ATMA, Cena Life unveil psychedelic-assisted therapy network – GWC Mag

Canada-based ATMA Journey Centers (ATMA) and Cena Life have announced the creation of the Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Healthcare Network.

This national clinical network aims to support the growing psychedelic-assisted therapy sector.

Spanning from British Columbia to Ontario, the network aims to provide safe administration sites for ketamine-assisted therapy (KaT), as well as psilocybin and MDMA-assisted therapy, to trained and independent practitioners.

This will be done under Canada’s Special Access Program (SAP).

ATMA and Cena will help clinics in the network prepare for emerging regulatory standards across provinces, using Alberta’s Psychedelic Drug Treatment Service Standards and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta Accreditation Program as foundational principles.

The clinics in the first launch are set to be operational and available before the summer of 2024.

More clinics will be established to enhance accessibility for patients and practitioners in both densely and sparsely populated areas.

Cena Life CEO Reverdi Darda said: “Clinics and practitioners should be supported to develop services that align with emerging regulatory standards, and by forging strong partnerships with practitioners, we aim to create a supportive network that fosters collaborative care and innovation.”

This partnership also helped launch a licensed clinic in Calgary.

The Calgary clinic will provide evolving services similar to those offered at the Cena Life practice in Edmonton, including KaT, rTMS, SAP application support, and regular psychological counselling services.

In addition, this site will act as a research centre for clinical trials and in-person training.

Future priority areas of focus comprise regular group integration and self-care programmes for both patients and practitioners.

ATMA CEO Vu Tran said: “ATMA’s mandate has always been to take our student practitioners from our Advance Psychedelic Training programme to practice, and provide support services to allow our community of practitioners to participate in PaT, without having to choose between leaving their current practice and joining a specialised psychedelic clinic.”