. The field, still in it's infancy, needs your skills, your perspective, and your heart.

This Course

This course is an introduction to sacred medicine and psychedelic therapy. In this self-paced course we offer three modules you can complete at your own pace: Sacred Medicine Traditions, Current Clinical Science, the Role of Holistic Nursing. Each module features an introductory video from the instructors, a powerpoint presentation, 3-4 readings/viewings, and a written online discussion between peers on the week's material.

Our intention is twofold: to provide information on psychedelic therapy from a holistic perspective, and to cultivate the psychedelic nursing community.

What Makes Us Unique


This course is the only extensive online course on psychedelic therapy designed for nurses. The information we include speaks from and to the nursing perspective. We include written online discussions each week in order to bring the material to life and to bring forth the wisdom that all participants have to offer. This course is appropriate for nurses at all levels of practice. If you not a nurse and feel that this content is relevant to you, you are also welcome to join. 

This course also seeks to acknowledge the long history of sacred medicine in indigenous culture, which is lacking in many other professional courses. At the same time we will review the most up-to-date evidence from the clinical science.

We plan to use the dialogue generated in this course to guide a continued, deeper study and training in psychedelic integration therapy for nurses.

Testimonials

From students in both Self-Paced and Interactive Cohort courses

RN, Cohort 6

Being a part of this cohort has re-ignited my interest in nursing, continuing my education, and is helping to point me in a direction that will be more in line with my values.

NP, Cohort 6

This course is excellent. It has solidified my basic understanding of psychedelic assisted psychotherapy and prompted me to become more involved in this movement. I also feel part of a growing community of psychedelic and entheogenic nurses.

Holistic RN, Cohort 4

This introductory course gave me the confidence in psychedelic medicine as a holistic healing therapy that I, as a professional holistic nurse and wellness coach, can describe to other professionals and patients. A door opened, as well, for my own future possibilities as a nurse facilitator and guide as patients enter their own journey with the medicine. Both Naku and Stephanie created a special environment for the us to dialogue and ask questions and grow as a community.

RN, Cohort 4

I really enjoyed this course and I learned more about plant medicines than I did before. Your course delved into plants I didn't even know where part of sacred medicine traditions. It gives a good historical overview and contemporary advances and practices. I learned a lot about the nurse's role in psychedelic therapy.

RN, Cohort 2

I felt the course was a wonderful introduction for those who want to expand their knowledge about sacred medicine. I had very little knowledge or experience in this area and was eager to learn. I came away with a much deeper understanding and respect for the origins of these medicines, and many resources to further my knowledge. I look forward to more courses.

RN, Cohort 1

I took Stephanie Hope’s course “Nursing and Sacred Medicine” and would recommend to anyone in this space interested in learning more on the therapeutic effects of entheogens and the role of holistic nurses. I found the experience educational and uplifting; Stephanie and Naku do a wonderful job of moderating a welcoming, insightful space to learn from each other.

RN, Cohort 1

It was incredible to have a chance to meet with other likeminded nurses on this journey in support of sacred medicines becoming legal and accessible. The articles, videos, and zoom calls all helped me to have a better understanding of the role of nursing in the past and the future of sacred medicine. Stephanie and Naku held a welcoming and accessible space for exploring this importaint work. I would highly recommend this course!

RN, Cohort 1

This course left me feeling inspired to continue collaborating and sharing with other nurses who are interested in sacred medicines and psychedelics. I recommended this course to several of my nursing friends! It provides a great foundation of sacred medicines, their uses, and the clinical evidence and how it relates to holistic nursing.

RN, Cohort 1

This training is a beautiful coalescing of evidence based science, nature, and holistic nursing to reveal the sacredness of psychedelics and how meaningful and transformative their application can be in a therapeutic setting. I enjoyed this training so much and look forward to future trainings from the instructors who compassionately share their wisdom.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Sacred Medicine Traditions

    • Course pre-test - please complete before beginning and without assistance of the internet

    • Sacred Medicine Traditions Introduction with Stephanie Hope and Naku Kiwa

    • Sacred Medicine Traditions presentation

    • Reading 1.1 Entheogens: A Brief History of Their Spiritual Use (Jesse)

    • Reading 1.2 Ceremonial Plant Medicine Use (Dorsen et al.)

    • Reading 1.3 Holistic Care of the Spirit (Hope & Rosa)

    • Reading (audio) 1.4 Asters and Goldenrod (Kimmerer)

    • Sacred Medicine Traditions - discussion question
  • 2

    Current Clinical Science

    • Current Clinical Science Introduction with Stephanie Hope

    • Current Clinical Science - presentation

    • Reading 2.1 Emerging psychedelic-assisted therapies: Implications for nursing practice (Denis-Lalonde & Estefan)

    • Reading 2.2 Patient Experiences of Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy (Belser et al.)

    • Video: A Patient Speaks (Murphy)

    • Current Clinical Science - discussion question
  • 3

    The Role of Holistic Nursing

    • The Role of Holistic Nursing Introduction with Naku Kiwa

    • The Role of Holistic Nursing - presentation

    • 3.1 Developing guidelines and competencies for the training of psychedelic therapists (Phelps)

    • Reading 3.2 Code of Ethics for Spiritual Guides (Council on Spiritual Practices)

    • Reading 3.3 Supporting the Patient on LSD Day (Parley)

    • Reading 3.4 Organization of Psychedelic and Entheogenic Nurses (OPENurses) Code of Ethics

    • The Role of Holistic Nursing - discussion question

    • Course post-test - feel free to use course materials

    • Course evaluation and course completion instructions

    • Additional Resources

Instructors

Instructor, Founder

Stephanie Van Hope

Dr. Stephanie Van Hope, RN, DNP is a Registered Nurse, certified nurse coach, and Doctor of Nursing Practice. She graduated with a DNP in the specialty of Integrative Health and Healing from the University of Minnesota in 2019. Stephanie has worked in for the last 10 years in the nursing fields of oncology, hospice, and health coaching. In 2011 she served as study guide for NYU's Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety project, guiding cancer patients through psychedelic journeys with psilocybin mushrooms. She is a Reiki practitioner and a student of yoga, meditation, shamanic healing, astrology, plant medicine, music and dance, and the sacred teachings of many faiths. She currently resides with her husband, son, and many animals in an intentional community in the Catskills region of New York. Please visit hopeholistic.com for more info and a list of publications, including those on nursing and psychedelics.

Instructor

Naku Kiwa

Naku was born in Uganda and lived in several countries in her early childhood. She migrated to Canada with her father and four siblings to escape political persecution. Growing up, she always had interests in nature, learning about different cultures and often daydreamed of the galaxies and mythology. She studied nursing in Canada and moved to the US to reunite with her birth mother. ⁠ Her nursing career has been very colorful - she has worked in gerontology, dialysis, psychiatry, trauma/med surg, home care and hospice.⁠ ⁠ Hospice care deepened her spiritual connection to the universe. While living in NYC she started practicing yoga and meditation, and began research in nutrition, sustainability and shamanism. She also obtained her permaculture certification. She travelled to Costa Rica to further her studies and worked on an eco-farm, also spending time studying fungi in an intentional community.⁠ ⁠ Presently, she is working on a farm in upstate NY in a spiritual community. Her interests include mushroom cultivation, shamanism/indigenous studies, caring for the land, children and universal family. ⁠

Stay in Touch!

Whether or not you take this course, we'd love to include you in our growing psychedelic nursing network.

Cost

10% of the proceeds of this course will be donated to organizations supporting indigenous communities and communities harmed by the war on drugs.