Listening First: How PMHA’s New Mexico Group Psilocybin Study is Being Shaped by Community Design
By Hanifa Nayo Washington, PMHA Co-Director
Over the past 10 months, I’ve had the honor and joy of spending time in New Mexico with some regularity—meeting with people doing this work on the ground, connecting deeply with the University of New Mexico team, and building meaningful relationships across the state.
On my most recent visit, I participated in a statewide convening that celebrated the passage of SB 219, the landmark legislation that created state-run regulated access for psychedelic therapy in New Mexico. The room was filled with people from across the full spectrum of New Mexico’s psychedelic field: advocates, traditional medicine holders, veterans, researchers, and public health leaders. I sat on a panel alongside Adele Getty of Limina Foundation , Dr. Larry Leeman- Physician & PAT Researcher at the University of New Mexico, New Mexican veterans advocates, psilocybin cultivators, and others. It was deeply moving to be in that space—not only to be invited to the table, but to be among those who have quietly and steadily laid the tracks toward access and healing for years.
New Mexico has led significant groundwork toward the passage of SB 219, the Medical Psilocybin Act, which was signed into law by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham in April 2025. This landmark legislation establishes a state-regulated medical psilocybin program, creating a framework for the therapeutic use of psilocybin to treat qualifying conditions such as PTSD, depression, substance use disorders, and end-of-life anxiety.
PMHA’s Collaborative Engagement Process
The Psychedelic Mental Health Access (PMHA) Alliance is working in close partnership with the Health Equity Council (Bernalillo County), the University of New Mexico, and the New Mexico Department of Health to design a state-supported pilot study exploring psilocybin-assisted group therapy. The pilot recruitment and training begins in Q4 2025, with treatment slated for Q1 2026.
The current phase—our community engagement and co-design process—is essential. It ensures that the care model we’re developing is shaped by the very people it’s intended to serve. We are engaging community members, cultural leaders, clinicians, and those with lived experience to shape everything from participant criteria to integration support services.
Research shows that community-engaged study design significantly improves health outcomes, especially in underserved populations. As Harvard Public Health reports, “community-based co-design leads to more relevant, trusted, and effective interventions.” Similarly, a 2020 study published in the International Journal for Equity in Health demonstrated that participation in shaping treatment programs correlates with greater patient adherence and outcomes.
With the generous support of a community of psychedelic philanthropists—including a lead gift from Kindred Trust—PMHA Alliance is coordinating this access-centered engagement process.
Together with our partners, we are:
Hosting design studios and listening sessions to surface cultural values, barriers, and care needs
Piloting an ecosystem mapping tool (co-developed with the Camden Coalition) to chart wraparound supports before, during, and after treatment to be available to pilot participants
Ensuring local and cultural perspectives are integrated into both care model design and care team training for the pilot study
These insights inform not just New Mexico’s path, but PMHA’s national strategy for building ethical, state-fundable psychedelic care.
Core Themes from the First Community Design Studio
We completed our first community design studio in March, and these are the core themes that emerged from the process:
Desire for Indigenous Guidance: Participants strongly expressed the importance of including Indigenous medicine practitioners, wisdom keepers, and traditional knowledge holders—both in the facilitation of the study and in the training of the care team.
Set, Setting & Cultural Resonance: There was clear feedback that the setting should include multicultural visual cues, art, and music—not a clinical or Eurocentric feel. Many also expressed interest in whether aspects of the study could include nature-based or outdoor components.
Integration Support: Many participants voiced the need for long-term integration care beyond short-term sessions. There was enthusiasm for peer support models, trauma-informed resources, and culturally matched care providers.
Supports Mapping Tool: Many voices raised the need for a tool that shows a network of resources for social, emotional, mental health, and spiritual supports before, during, and after PAT treatment.
Reflections from the Field
One of the on-the-ground leaders of this work is Janus Herrera, Health Promotion Specialist at the Health Equity Council. After several months of zoom planning I finally had the pleasure of meeting Janus in person during my most recent visit to New Mexico, and she offered this reflection on what the community engagement process has meant to her:
“The most interesting part of collaborating on the Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy pilot program for me has been learning from the many contributors from very different walks of life who have found healing in this powerful plant medicine. It has been challenging and important to name and discuss the cultural appropriation and commodification of plant medicine.
My personal hope for this work is that there will be a cultural shift around psilocybin and psychedelics to allow people to access the therapeutic treatments that are effective for them—I like to say that every BODY is different—while honoring the cultural precedents for this type of deep and meaningful work.”
Next Steps for PMHA’s New Mexico’s Community Design Process
Summer 2025: PMHA and the Health Equity Council will host a workshop to gather feedback from healthcare providers, spiritual leaders, Indigenous medicine keepers, and community stakeholders. During the workshop, PMHA will pilot and test the Ecosystem Mapping Tool co-developed with the Camden Coalition.
This tool is designed to help surface key resources for study participants—from mental health and integration support to culturally matched peer services. The final version of this tool will be offered to both study participants and state partners as a basic prototype to support broader psychedelic care infrastructure in New Mexico.
Fall 2025: Focus groups and one-on-one interviews will continue, including invited participants from the design studio as well as affinity group sessions with veterans, Indigenous practitioners, and other identified stakeholders.
Winter 2025: PMHA will produce a comprehensive community engagement report including:
A “how-to” guide for conducting community-informed study design
Key findings and insights from the New Mexico process
Identified barriers and enablers of trust, access, and cultural fit in PAT care
Recommendations for researchers and community groups planning similar work in other states
Shaping the Study Through Set and Setting
During my last visit to New Mexico, I also had the opportunity to spend time with Dr. Larry Leeman and Dr. Maya Armstrong who are leading the research team at the University of New Mexico. We convened at the Interdisciplinary Substance Use and Brain Injury (ISUBI) Research Center - where the designated rooms for the upcoming pilot study are located. We engaged in thoughtful discussions about how to transform the space into a setting that fosters calm, dignity, and cultural resonance for participants. Our conversation encompassed elements such as lighting, acoustics, artwork, and spatial arrangement—recognizing that these design choices are not peripheral but central to the therapeutic experience
This focus on setting is part of a broader commitment. PMHA has recently joined the Set and Setting Consortium, a collaborative network of researchers and practitioners exploring the multidimensional impact of therapeutic environments in psychedelic care. I had the pleasure of joining their most recent session at the 1440 Foundation, where we explored frameworks emerging from McGill University’s research on setting domains—from sensory environment and relational field to cultural symbolism and spatial agency. These domains significantly influence participant outcomes and should be integrated into study design with intention.
Our collaboration in New Mexico reflects this commitment: to ground psychedelic care not just in protocol, but in place..
Come Find Us at Psychedelic Science 2025!
PMHA Alliance will be presenting at Psychedelic Science 2025 in Denver! Join us for a powerful conversation on the role of community engagement in shaping access-driven psychedelic care in New Mexico.
Our session, “Listening to Lead: How a Community-Informed Psilocybin Study is Guiding New Mexico’s Regulated Model,” will take place on Wednesday, June 18 from 4:30–5:00 PM MDT in the Mile High Ballroom 1B.
Panelists include:
Hanifa Nayo Washington, PMHA Alliance (Moderating) - Dara Menashi, PMHA Alliance - Dr. Larry Leeman, University of New Mexico - Janus Herrera, Health Equity Council - Crystal Romero, New Mexico Psilocybin Peer Navigator / Retired Army Master Sergeant
We’d love to see you there—come find us, ask questions, and help shape what’s next.