Beckley Psytech partners with Fluence to create psychedelic therapy training programme

Beckley Psytech partners with Fluence to create psychedelic therapy training programme

Beckley Psytech, a private company dedicated to addressing neurological and psychiatric disorders through psychedelic medicine, has partnered with specialist education platform Fluence to produce professional training materials for administering psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Fluence and Beckley Psytech will collaborate to develop a training manual that will enable qualified healthcare professionals to deliver psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy using synthetic 5-MeO-DMT. The customised training manual will be the first of its kind for treatment utilising the short-acting psychedelic agent, ensuring safety and consistency in delivery.

Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy involves a combination of psychedelic compounds and psychotherapy. The patient journey spans several stages, including a preparatory phase, assisting the patient during the psychedelic experience, as well as subsequent integration. The training programme will enable therapists to interact with patients remotely, as part of Beckley Psytech’s ambition to leverage digital technologies to improve patient treatment and care, and reduce utilisation of healthcare resources.

The move signals further progress for Beckley Psytech’s lead research programme on synthetic 5-MeO-DMT, and marks an important step towards securing clinical approval to research its effects in treating neuropsychiatric diseases. The partnership with Fluence tops off a busy period for Beckley, securing a capital raise of £14m and receiving UK Clinical Trial Authorisation to explore the effects of psilocybin on treating the rare headache condition, short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks (SUNHA).

Fiona Dunbar, chief medical advisor at Beckley Psytech, says: “Developing a specific psychotherapy programme for 5-MeO-DMT and the training materials to deliver it are vital steps in the progression of our lead formulation’s eventual journey to market. Fluence is a leader in its field when it comes to psychedelic-assisted medical training and ensuring that patients can access the benefits of psychedelic medicines with confidence and surety, and we’re excited about the new doors this strategic partnership will open.”

Elizabeth Nielson, co-founder & lead trainer at Fluence, says: “This is a very exciting time for Beckley Psytech and its research programmes. Developing effective, evidence-based training for psychedelic therapy practitioners is at the heart of what we do, and we’re thrilled to be partnering with Beckley to develop a medical therapy training strategy involving 5-MeO-DMT for the very first time.”