Broman and Breidigan set to be U-PEP fellows

Dr. Michael Broman and Professor Kelley Breidigan were selected as 2026 Faculty Fellows for the University Psychedelic Education Program (U-PEP) – a two-year interdisciplinary program which equips university faculty with the knowledge, resources and community to integrate evidence-based psychedelic content into course curricula.

After completion of the program, fellows will utilize the program’s many resources to complete their curriculum development goals — laying the groundwork for the next generation of practitioners, researchers and educators.

Dr. Broman and Professor Breidigan shared their motivations for applying for this fellows’ program and their expectations for implementing content in classrooms at the College of Social Work.

The Educational Gap and Dismantling Stigma

Why is it critical to start teaching psychedelic-assisted care at the university level now, rather than waiting for full FDA approval?

The clinical and research landscape is moving faster than academic curricula typically can. Psilocybin-assisted therapy is already legal in Oregon and Colorado; MDMA-assisted therapy has been studied in Phase 3 trials, and ketamine is already in widespread clinical use in our community and in others. Our students are entering a workforce where these treatments already exist. Universities have always had a role in preparing students for emerging fields. If we hesitate to begin educating prior to FDA approval, new graduates will be behind when they enter the workforce. The time to build evidence-based literacy is before students encounter these modalities in practice, not after.

How does bringing this research into a formal academic setting help reframe psychedelics as legitimate public health tools rather than “counterculture” substances?

As educators and researchers, we know that institutional legitimacy matters enormously in how knowledge is perceived and transmitted. When psychedelic science appears in a syllabus full of peer-reviewed material, delivered by credentialed faculty within an accredited program, it signals to students and to the public that this is a serious area of inquiry, not fringe or countercultural. Social work in particular has a long history of taking stigmatized populations and experiences seriously before broader society catches up. Embedding this content in our classrooms sends a clear message: this is evidence-based, ethically complex and clinically relevant. That reframing is itself part of the pedagogy.

When will the CSW offer these courses?

The academic programs are currently in the curriculum development phase, and we anticipate piloting course content as soon as Autumn 2027, if all goes well in the approval process. We are focused on creating a standalone elective introductory course as part of the Behavioral Health Practice Specialization, with the potential for a group of classes that can serve as their own elective pathway. Topic areas we expect to address include the neurobiological mechanisms of psychedelic-assisted therapy; the evidence base across conditions like PTSD, depression and end-of-life distress; harm reduction frameworks; ethical practice considerations, and equity concerns around access. The U-PEP program’s personalized curricula consultation and mentor circles will be instrumental in refining exactly what form courses take.

Future Workforce and Student Impact

What specific “psychedelic literacy” will students gain that current practitioners might lack?

Many practicing clinicians today received no training in these modalities and may hold outdated assumptions shaped more by the “War on Drugs” than by science. The literacy we want students to leave with includes an understanding of the current evidence base, familiarity with the therapeutic models used in clinical trials (such as the importance of set, setting and the therapeutic relationship), awareness of the regulatory landscape and where it is headed, basic harm reduction knowledge for clients who may already be using these substances recreationally or therapeutically, and the critical thinking skills to evaluate new research as it emerges. This is not about training therapists to administer psychedelics; it is about producing practitioners who are informed, ethically grounded and ready to engage competently with an evolving clinical landscape.

How does access to this curriculum change a student’s understanding of what modern “healing” and mental healthcare look like?

It fundamentally expands the frame. So much of conventional mental healthcare has been built around symptom management including ongoing medication and indefinite therapy. Psychedelic-assisted approaches offer the possibility of more transformative, meaning-making experiences that can catalyze lasting change in fewer sessions. For social work students in particular, this connects to our values around human dignity, self-determination and the belief that people are capable of profound growth. It may also deepen students’ appreciation for holistic, relationship-centered care which has been overshadowed by medicalized and productivity-driven systems.

What are the ethical or harm-reduction principles being embedded into the curriculum for future practitioners?

Several are non-negotiable: 1) informed consent must be in the forefront of training so that students understand what robust, ongoing consent looks like in this context, where altered states of consciousness are involved; 2) the prevention of exploitation and boundary violations, which have been documented in the history of psychedelic-assisted therapy and remain a serious risk; 3) harm reduction which includes understanding contraindications, screening protocols and how to support someone before, during and after an experience; 4) cultural humility, including honest engagement with the complicated history of how these substances were appropriated and criminalized, and 5) equity because if these therapies are only accessible to wealthy, urban populations, they are not public health tools – they are a luxury.

The Fellow’s Experience

What has been the most surprising or difficult part of bringing psychedelic science into a traditional department like social work?

The most surprising thing has been how receptive colleagues and students are once they understand the framing. The challenge is not internal resistance but more about navigating the institutional conservatism that comes with accreditation standards, curriculum approval processes and governance. Social work has a strong tradition of evidence-based practice, which is helpful. When we lead with the research of the CPDRE, the conversation shifts quickly. What has been harder is figuring out how to address the topic with appropriate nuance that honors both the genuine promise of the science and the very real history of harms, legal risks and equity failures in this space.

How has being part of a national cohort of U-PEP Fellows influenced building specific curriculum?

Enormously. Having access to fellows from nursing, medicine, public health and psychology is pushing us to think interprofessionally in ways we might not have otherwise. Social workers often operate in the same clinical spaces as these other disciplines, and designing curriculum that prepares students for those team environments is more valuable than a siloed approach. We believe the Mentor Circles will be an invaluable part of this experience. We have participated in a few meetings so far and have appreciated the opportunity to hear how fellows at other institutions have navigated curriculum design challenges, limited access to peer-reviewed literature, and securing institutional support which has given us practical tools and the reassurance that these challenges are not unique.

Was there a specific moment or realization that made you feel CSW had to be part of this partnership?

It was sitting in a psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy training faced with the reality that people suffering from treatment-resistant depression, PTSD and end-of-life anxiety are already seeking out these experiences, with or without clinical support, with or without safe conditions. Social workers are often the first and most consistent point of contact for vulnerable populations. If our graduates don’t know what psychedelic-assisted therapy is, what the risks are and how to have informed conversations about it, then we are failing those clients. The question stopped being “should we engage with this?” and became “how can we afford not to?”

Culture and Support

How does the U-PEP curriculum address the history of these substances and ensure students respect the indigenous roots of these practices?

This is something we take seriously and intend to address explicitly in the curriculum. Many of these substances such as psilocybin, peyote and ayahuasca have been used in ceremonial and healing contexts by indigenous communities for generations. They were criminalized in ways that targeted those same communities, even as Western researchers later “discovered” their therapeutic potential. Students need to understand that history clearly, and to approach these modalities with genuine respect rather than extraction or appropriation. We hope to draw on resources and perspectives from the CPDRE, indigenous scholars and communities, and U-PEP’s national network of subject matter experts as key resources.

How will these therapies reach marginalized or rural communities, rather than remaining a “boutique” treatment for the wealthy?

This is perhaps where social work has the most distinctive contribution to make through curriculum. The emerging psychedelic therapy model includes trained guides, multiple preparation and integration sessions, and extended therapeutic encounters which are resource-intensive and expensive. These therapies need deliberate structural attention across behavioral health services. We want students to graduate asking hard questions: Who gets access? Who is being trained as guides and therapists? Does that workforce reflect the communities being served? What do community-based or lower-cost models look like? Are rural, uninsured or historically marginalized populations in the room when policy decisions are being made? These are central questions for anyone practicing social work in this space, and they must be at the heart of this specialized curriculum pathway.

How do you teach students about the vital importance of long-term integration and support systems?

The evidence strongly suggests that the therapeutic benefit of psychedelic-assisted therapy depends significantly on what happens before and after the session, so the preparation, the relationship with the guide or therapist and the integration of insights into daily life. For social work students, this is actually very familiar territory. We are already trained to think about long-term support systems, community resources, and the difference between a clinical event and sustained wellbeing. We want students to see that their skills of case management, community connection, advocacy and trauma-informed relationship building are exactly what is needed to move these therapies from the research setting into equitable, community-centered care.