Professor Trujillo’s Vision for the Future of Psychedelic Education Produces First-Ever Graduates

Professor Trujillo’s Vision for the Future of Psychedelic Education Produces First-Ever Graduates Posted on August 31, 2023June 30, 2025 From left to right: Top row: Mira Kepler, MDiv; Felisha Thomas, MFT; Melissa Morales, LCSW; Martin Epson, MD. Bottom row: Renu Goel, MD; Jyoti Nadhani, MFT; Mai Shimada, MD; Christopher Burak, MD. Photography: Jenna Garrett As psychedelics gain traction in health care and community settings, comprehensive education is needed for care professionals and recipients alike. By Moana Meadow and Rebecca Ashton-Dziedzan In May, the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics graduated its first-ever cohort from the Psychedelic Facilitation Certificate Program: a diverse group of 23 advanced career professionals in the fields of medicine, social work, chaplaincy, psychiatry, nursing and midwifery. The inaugural cohort undertook nine months of intensive learning modules that brought together a socio-culturally and economically diverse group, including 40 percent BIPOC and at least 33 percent LGBTQIA+, two historically underrepresented communities. “The intentionality of this program, its intimacy, didactic intersections, and real-time practices of equity and accessibility have renewed my approach and presence to my work,” said Felisha Thomas, a marriage and family therapist who is African-American and identifies as LGBTQIA+. Thomas, who practices