Ethically Ready for the Psychedelic Moment: What SUD Counselors Need Now
Keith Vukasinovich
LPCC-S
Ethically Ready for the Psychedelic Moment: What SUD Counselors Need Now
Keith Vukasinovich
LPCC-S
As interest in psychedelic-assisted approaches accelerates, SUD counselors increasingly encounter clients who are curious, already using psychedelics, or navigating misinformation—often without having received formal preparation in risk screening, ethics, or integration. This session provides a counselor-centered, clinically grounded overview of what current evidence does (and does not) support for classic psychedelics in SUD contexts, alongside practical safety principles drawn from established human hallucinogen research guidelines (e.g., set/setting, contraindications, and adverse-event planning). Emphasizing scope-of-practice clarity, participants learn to differentiate psychedelic therapy from ethically permissible counseling roles such as preparation support, harm-reduction counseling, integration-focused care, and referral coordination.
Keith Vukasinovich has been licensed as an LPCC-S since 2000 and has more than 30 years of clinical experience. Keith has been a behavioral health consultant supporting military families for the past 20 years across numerous military installations across America. He is an adjunct professor at John Carroll University and the University of Cincinnati, where he is currently a doctoral student in the counselor education program. Keith teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses. His research interests focus on the school-to-prison pipeline as well as the integration of yoga & psychedelic-assisted modalities into psychotherapy practice. Keith holds master's degrees in community counseling and criminal justice, and post-master's certificates in mental health executive leadership from the Weatherhead School of Business at Case Western Reserve University and executive leadership from the Kellogg School of Management. He completed his undergraduate studies at Youngstown State University, where he completed the requirements of three majors: black studies, psychology, and sociology. Keith has extensive training in trauma-informed care modalities, including EMDR, somatic therapy, mindfulness-based interventions, trauma-sensitive yoga, neurofeedback, and Internal Family Systems. Keith is a 500-hour YTT yoga instructor and will complete his 800-hour IAYT-C yoga therapist certification in the summer of 2026. Keith has practiced yoga in 9 different countries thus far.
Please contact Dr. Natalie Ricciutti at nricciut@charlotte.edu or 704-687-8960 if you have questions regarding the program.
Please contact Dr. Jordan Z. Boyd at jboyd44@charlotte.edu if you have questions regarding registration.