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 ofSB 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

ThePsychedelic Mental Health Access (PMHA) Alliance is working in close partnership with theHealth Equity Council (Bernalillo County), theUniversity 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. AsHarvard 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 theCamden 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 theHealth 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

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 SergeantWe’d love to see you there—come find us, ask questions, and help shape what’s next.

Listening First: How PMHA’s New Mexico Group Psilocybin Study is Being Shaped by Community Design

More from June 2025

Advancing Standardized Care Metrics Across the Field

PMHA Alliance Joins Set & Setting Collaborative

Establishing a Standardized Dataset for Psychedelic Medicine

New Mexico Psilocybin Pilot Status Report (as of May 2025)