Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion of the BPMT

Social Justice

Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee was formed to support the Board of Psychedelic Medicine and Therapies (BPMT) in bringing its values of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) into organizational operations at every level. We understand that a commitment to these values requires that we transform organizational structures and processes so that equity is actualized in practice, not in principle alone. We recognize that organizations and the work that they produce are stronger and more successful when diverse perspectives are incorporated, and that centering marginalized voices is essential to overcome structural inequity.

Mission of the DEI Committee

Our mission is to serve as a hub at the center of the Board of Psychedelic Medicine and Therapies (BPMT), working closely with the Board of directors and executive team on all matters to ensure the integrity of the organizations processes and deliverables, integrated with justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) principles at the core.

Resources

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Organizations Supporting Equity

Psychedelic Liberation Collective

The PLC is a group of queer, BI&POC-led people working collectively to create spaces for healing and transformation for our communities. Our goal is to facilitate decentralized spaces for community support, and provide information about psychedelics in an approach grounded in social justice. We recognize that some of the obstacles for our communities in accessing the benefits of psychedelics are 1) insufficient number of BI&POC providers/guides, 2) lack of cultural humility in white providers/guides, 3) microaggressions and overt racism in wider psychedelic spaces, and 4) lack of information about or access to these substances in our communities. These obstacles are situated inside the larger systemic and structural barriers which include ongoing threat to physical safety; the criminalization of Black and brown people in the War on Drugs and terrorism by the carceral state; the disparity of generational wealth for Black and brown people resulting from racial capitalism and leading to barriers in access to material resources, educational opportunities, and healing modalities; and more.

Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines

Chacruna provides public education and cultural understanding about psychedelic plant medicines and promote a bridge between the ceremonial use of sacred plants and psychedelic science. We envision a world where plant medicines and other psychedelics are preserved, protected, and valued as part of our cultural identity and integrated into our social, legal and health care systems.

The Ancestor Project

The Ancestor Project integrates ancestral Sacred Earth Medicine wisdom into the modern journeyers’ experience to reduce harm and expand consciousness. We believe that Sacred Earth Medicine is key in liberating all oppressed peoples. We facilitate online and in-person opportunities for learning that support radical self-transformation in the name of collective liberation.

Journal Articles

Smith, D. T., Faber, S. C., Buchanan, N. T., Foster, D. & Green, L. (2022). The Need for Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in the Black Community and the Burdens of Its Provision. Frontiers in Psychiatry 12, 774736. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.774736

Pilecki, B., Luoma, J. B., Bathje, G. J., et al. (2021). Ethical and legal issues in psychedelic harm reduction and integration therapy. Harm Reduction Journal (18) 40.

Ching, T. H. W. (2020). Intersectional insights from an MDMA-assisted therapy training trial: An open letter to racial/ethnic and sexual/gender minorities. Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 4(1), 61-68.

Fotiou, E. (2020). The role of Indigenous knowledges in psychedelic science. Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 4(1), 16-23.

Fogg, C., Michaels, T. I., de la Salle, S., Jahn, Z. W., & Williams, M. T. (2021). Ethnoracial health disparities and the ethnopsychopharmacology of psychedelic medicine. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 29(5), 539–554. doi: 10.1037/pha0000490

Halstead, M., Reed, S., Krause, R., & Williams, M. T. (2021). Ketamine-assisted therapy for PTSD related to experiences of racial discrimination. Clinical Case Studies, 20(4), 310-330. doi: 10.1177/1534650121990894

Williams, M. T., Reed, S., & George, J. (2020). Culture and psychedelic therapy: Ethnic and racial themes from three Black women therapists. Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 4(3), 125-138.

Williams, M. T., Reed, S., & Aggarwal, R. (2020). Culturally-informed research design issues in a study for MDMA-assisted therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 4(1), 40–50. doi: 10.1556/2054.2019.016

George, J. R., Michaels, T. I., Sevelius, J., & Williams, M. T. (2020). The psychedelic renaissance and the limitations of a White-dominant medical framework: A call for indigenous and ethnic minority inclusion. Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 4(1), 4-15. doi: 10.1556/2054.2019.015

Williams, M. T., & Leins, C. (2016). Race-based trauma: The challenge and promise of MDMA-assisted therapy. Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) Bulletin, 26(1), 32-37.