Psychedelic therapists - Which ones are officially trained?
How we classify 'therapist'
In the Netherlands, anyone may call themselves a therapist or psychologist. At Triptherapie, however, we want to properly distinguish who among our team is trained as a psychologist or is allowed to give a particular form of therapy. An employee who is also allowed to work in the GGZ as a therapist alongside Triptherapie is also called a therapist at Triptherapie. Other staff members who are not allowed to provide mental health therapy but can work with psychedelics are called trip sitters, facilatators, facilitators or trip coaches.
The psychedelic therapists
In addition to working for Triptherapie, the employees listed below have actually been trained so that they are allowed to provide therapy in the GGZ and are therefore also called 'psychedelic therapist' by us.
Sascha | NIP psychologist
Sascha is active at Triptherapie as psychedelic therapist, but her background goes far beyond that. She was trained as a psychologist with NIP registration and has worked in various branches of mental health since 2016, including the addiction care, basic mental health care, specialist mental health care and specialist medical rehabilitation. At Triptherapie, she combines her deep-seated desire to guide people on their inner journey with her professional experience and personal development path.
In addition to the RINO training course "Therapeutic working with psychedelics" Sascha took several psychotherapy advanced courses. For example, she completed the basic courses Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and EMDR completed, as well as training in the Barrel of Self-Esteem, a method aimed at strengthening positive self-esteem and resilience. Her academic foundation lies in the master's degree in clinical psychology at the University of Amsterdam, giving her both scientific and practical training.
What makes Sascha special is her ability to work from both knowledge and feeling. Clients experience conversations with her not as 'psychologist to patient', but as an open, human encounter. This empathic, safe atmosphere is crucial during a psychedelic session, in which vulnerability and depth are central. She counsels people with a variety of help issues, such as addiction, trauma, depression, anxiety, burnout, grief and negative self-image, but she also feels at home in pathways aimed at personal or spiritual growth.
In her own words: "I believe psychedelics are going to be a valuable addition within mental health services - especially for those who are not achieving enough with traditional therapy, but actually for anyone open to inner transformation. Often just one session is so powerful." Her vision, experience and training make her one of the more versatile and firmly grounded facilitators within Triptherapie.
Sascha has a good foundation as a psychedelic therapist with her studies in psychology, a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology and work experience in addiction care, (specialist) mental health care and rehabilitation as a psychologist. She has additional training in cognitive behavioral therapy and EMDR.
Reineke Brandt | NIP psychologist
NIP- registered psychologist Reineke brings a unique combination of life experience, psychological knowledge and holistic treatment methods to her work as a psychedelic therapist at Triptherapie. Her career began with a study Psychology, driven by her childlike desire to care and help others. After several jobs, she began her career at the police, first as a selection psychologist and then over a decade as a uniformed executive on the street. This experience taught her from the inside how stress and trauma build up AND how important it is to develop alternative approaches alongside mainstream care.
Noticing that classical treatments often fell short, she decided to follow her own path. In 2022, she made the transition to self-employment as a freelance psychologist, in which they offer a wide range of complementary therapies offers. Among other things, Reineke has been trained as trauma-sensitive yoga teacher, meditation and mindfulness teacher, breath coach and facilitator of Kundalini NRGY sessions. In addition, she works with EMDR, Brainspotting, heart coherence training (Heartmath), aromatherapy, Aromatouch, ear reflexology and ear acupuncture. This versatility makes her particularly capable of handling the self-healing capacity of clients and help break deep-seated blockages.
Within Triptherapie, Reineke further trained through the RINO training course "Therapeutic working with psychedelics", a certified programme that gave her the scientific and practical basis for guiding psilocybin sessions safely. In the process, she learned all about contraindications, legal frameworks, set & setting, and gained practical experience during her induction procedures at Triptherapie and on courses to work with psychedelics in spiritual intentions. She complements this knowledge with her own warm, body-centred approach, looking not only at the head, but also at body, breath and energy.
As a psychologist, Reineke combines both mainstream and alternative methods of care. She uses various techniques, such as talk therapy, yoga, breathing exercises and EMDR combined with the therapeutic effects of psychedelics.
Ronald Hochstenbach | Psychosocial therapist
Ronald is one of the most seasoned therapists within Triptherapie and specialises in trauma-informed psychedelic therapy including MDMA and psilocybin (truffles). His path towards this work has been shaped by both Personal experience with complex trauma and PTSD, as an impressive list of training in both Western and Eastern therapeutic traditions.
His career as a therapist began after an in-depth spiritual awakening and a healing experience with MDMA at a young age, which motivated him to dedicate himself to inner healing in others. Among other things, he attended the four-year training as a Jungian Philosophical Therapist, in which he delved into the symbolism of the subconscious as revealed in trip sessions. In addition, he completed training as a Psychodrama Therapist and attended an in-depth module in the TSM Therapeutic Spiral Model, a trauma-based form of psychodrama.
Ronald is also skilled in Internal Family Systems (IFS), Voice Dialogue, Mindfulness and Self-compassion training, which he actively uses in the preparation, guidance and integration of psychedelic sessions. In particular, IFS is considered one of the most useful models in psychedelic-assisted therapy, because it reveals, in a gentle, insightful way, inner parts that may surface during a session.
To further deepen his knowledge of psychedelics, Ronald has the RINO training course "Therapeutic working with psychedelics" completed, within which he was trained in all facets of set & setting, risk recognition, preparation, guidance and integration. He also gained experience during a multi-day truffle retreat, which further strengthened his therapeutic approach.
Ronald is a psychosocial therapist and has completed the following training courses: Jungian Philosophical Therapist, Psychodrama Therapist, Master Voice Dialogue, Transformation Psychology, Internal Family System (IFS), Mindfulness and Compassion Trainer.
Gijs Tecklen Bridge | Social psychiatric nurse
Gijs is one of the most experienced therapists within Triptherapie and brings over thirty years of combined experience in therapy, training and inner development to his psychedelic work. His path towards psychedelic therapy has been shaped by years of practice in outpatient mental health, deep meditation and compassion training, and an ever-increasing integration of spirituality into his therapeutic approach.
Gijs started his career in regular mental health care as a social psychiatric nurse and worked for about 20 years within the outpatient mental health care, including as a practitioner in crisis intervention and as a teacher and supervisor at the MGZ-GGZ course at the HAN. At the same time, he followed long meditation retreats and brought mindfulness training to the mental health sector from 2006, so that meditation, attention training and therapy increasingly became one. A few years later, he opted fully for his own practice, where he gave hundreds of trainings in mindfulness, compassion training, Interpersonal Mindfulness, ACT, Open Focus and meditation retreats
Over the years, Gijs has trained widely: he took mindfulness and MBSR training with Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli, Mindfulness & Psychotherapy with Ronald Siegel, ACT training, MBCL compassion training, Interpersonal Mindfulness, heart coherence training, EMDR, walking coaching, breath work and the Open Focus trainer training with Dr Les Fehmi in Princeton, among others. He also immersed himself in neurofeedback (Zengar/Othmer) and non-dualistic psychotherapy, including Internal Family Systems (IFS), which he now actively uses in his therapeutic and psychedelic work.
His view of therapy was profoundly changed by years of study and his connection with the spiritual teacher Mooji, describing that his perspective on life and work shifted fundamentally. This created a style in which down-to-earth spirituality is central: not just understanding, but above all feeling through, embracing and making space for the qualities of the heart. Gijs sees the division between traditional psychotherapy and spirituality as a “tragic mistake” and instead sees the spiritual dimension as the source of healing, strength and meaning. When guiding psychedelic sessions, all his experience comes together to give his clients the best support.
Gijs has 20 years of experience in outpatient mental health care. He taught and supervised the MGZ-GGZ course at HAN (Arnhem Nijmegen University of Applied Sciences). Gijs has also developed extensively in mindfulness, talk therapy, neurofeedback, meditation, compassion training and ACT.
Tripsitter vs therapist
At Triptherapie, we see in practice that the choice between an experienced tripsitter and a psychedelic therapist depends a lot on the person, their request for help and the kind of support needed. Both facilitators can facilitate a deep, transformative session. but each brings in something different that may be a better fit for specific situations.
An experienced tripsitter is often someone who has been through and guided many psychedelic sessions themselves, with a strong sense of the flow of a trip and plenty of hands-on experience. They tend to be intuitive, practical and focused on creating a safe, relaxed atmosphere. For people who have already done a lot of inner work, or are just looking for more spiritual or existential insights without too much psychological analysis, a good tripsitter can connect sufficiently - and sometimes even better - than a therapist.
Conversely, a psychedelic therapist, such as Ronald, Sascha or Reineke, on the other hand, better suit people with complex psychological complaints such as trauma, depression or anxiety disorders. Their background in psychology or therapy allows them to guide the process more on content, psychotherapeutic level, including during and after the trip. They use science-based methods such as EMDR, IFS or CBT to do so and are often trained in recognising psychological patterns, attachment problems and defence mechanisms.
In short: who needs experiential guidance, spiritual deepening or a gentle presence during an inner journey, can benefit greatly from an experienced trip sitter. On the contrary, those looking for deeper psychological insight, processing of trauma or integration of old patterns, is often better served by a therapist-trained counsellor.
During the intake procedure, we always look together at which tutor is the best fit. You can already start the intake or view the overview of attendants to see who is available in your area. Want help choosing? Then we will be happy to think with you.
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