Darkness Therapy Immersion Facilitation
Supporting clients to be present with the wholeness of their experience while therapeutically immersed in complete or near darkness for extended periods of time
Program Purpose
The darkness therapy facilitator certification program for mental health professionals empowers practitioners to offer evidence-based and ethical standardized care to clients while supporting greater replicability in darkness therapy research.
Who is this for?
This program is designed for facilitators with previous professional mental healthcare training including psychotherapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, somatic therapists, social workers, counselors, psychiatric nurses, and chaplains. Somatic training and mindfulness experience is highly encouraged for this work.
Program Accreditation Goals*
*Not yet accredited
Program Delivery
The program is offered weekly over the course of 12 weeks. Participants attend one weekly live virtual class that includes a question and answer session. Participants also attend a weekly live virtual meeting for small group supervision supportive of personal experiential learning. This experiential component takes participants through the entire arc of intake, orientation and preparation culminating in their own supervised darkness immersion experience and facilitation practice.
The current platform is Canvas
Modules
Core weekly classes follow the arc of therapeutic darkness immersion. The advanced courses build on the fundamentals in various permutations while developing ethical, somatic and cultural competency.
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The first module offers an historical overview of the traditional context in which dark retreats developed, and an introduction to modern immersion approaches through a therapeutic lens.
Existing literature and thematic analyses on darkness therapy is discussed, and its indicated potential to benefit mental health.
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Client intake is taught to establish a rapport, well-informed consent, and collaboratively assess fit and readiness. Facilitators model regulation through trust and presence with the process, the client’s inherent resources, and darkness immersion as a therapeutic modality.
This module also deepens the facilitator's darkness practice through the introduced core darkness practice components informed by traditional and therapeutic approaches.
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The orientation module offers a format to address expectations, support client intention identification, introduce clients to the retreat schedule possibilities, identify client needs and navigational resources already established. The retreat arc workbook is introduced as a collaborative tool.
In this module, facilitators continue to work with the darkness practice components while also identifying their own navigational tools such as interoception and self-awareness.
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The preparation module includes training in darkness immersion planning that includes immersion schedule, relationship with a schedule, needs & safety planning, and supporting clients’ access to familiar and newly acquired resources.
This module includes discussions on the facilitator’s developing darkness practice.
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The facilitation module covers facilitator guidelines and role, the necessary and optional environmental supports, retreat guidelines and logistics, and variations among darkness immersion facilities.
Facilitators are also encouraged to explore their own relationship with darkness during this module.
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The integration module lecture is under discussion.
Facilitators are encouraged to consider their own integration approach in preparation for practicum.
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These advanced modules build off of the core courses to introduce the model within group dynamics, in various permutations, and in the framework of law & ethics. The last two weeks will also offer a deep dive into traditional perspectives and somatic therapy in preparation for practicum.
Facilitators will deepen their experiential learning and be supported in their preparations for practicum during the advanced course modules.
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Facilitators will continue with their partners to both offer facilitation and to receive facilitation during a darkness immersion.
The duration and format will be decided through collaboration between partners in the same way it will be with clients. Group supervisors will offer individual supervision for immersion planning and implementation.
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Reflection on experience
Self-awareness & Identity
Exams and interviews
Networking
Therapeutic Outcomes
In a supportive set and setting, darkness therapy may be on par with the beneficial outcomes of both psychedelic therapy and mindfulness practice.
Individual case studies and thematic analysis of informal interviews indicate the potential for darkness therapy to increase meaningfulness, creativity, cognitive reframing, empathy, self-acceptance, affect tolerance, objective consciousness and positive valence interoceptive awareness. Studies in current literature show promising outcomes for treating bipolar, anxiety, depression and stress while increasing self-esteem, mindfulness and meaning in life.