BrainFutures

Alyssa Draffin, MSW, LSCW, Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina School of Social Work , after following the promising research in psychedelic medicine decided to create a  comprehensive course for UNC students: Psychedelic Assisted Therapy for Substance Use and Mood Disorders, launching for the first time in spring 2025. Ayssa developed this course with consultation and partnerships from local clinicians, clinical trials, and her own psychedelic education through private programs. In this overview, she extensively explains the process, resources, and partners she needed to create this unique offering. If you’re interested in getting in touch with people like Alyssa to learn more about their work and how you can implement your own psychedelic course #curriculum into your institution, download our latest publication at the link below. https://lnkd.in/gZ9Rzb8S

Meet Jennifer Jones — Assistant Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and Director of MUSC Centerspace. In concert with establishing the MUSC Centerspace – an evidence-based treatment provider of supervised ketamine injections and in-person therapy — Jennifer quickly learned that clinicians and other professionals are extremely interested in learning how to facilitate psychedelic-assisted therapy sessions. In response, she developed two types of psychedelic therapy education, and we invite you to learn about the curricula, the goals, and the creation process in her interview below. If you’re interested in getting in touch with educators like Jennifer to learn more about her work and how you can implement your own #psychedeliccourse curriculum into your higher #education institution, download our latest publication at the link below.  https://lnkd.in/gZ9Rzb8S

A fresh new wave of funding to the tune of $68.5m was recently granted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to 11 diverse initiatives to support the administration and development of behavioral health education, training, and community programs. BrainFutures commends this generous motion, and we are confident that this new infusion of funding will help widen and improve equitable access to quality mental health care. Swipe through below to hear from Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D., of HHS and SAMHSA and highlights of the recipients. Also be sure to read the comprehensive press release: https://lnkd.in/gmefKmMy

New developments in neurofeedback are starting to surface at an exciting pace, with one of the latest studies in the Journal of AANP being how fine-tuning the specific frequency profile used in neurofeedback could impact the patient. Swipe through below to explore the experimental design and the impact it had on participants, and find the full article at the link below. https://lnkd.in/gzdHgPS3 

Our next profile is the inimitable Heidi Allen, MSW, PhD: an Associate Professor at the Columbia School of Social Work. Heidi gives a thorough overview of her work at Columbia and why creating psychedelic education has been very important to her, both professionally and personally. If you’re interested in getting in touch with Heidi to learn more about her work and how you can implement your own hashtag #psychedelic course curriculum in hashtag #highereducation institutions, download our latest publication and our curriculum contact list at the link below. https://lnkd.in/gZ9Rzb8S

At BrainFutures, our commitment to Executive Function and brain fitness extends long before our launch of the ACTIVATE™ pilot program. In 2019, we released a report on Brain Fitness and Executive Function, covering an array of brain fitness programs. All of these programs meet the evidence-based standards of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): a federal act that advances equity by upholding critical protections for America's disadvantaged and high-need students. Focussing on classroom opportunities, this report surveys ten programs—including ACTIVATE™— that are designed to deliver high-quality executive function training to children with an emphasis on accessibility and efficacy. Dive into this YouTube recap of our briefing on this report in partnership with The Kennedy Forum, covering important topics like the impact of poverty on executive function, examples of classroom practices, and integrating accountability into the schooling systems. https://lnkd.in/g5NrwSp3

Last week, BrainFutures launched a brand new toolkit, equipping prospective educators with tools and processes to integrate psychedelic coursework into higher education (https://lnkd.in/gZ9Rzb8S). A key component of access to #psychedelictherapies will be high-quality, accessible education through reputable #highereducation institutions, so if you’re interested in being one of the first champions of this in your institution, this toolkit is for you. To pair with the toolkit, BrainFutures has also created a contact list of psychedelic curricula developers who can provide support to educators navigating the field. This one-of-a-kind resource is specially designed to share and combine knowledge of how to implement coursework at higher-education institutions. For current details and future updates as they become available, please view our evolving list below. This list includes: • Laura Pustarfi, Ph.D. of California Institute of Integral Studies • Heidi Allen of Columbia School of Social Work • Mary Bit Yaden of The Johns Hopkins University, New York University, and Yale University • Alyssa Draffin of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Anita Iyengar of University of Pennsylvania and more! Lastly, if you’d like to include your institution’s coursework, please email us at info@brainfutures.org for more details.

As a part of BrainFutures’ latest series focusing on workforce training and education in psychedelic medicine, we spoke with leading educators creating psychedelic coursework within their institutions. These interviews, paired with our recently published toolkit — Integrating Psychedelic coursework into Higher Education: A Toolkit for Academic Leaders — are aimed at highlighting the real work being conducted to bring high-quality psychedelic curricula into the classroom. Dive into this interview with Dr. Jose Bauermeister and explore his work at the University of Pennsylvania bringing open source psychedelic therapy and medicine coursework to the Department of Nursing and Psychiatry. To learn how to implement coursework like Jose’s in academic institutions, download BrainFutures’ latest toolkit: https://lnkd.in/gGXbQgEb BrainFutures also encourages you to check out our Psychedelic Curriculum Contact List: https://lnkd.in/gTjQcwiD

As psychedelic research continues to transform the mental health landscape, academic leaders are eager to integrate this groundbreaking field into their curricula, with student interest just as strong. As a result, BrainFutures is excited to announce the launch of Integrating Psychedelic Coursework into Higher Education: A Toolkit for Academic Leaders – now live on our website! This toolkit provides a guide for introducing didactic psychedelic therapy coursework into higher education programs, offering valuable strategies and resources to help educators navigate this emerging field. Download the toolkit at the link below to read the valuable insights and explore a list of people that any psychedelic curricula developer can learn from. https://lnkd.in/gZ9Rzb8S

BrainFutures is days away from launching our latest evidence-based publication –  Integrating Psychedelic Coursework into Higher Education: A Toolkit for Academic Leaders. In this toolkit, BrainFutures outlines core competencies and milestones to empower those in higher education to create comprehensive curricula and collaborate effectively with stakeholders at their institutions. To ensure you stay up-to-date on all our latest announcements and publications, please visit us at https://lnkd.in/g4hhgmAd to sign up for our mailing list.