New NORC/BrainFutures Study Finds Psychedelics in Healthcare Practitioner Training is Growing

New NORC/BrainFutures Study Finds Psychedelics in Healthcare Practitioner Training is Growing

Research gauged level of clinician workforce preparedness and education in anticipation of possible FDA approval for psychedelic therapies

CHICAGO and LUTHERVILLE, MD – December 11, 2024 – In a comprehensive survey of academic leaders from counseling, social work, nursing and psychology, 79% agreed that psychedelics show promise for treating psychiatric disorders. While 30% of respondents reported offering some form of psychedelic therapy education, only 5% include psychedelic therapy content in required, graduate-level courses. These are among the findings of a study conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago in partnership with BrainFutures to understand the current state of psychedelic therapy curriculum. 

“This survey reflected considerable optimism among clinicians around the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, but there remain knowledge and training gaps in the academic institutions preparing future health care providers,” said Sarah Norman, executive director for BrainFutures. “As research on psychedelic interventions progresses, it’s critical to develop evidence-based training curricula and ensure clinicians are prepared to safely provide psychedelic-assisted therapies.” 

Richard Smith, II, PhD, research scientist at NORC and principal investigator for the study, added, “One of the most comprehensive surveys about psychedelic therapy education to date, our research provides a wealth of insights from the very people training the next generation of mental health professionals.”

Additional findings include: 

• When asked if there should be additional research into psychedelics as potential psychiatric treatments, 83% agreed 

• Of the programs that already have psychedelic therapy curriculum, 60% want to expand, while 42% of programs without any psychedelic therapy content are interested in adding it 

• For continuing education units, only a tiny proportion of programs are currently offering psychedelic therapy content, and fewer than one in four programs are considering doing so 

• Very few programs have built psychedelic therapy-specific program tracks (3%), and none of those we surveyed offered a psychedelic therapy certificate 

• 92% of respondents said they did not have sufficient faculty to teach advanced coursework in psychedelic-assisted therapy, but 71% said their programs could offer funding for faculty training opportunities in psychedelics 

This spring and summer, NORC surveyed academic leaders in seven disciplines about psychedelic therapy. NORC generated a custom sample of 4,908 academic leaders from 1,894 academic institutions; after data cleaning, 418 complete responses were included in the dataset. The Survey on Psychedelic Therapy Curricula in Academia can be accessed here. 

“The core principles of nursing are safety, presence, and care, and the findings of this study dovetail well with the practice of psychedelic-assisted therapy to support the patient in their own healing,” said Andrew Penn, MS, CNS, PMHNP-BC, clinical professor, UC San Francisco, School of Nursing, and an educator that provided insight to inform development of the survey. “Additionally, the nurse’s ability to tend to the needs of both the body, mind, and spirit of a patient undergoing psychedelic-assisted therapy makes nurses well suited to provide these treatments. If training in psychedelic-assisted treatments were included in nursing curricula, the ubiquity of nurses in the health care workforce could, in the near future, increase equity and access to this important modality of care.” 

Recognizing the need to assist university faculty who are looking to add psychedelic therapy to their curricula, BrainFutures has already created resources to help them get started. Based on insights from a group of leaders in the field across nursing, social work, and psychiatry, BrainFutures released Integrating Psychedelic Coursework into Higher Education: A Toolkit for Academic Leaders and an accompanying list of established programs that faculty can contact for guidance. The organization has also profiled several of these leaders in a series of short interviews that offer real-world success stories. 

About NORC at the University of Chicago 

NORC at the University of Chicago conducts research and analysis that decision-makers trust. As a nonpartisan research organization and a pioneer in measuring and understanding the world, we have studied almost every aspect of the human experience and every major news event for more than eight decades. Today, we partner with government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world to provide the objectivity and expertise necessary to inform the critical decisions facing society.  

Learn more: NORC.org 

About BrainFutures 

BrainFutures is a national nonprofit dedicated to improving human outcomes by assessing and advancing the practical applications of new scientific understanding of the brain. As a citizen advocacy organization, we enlist specialists to offer rigorous assessment of—and education about—brain-based interventions that target specific segments of society. By providing objective evidence-based information about what works and clearing policy and practice pathways, we aim to maximize human potential and ameliorate pressing social challenges. Learn more: BrainFutures.org 

# # #