Institute (ISPS) Course Descriptions
Revision 1.3, July 7, 2009


The Institute for the Study of Peak States offers many different kinds of training, focused either on laypeople or on professional therapists. We'd like to see you join us in making this new paradigm expand, and for those of you with the interest, join us in researching and teaching this new, literally unbelievable frontier.

Read or See Testimonials from students who took various classes in the past.

These classes cover:
• Introductory Classes or Workshops focused on introducing peak state and trauma material to laypeople or professionals who are interested in sampling our work and meeting staff members;
• Basic Professional Training for therapists or other health practitioners;
• Specialized Trainings for basic certified therapists in major disease treatments;
• Advanced Professional Training for therapists certified and licensed in our basic therapist techniques;
• Research Training for therapists who are taking our graduated from our advanced therapist training;
• Telephone support classes are ongoing for graduates of our professional training.
            
Review our safety and liability agreements for various classes before you enroll.

View our calendar of classes.

A Recent, Major Change to our Professional Training

July 5, 2009

Dear prospective student,

We have recently changed the way we teach our professional classes, and so we would like to take this opportunity to explain the changes we’ve made, and why, and how they impact you; and to keep you up-to-date on our progress.

Up until now, we taught our core class in a 9 day training format designed for therapists. The material was very condensed - after the training, students had to study and practice on their own, and if they wished to be licensed to use our techniques, take other non-Institute training (in suicide, mental illness, and spiritual emergencies), pass a competence test, and agree to use our ethical, safety, and ‘charging for results’ protocols. We used this format to minimize the costs to therapists who were interested in this cutting-edge but virtually unknown therapy. Unfortunately, most therapists didn’t continue because they found the amount of work required was difficult to do at home.

The situation wasn’t ideal from our perspective either. One of our goals is to create clinics around the world, offering cures for diseases that were formerly considered incurable or untreatable. They were also going to act as teaching and research centers, giving therapists a place to gain practical experience; give peakstates therapy name recognition in the marketplace for certified therapists; potentially provide part or full-time employment for our graduates; and give us a better environment for testing new processes. The old training format was actually interfering with this goal, because it consumed too many of our still minimal resources and used up the time that our volunteer research staff should have been spending to develop treatments for major diseases.

Because of these drawbacks, during the last 6 months we have slowly phased out the old-style therapist trainings and are in a process of bringing forward a new format that better serves the therapist’s, the Institute’s, and our client’s needs. The new style training will include the following features, which, for some of you, maybe a welcome improvement and for others this may not be suitable. In any case it is designed to enhance the safety of our work and the need of the institute to have staff for its clinics.

The training locations will be our already established clinics in Australia, Denmark and Poland. For a period of time we will only be training therapists who want to and are able to work for us at our new clinics. We apologize if that puts training with us out of your reach. Some time in the future, when our clinics are well established and staffed, we anticipate expanding the training again to nonaffiliated, self-employed therapists who want to become licensed in our work, but not employed at our clinics. The timing for this is completely unknown at the moment.

The new training will be delivered in flexible modules, largely hands-on and with the timing tailored to your needs and progress. It will involve residential times at the clinic/training centre and, in the beginning, periods of employment that will eventually become full-time.

The addictions program has commenced in our clinics, which means there is already paid work available to suitably trained therapists. We anticipate the autism treatments to get of the ground in approximately 6 months (no guaranties given here yet), with other disease processes coming on-line every six months or so.

So if the idea of doing cutting edge work with us at our residential clinics interests you, please talk with us. Our facilities are necessarily flexible – we will try to work out a solution around training that works for you.

Sincerely,
Dr. Grant McFetridge
Director of Research
1-250-413-3211 in Canada



Understanding Our Professional Training

Becoming trained in how to use our Institute's techniques for peak states, psychological healing and serious diseases involves much more than just taking a serious of classes. Because trauma healing techniques are potentially dangerous, all therapists who take our training sign agreements to become a part of our system that maximizes client safety.

What are these agreements? First, therapists agree not to use the techniques they're learning with clients unless they're certified and licensed by us to do so. This means that the therapist has, at a minimum, gotten training in suicide, mental illness, spiritual emergency; and has liability insurance. They also have to demonstrate competence in the techniques at the end of their training.

At this point, the therapist is ready to start to see clients - but under the supervision of a mentor. This mentorship gives the opportunity for the therapist to get feedback on problems they've had with particular clients, and to enhance their skills in a team setting with other newly trained therapists.

The therapist also agrees to use a 'charge for results' billing system with all their clients (even ones that they don't use Institute techniques with). This means that they only charge clients if they get the results that the client and the therapist have agreed to at the beginning of therapy, along with a predetermined fee. This system has several major benefits - therapists have a strong financial incentive to really master their craft; clients can decide if they can afford treatment ahead of time; and is morally and ethically satisfying for both the client and the therapist.

Because the certified therapist is tied into our ongoing support system - we don't just teach then abandon the therapist - there is a constant connection to staff, access to the latest discoveries and process improvements, and a community of other therapists using our and other's techniques. The intent is to heal the clients, and we encourage anything that works (given appropriate safety considerations). In addition, If the therapist has problems healing a client, or encounters some sort of crisis situation during therapy, the therapist can immediately phone an advanced therapist for help.

The 'Basic' Level of Training
Our training is broken into three sequential stages. The 'basic' therapist learns techniques that most people can master with training and practice. These are techniques that a person in ordinary consciousness can master - they don't require some sort of peak state or ability. Essentially, this is no different than learning how to use EFT, EMDR, TIR, or a host of other excellent techniques now available to therapists via other organizations or schools. Of course, we also go one step further, because once trauma healing techniques are mastered, the therapist can also use our processes that allow clients to acquire specific peak states.

Once certified, the basic therapist can then choose to get trained in our 'specialization' techniques for healing specific disease processes; such as our techniques to heal addictions.

The 'Advanced' Level of Training
The advanced techniques allow a therapist to far more quickly heal clients, and to heal clients that cannot be treated by basic therapists (for example, clients who are incapable of following instructions, injured or catatonic). The advanced level of training has another key difference - the techniques taught at this level are what is known as 'state-dependent' processes. This means that the techniques can only be used by people who have the corresponding unusual peak states or peak abilities. Acquiring the appropriate states is part of the training.

After basic certification and enough time and practice to have thoroughly mastered the basic material, the therapist is eligible to get advanced training. However, a number of restrictions apply. First, this training is limited to therapists who are going to be employed by the Institute at our clinics, not to independent therapists. There are several reasons for this - we don't have the resources to teach students who are not going to help us bring major disease and peak states processes to humanity; the advanced therapist needs to be very tightly tied into our research program, because these techniques are constantly evolving as we improve and test these cutting edge techniques. Secondly, this training is by invitation only - most people aren't able to face the very difficult internal changes required, or feel comfortable in often stressful environment of a research-driven company. Essentially, therapists at this level have to be able to become part of a closely-knit community of people who are exploring and implementing the Institute's cutting-edge discoveries.

Advanced therapists also provide backup for basic therapists who either work for the Institute, or are independents who are licensed to use Institute techniques. Mastering this level of understanding and techniques is not a fast process, because they absolutely require that the therapist has to heal a lot of difficult-to-face material in themselves. This process will almost certainly take over a year, and probably several years.

Due to the difficulties involved in radical self-change, many therapists quit during or after the training. These people agree not to use what they've learned with clients, because of the risks to clients from no longer being tied into our safety net. Thus, the prospective therapist needs to really look at whether they want to continue with a training that they are not licensed to use independently of the Institute.

The 'Research' Level of Training
Once a therapist has completed the majority of their advanced training, they are required to participate in our research program. This benefits the therapist in several ways - they get a clear understanding of the research process and really begin to understand why the material they are learning constantly changes and evolves. Their skills drastically increase, because this process is really a one-on-one apprenticeship. This benefits the Institute, because we simply don't have the resources to teach people that aren't going to contribute to our research into new healing techniques, peak state processes and major diseases treatments.

However, there is a significant degree of risk in doing research. Historically, roughly half of the researchers have been injured, and in some cases killed, by this work. Therapists who are considering taking advanced training need to seriously consider if the benefits that we hope to bring mankind outweigh the possibility that they may be harmed in this pursuit.


Phone Support TeleClasses for Graduates

Telephone classes ("teleclasses") for graduates of our Basic Peak States Therapist training are now available. Because this field is changing so rapidly, these short classes are designed for students who want to keep up to date on new or updated peak states processes, acquire basic peak states during the teleclass sessions, or hear lectures useful for ISPS certification.

These classes are about 2 hours long, once every week, with the average class taking two sessions. The ISPS has staff on hand and available during and after the calls for any emergencies. Cost is currently $30.00US per session. Phone 250-413-3211 in Canada for more information or to enroll. Class size is limited on a first-come basis, but particular classes will be repeated so that students who missed one can take it later.

For detailed information, go to the TeleClass webpage. To find out about upcoming TeleClasses, look at our training schedule (as a text view, or as a more current calendar view which can be automatically updated in your own computer).

Revision History
1.3 July 7, 2009. Changed from a workshop format for therapists to a clinic format for therapists who wish to work for the Institute. Many new courses were added, along with substantial increases in teaching time.
1.2 January 19, 2008. Course #210 is now aWHH, while course #220 is now PCT. This change reflects the order we teach them in.