Advanced Music Module for Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy
On-Demand Course
Learn how to use music as an active therapeutic tool in psychedelic-assisted sessions from experienced practitioners in the field.
Music is one of the most powerful and least understood elements of psychedelic-assisted therapy. Psychedelics Today is proud to partner with Polaris Insight Center to present this advanced course that moves beyond playlists into the deeper intelligence of music as a therapeutic ally. Drawing from decades of clinical experience, research, and practice, this training explores how sound shapes emotional arcs, supports non-ordinary states, and facilitates profound inner movement. Designed for clinicians, facilitators, and practitioners ready to refine their craft, this course offers practical frameworks, real-world insights, and a more intentional relationship with music in transformational work.
Course Instructors: Veronika Gold, LMFT • Ryan Hoffman, LMFT • Eric Sienknecht, PsyD • Byron Metcalf, PhD • Claudia Cuentas, LMFT • David Starfire
Price: $149
What you'll learn:
From Byron Metcalf:
How to attune to "the field" — the shared consciousness space of a session — and let it guide your music choices rather than your thinking mind
Why the facilitator's inner state IS part of the session, and how to prepare accordingly
The difference between choosing music and letting music choose you
How to use music for challenging states — including the "hell realms" — without trying to pull clients out of their process
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From Claudia Cuentas:
An indigenous cosmovision of sound as medicine — how Andean and Amazonian traditions understand what music does at a cellular level
The contraction/expansion framework for reading your client's nervous system in real time and calibrating your music to support movement
How to develop sensorial awareness — the practitioner skill that no Western training program teaches
When and how to use live music, voice, and simple instruments in sessions, even if you've never sung in front of anyone
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From David Starfire:
The wave structure: a complete, phase-by-phase playlist architecture for a ketamine session from opening to integration
Why high-dose ketamine specifically requires beats and how to build a playlist that prevents clients from getting stuck in loops
The Circle of Fifths applied to playlist building and how to sequence tracks so they flow harmonically, without any music theory background
Binaural beats, vibroacoustic tools, tuning forks, and other clinical-grade sound tools that most practitioners don't know exist
How to handle clients who want to stay with the same comfortable playlist every time and why that may be the same avoidance pattern you're trying to help them move through
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"The most gifted facilitators aren't choosing music they like, they're listening to what the room needs, and letting that guide every selection."
— Byron Metcalf, PhD · Course Instructor
Music isn't the background.
It's the medicine.
How will this be helpful in my clinical practice?
Learn to use music and sound more effectively to support a client's process of moving through challenging experiences in psychedelic psychotherapy sessions.
Learn how tracking your client's nervous system and attuning to the shared field during a psychedelic session can inform the selection of music.
Learn about the skillful use of different types of music production software, as well as live instruments, to support, contain, and deepen clients' psychedelic experiences."
Will this course be helpful if I'm not a practitioner?
This course is open to both clinicians and non-clinicians and could help deepen participants' understanding of how to engage with music during psychedelic experiences and learn about specific ways of using music and sound to support the movement through non-ordinary states of consciousness and to support movement towards wholeness and healing.
Meet Your Course Instructors
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Eric Sienknecht, PsyD, is a licensed psychologist who specializes in treating chronic pain, mood disorders, and trauma. He has undergone training in KAP through the Ketamine Training Center and in MDMA-Assisted Therapy through the MAPS MDMA Therapy Training Program and is currently a Sub-Investigator and Co-therapist, and a trainer on the MAPS MDMA-Assisted Therapy Clinical Trials for treatment-resistant PTSD. He presents at conferences regularly on topics such as set and setting, ethics, integration, working with expansive states of consciousness, and music in psychedelic therapy. Eric is a lead trainer in the Polaris Insight Training Program.
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Claudia Cuentas, LMFT, is a Peruvian artist, researcher, educator, and therapist (LMFT), passionate about the multiple ways of healing trauma and the decolonization of health. She is trained in Somatic Experiencing, Drama Therapy, Expressive Arts Therapy and holds an MA in Counseling Psychology. She is a certified Psilocybin facilitator in the state of Oregon, has completed the MDMA assisted Psychotherapy Training Program through MAPS and is trained in the use of Ketamine for trauma recovery through Polaris Institute. Claudia also has extensive studies in Indigenous healing practices from her dear native Aymara and Quechua lineages of South America. Claudia currently is the Cultural Director of Alma Institute, a Psilocybin Facilitator training program in Portland, Oregon. Her focus is on the intersectionality of generational and ancestral trauma, plant medicine science, eco-informed therapy, somatic/nervous system healing and indigenous knowledge. Claudia is also a recording musician and a singer songwriter.
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Ryan Hoffman, LMFT, completed his internship at Grateful Heart Holistic Therapy Center and SF Marriage and Couples Center, received training in EMDR, and has volunteered with the MAPS Zendo Project. Additionally, he is the Founder and Therapist at Bay Area Holistic Psychotherapy. His specialization areas include couples therapy, holistic psychotherapy, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, psychedelic integration and harm-reduction, and spiritual experiences. In his spare time, he enjoys yoga, dancing, backcountry backpacking/camping, psychedelic medicine, festivals, art, music, cooking, painting, sewing, woodworking, and the human experience in all its many manifestations. Ryan is a trainer in the Polaris Insight Training Program.
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Byron Metcalf, PhD, is a transpersonal guide, teacher, shamanic practitioner, and award-winning professional musician. For nearly three decades, he has been intensely involved in consciousness research and spiritual development, specializing in the transformative potential of alternative states of consciousness. As a drummer, percussionist and recording engineer, Byron produces music for deep inner exploration, breathwork, shamanic journeywork, body-oriented therapies, various meditation practices and the healing arts. As a workshop and retreat leader with over 25 years of experience, Byron has facilitated personal growth and healing workshops featuring Holotropic and HoloShamanic Breathwork and The Shaman’s Heart Program/Training throughout the US. He lives in the high-desert mountains of Prescott Valley, Arizona and is the founding director of HoloShamanic Strategies, LLC.
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Veronika Gold, LMFT, is a co-founder of Polaris Insight Center, a ketamine-assisted psychotherapy clinic and a training center in San Francisco. She serves as a therapist, and as a trainer and consultant for KAP practitioners around the world. Veronika worked as an educator, trainer, and mentor supervisor for Lykos Therapeutics and as a sub-investigator and therapist on Lykos Therapeutics’ MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD treatment Phase 2 and Phase 3 Clinical Trials. She is trained by Beckley Psytech in 5-MeO-DMT assisted therapy, and as a psilocybin facilitator through InnerTrack. Veronika advocates for ethical, non-hierarchical, and collaborative ways of treatment.
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David Starfire has been producing music for meditation and psychedelic-assisted therapy for many years. He's the music facilitator for high-profile meditation retreats with the likes of Robert Thurman, Richard Schwartz (IFS), Sunny Strasburg, Gita Vaid, and others. His music has been used in sessions with Gabor Maté and Bessel Van der Kolk. David worked with Phil Wolfson (MAPS researcher, The Ketamine Papers) on the K Dome virtual Burning Man Project. He helped to develop the TRIPP meditation phone app plus contributed music, and was the main curator of the content, including well known artists like Moby and Alan Watts. In 2023, David released a highly acclaimed album with meditations by Ram Dass. He's also the head of music and sound at TRIPP VR, the #1 meditation platform in virtual reality. In 2020, David co-founded PsyAssist with Sunny Strasburg, a VR and Phone app that features music and guided meditation for psychedelic therapy.
Hear From Past Students
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"This was one of the best psychedelic therapy trainings I have taken. Music plays a vital role in this space but is often overlooked in trainings. It was fascinating and fun to take a deep dive into the nuances of optimizing music for KAP sessions with respected and experienced musicians and practitioners. The training has shaped how I design sets for my KAP patients, the guidance I provide patients on creating their own playlists, and my training of junior KAP therapists. My patients have commented on how profoundly impactful the music has been for their journeys."
- Dimitri Perivoliotis, Ph.D.
FAQs
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This module is best suited to practitioners with some existing experience in psychedelic-assisted or ketamine-assisted therapy. That said, it can be taken as a standalone and you don't need to complete any other Polaris or Psychedelics Today courses first.
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No. This course was designed so practitioners without music training can benefit fully.
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This course is on-demand and can be taken at your own pace.
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After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you’d like, across any and all devices.
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No, this course does not teach or certify anyone to work directly with/administer psychedelics. This course is for educational purposes only. During the course, you will explore the concepts of harm/risk reduction practices, psychedelic integration and how to work with previous psychedelic experiences.
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Yes, you can choose a payment plan at checkout via Affirm or Afterpay. If you live in a country where these options are not available, please email us at info@psychedelicstoday.com.
Listening Deeply: A Live 3-Week Series on Music in Psychedelic Therapy
Join us for three live sessions - June 11, 18, and 25th from 7:00 - 8:30 pm EST
Join Kyle Buller and Joe Moore for this live 3-week companion series is designed to deepen and expand upon the Advanced Music Module through live discussion, guided listening, playlist feedback, and experiential exploration. Together, we’ll explore the art of music selection, emotional arc and pacing, common playlist challenges, and the subtle ways music influences the psychedelic experience. Participants will also have the opportunity to bring tracks and playlists for live feedback and discussion.
These live sessions will take place on June 11, 18, and 25th from 7:00 - 8:30 pm EST
Enroll at Check Out!
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Get Started, Enroll Today!
Price: $149
Disclaimer
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Disclaimer
This course in no way promotes, condones, or facilitates illegal activity. This course is strictly for educational purposes only. Please be aware that most psychedelic substances are illegal in many countries. By enrolling into this program, you are agreeing that Psychedelics Today takes no responsibilities for your actions.
This course does not provide credentials or training for therapists, coaches, and clinicians to provide psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy services. These services are largely illicit in many regions.
Informed Consent
Please be aware that this course is for educational purposes only. This is not a substitute for traditional psychotherapy or medicine. This course is designed to provide education from our personal and professional experiences. If you are experiencing significant issues, please seek medical attention.
Limitations of course
The exercises in this course are oriented towards personal and spiritual development. The techniques or modalities are in no way a replacement for traditional therapy. Much of the information in this course could be applied to on-going therapy if you are currently utilizing mental health services.
We believe that providing education, peer-support, and harm reduction is important for this field.
By enrolling in this program, you are agreeing that you understand the purpose and limitations of this course.
Looking forward to taking this journey with you!