Opening Doors to a Representative PAT Workforce: Insights from Access to Doorways’ Research & Assessment Projects
At the Psychedelic Mental Health Access Alliance (PMHA), we are committed to advancing our mission and vision by collaborating with, catalyzing, and amplifying the work of practitioners, researchers, and educators who are dedicated to creating and expanding access to psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) for marginalized communities. One of the organizations at the forefront of this work is Access to Doorways, an Oakland-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to psychedelic therapy treatment and training for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), Queer, and gender-diverse individuals.
PMHA is proud to collaborate with Access to Doorways to support efforts that ensure PAT training programs are inclusive, culturally competent, and equipped to meet the needs of BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+ communities. Through this partnership, we are working to evaluate psychedelic therapy training programs, advocate for equity-focused policies, and empower the next generation of therapists from historically excluded backgrounds.
We dropped in with Courtney Watson, founder of Access to Doorways, to discuss her groundbreaking work, her role in the Black Psychedelic Learners Project, and the insights emerging from her team’s research on equity in PAT training programs.
Meet Courtney Watson
Courtney Watson, LMFT, is the founder and owner of Doorway Therapeutic Services, an Oakland-based group therapy practice focused on mental health care for BIPOC and LGBTQ communities. She also founded a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring equitable access to psychedelic treatment, training, research, and community-led projects for QT/BIPOC individuals.
With extensive training in psychedelic-assisted therapy, she is a leader in the field, serving on various boards and committees while also speaking at prestigious institutions. Her work is driven by a passion for integrating ancient healing traditions with modern therapies, ensuring that psychedelic medicine is accessible, inclusive, and culturally competent.
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Courtney Watson:
The Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Training Institutions (PATTI) Assessment evaluates the curriculum of training programs to determine how well they are pparing trainees for culturally competent, equity-focused care while identifying gaps in the training programs. Our goal is to assess how effectively these programs integrate cultural competency, historical context, and social determinants of health into psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) training. In the future, we hope to offer data-driven recommendations to training programs based on our findings.The Black Psychedelic Learners Project (BPLP) is a research initiative that focuses on evaluating the effectiveness and inclusivity of PAT training programs specifically for Black trainees. This study aims to assess whether these programs are adequately addressing the cultural, psychological, and spiritual needs of Black learners. We take a dual research approach—qualitative methods (interviews and focus groups) to capture the lived experiences of Black participants, and quantitative methods to evaluate training effectiveness, engagement, and success rates, disaggregated by race.
What’s unique about your approach to this research? How are you making sure community voices are truly centered?
Our approach is unique because we are integrating African Psychology and Indigenous Research Methodologies to guide the research process. This framework ensures that we honor cultural traditions, healing practices, and lived experiences of the Black community rather than relying solely on Western psychological models.
We center community voices by engaging participants in a culturally grounded way, using research methodologies that respect their histories, identities, and traditions, and creating space outside of standardized Western research models, which have often led to minimal Black participation in psychedelic studies.
This includes:
Conducting interviews and focus groups where participants are encouraged to share their stories in safe, supportive environments with researchers who look like them.
Guidance from our Elder Council, composed of respected community leaders and practitioners in the psychedelic space, ensuring that the study is shaped by the values and needs of the Black community.
Any early insights on how well current training programs are preparing people for culturally competent, equity-focused care?
Early findings suggest that while some Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Training Institutions (PATTIs) are making progress toward inclusivity, significant gaps remain in cultural competency training for Black learners.
Many participants report that while they appreciate the theoretical aspects of the programs, they often feel that the curriculum does not fully incorporate culturally relevant frameworks or healing practices. A recurring theme is the lack of attention to historical and systemic barriers Black people face within healthcare, and how these factors impact access to and trust in psychedelic therapy.
These gaps highlight the need for training that goes beyond technical skills, emphasizing:
Cultural sensitivity and racial trauma awareness,
Pedagogical adjustments that center diverse learning styles, and
The integration of Indigenous healing traditions within psychedelic therapy practices.
How do you see this work shaping the future of the psychedelic therapy workforce, especially for marginalized communities?
This work has the potential to fundamentally reshape the psychedelic therapy workforce by introducing a new model that is not only inclusive but also focused on decolonizing therapeutic practices.
By integrating African and American Indigenous methodologies, we can ensure that marginalized communities—particularly Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)—are not excluded from psychedelic research and treatment advancements.
This research will provide concrete data on:
How to structure PAT training programs that equip therapists with the skills and knowledge to offer culturally responsive, effective care, and
How to improve access to psychedelic therapies for historically marginalized groups by reducing structural barriers.
Ultimately, this work will minimize erasure, expand representation, and foster a workforce that reflects and serves diverse communities in a meaningful way.
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Courtney Watson:
We are currently in the Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval phase and are preparing for the data collection stage. We have participants on a waitlist and training institutions eager to engage. Our Elder Council is fully formed, and we are looking forward to launching the next phase of research.
In the near future, we plan to:
Expand our research to gather data from a broader participant pool,
Refine our findings and develop recommendations for training institutions, and
Advocate for equity-focused changes in PAT training programs.
We are actively seeking funding support to sustain and scale this project. Financial contributions will help us:
Expand our research,
Develop resources for training institutions, and
Ensure that our findings lead to real policy changes.
By working together, we can build a more inclusive, accessible psychedelic therapy field—one that truly reflects the needs of historically marginalized communities.
Your support—whether through donations, partnerships, or applying our research findings—will directly impact the future of psychedelic-assisted therapy and its ability to serve diverse communities effectively.
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Courtney Watson:
This work has the potential to fundamentally reshape the psychedelic therapy workforce by introducing a new model that is not only inclusive but also focused on decolonizing therapeutic practices.
By integrating African and American Indigenous methodologies, we can ensure that marginalized communities—particularly Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)—are not excluded from psychedelic research and treatment advancements.
This research will provide concrete data on:
How to structure PAT training programs that equip therapists with the skills and knowledge to offer culturally responsive, effective care, and
How to improve access to psychedelic therapies for historically marginalized groups by reducing structural barriers.
Ultimately, this work will minimize erasure, expand representation, and foster a workforce that reflects and serves diverse communities in a meaningful way.