I’m Cody
Hi,
I am a white, heteroflexible, cis-gendered, able-bodied male settler of predominantly German and British ancestry. I am a psychotherapist and registered social worker who has been working in the fields of mental health, substance use, and trauma recovery for the past 20 years. I am a lifelong learner who is committed to my own healing and growth. I am endlessly curious about people and the contours of the human experience. I love movement, play, and adventure and feel most at home in the forest and mountains.
During my career, I have served as a front-line mental health and substance use service provider, researcher, social worker, advocate, community organizer, psychotherapist, educator, and consultant. Through these roles I have learned the art of establishing trust, building relationships, and helping others. I have developed a deep compassion for the challenges people face and great appreciation for the resiliency I frequently witness. I have come to believe in the innate capacity of all individuals to heal and move towards wholeness.
Finding the path toward recovery, healing, and wholeness often requires helping hands and I humbly offer myself to support you on your journey. I seek to understand your current experience, the challenges you’re facing, and underlying issues that may be contributing to your struggles. I want to support you to make meaningful change in your life and to connect to more authenticity, freedom, and joy.
My own healing journey for over more than a decade has prominently featured psychotherapy, meditation and contemplative practice, plant medicine, group work, bibliotherapy and psychedelic integration. I draw on this experience in my work with clients and consistently strive to show up with integrated mind, body, and spirit in my work and my life.
Photo: Michelle Mark
Avon has been my near constant companion for the past 14 years. Although not a therapy dog by formal training, she has ample practice and experience. Avon has accompanied me to work for the entirety of our time together. She is an enthusiastic greeter and attuned emotional support animal. Her duties have ranged from street outreach and community organizing, to attending meetings related to research and protocol development, to engaging learners in educational settings, and providing supportive presence and sometimes cuddles in therapy sessions. Avon is a shih-tzu, poodle, yorkshire terrior mix who does not shed and is hypoallergenic.
Avon Barksdale
Learn more about me:
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An area of specialization I have developed in my career is working with people with substance use problems and disorders. I have experience working in specialty programs focused on substance use in community, hospital, residential treatment, and research settings. Notably, I was the founding Director of the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use’s (BCCSU) Addiction Social Work Fellowship program, a program which provides advanced clinical skills and leadership training to clinicians specializing in the field of addictions. I have in-depth knowledge and understanding of the current landscape of addictions treatment including harm reduction, medication assisted therapies, behavioural and alternative approaches.
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I am a trained and experienced psychedelic therapist. I have a post graduate Certificate in Psychedelic-assisted Therapies and Research from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). Within this program I completed experiential training supporting psilocybin retreats with Synthesis Institute in the Netherlands. I have been trained and certified in mdma-assisted therapy by the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). I have also completed several trainings in ketamine-assisted therapy with the Ketamine Training Centre amongst others.
Over the past 5 years I have held lead therapy positions in psychedelic-assisted therapy and research with a provincially based organization and in industry. I have served as a therapist on MAPS phase 3 clinical trial using MDMA to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and have provided this same treatment through Health Canada’s Special Access Program (SAP). I have also provided treatment to clients with psilocybin-assisted therapy through Health Canada’s SAP and provided ketamine-assisted therapy to clients with a range of conditions such as treatment resistant depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder amongst others. Furthermore, I have extensive experience providing preparation, integration, and harm reduction support for individuals using psychedelics in other settings and contexts.
Historically I have also worked providing support with preparation, processing, and integration for participants at intensive ayahuasca retreats and have conducted research on preparation and integration practices for people participating in ayahuasca ceremonies.
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I have presented at numerous conferences and have been invited to lecture at the University of British Columbia’s School of Social Work, The British Columbia Centre on Substance Use’s Interdisciplinary Addiction Fellowship Program, and Vancouver Island University’s Psychedelic-assisted Therapy Graduate Certificate Program. I have contributed to the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use’s Addiction Care and Treatment Online Certificate. I have also contributed to and taught various psychedelic-assisted therapy training courses through Numinus covering fundamentals of psychedelic-assisted therapy, ketamine-assisted therapy, and the use of psychedelic-assisted therapy to treat substance use problems.
Education & Training
Post-Secondary Education & Registration
Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies & Research, California Institutes of Integral Studies
Addiction Social Work Fellowship, British Columbia Centre on Substance Use
Master of Social Work, University of British Columbia
Bachelor of Arts (Major in Psychology, Minor in English), Simon Fraser University
Certificate in Liberal Arts, Simon Fraser University
Registered Social Worker (RSW), British Columbia College of Social Workers
Professional Trainings
Relational Somatic Therapy Certification Program
Internal Family Systems Therapy Level 1
MAPS MDMA-assisted Therapy Training
Introductory Motivational Interviewing for Helping Professionals
Advanced Motivational Interviewing for Helping Professionals
Mindfulness Counselling Strategies
Compassionate Inquiry
Emotion Focused Therapy Core Training
Ketamine-assisted Psychotherapy
Emotion-Focused Ketamine-assisted Psychotherapy
The River Course: An Integrative Approach to Psychedelic Therapies and Sacred Plant Medicine
Psilocybin-assisted Therapy
Ketamine-assisted Therapy for Depression
Ketamine-assisted Therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress
Psychedelic Harm Reduction & Integration
Creating Safe Space
I am here for you!
Please contact me to schedule a free introductory call, your first appointment, or for any other inquiries