A Summit on Psychedelic Therapy and Other Emerging Treatments
BrainFutures is bringing together leading voices in research, clinical care, policy, and philanthropy for Frontiers of Mental Health & Recovery, a national summit on psychedelic therapy and other emerging treatments that will be held November 9-10, 2026.
Centering patients and anchoring in research, this curated convening will move the field toward system readiness for emerging treatments through facilitated working sessions that focus on urgent, actionable questions. Attendees will participate in the creation of tangible outputs that will support safe, accessible, ethical delivery of psychedelic therapy and other innovative treatments.
Space at this event is very limited. If you are interested in attending, we will open an application process soon. Look for more details in the coming months.
The Brain Skills Behind Child Behavior
How A Child's Learning, Emotions, and Everyday Behavior Are Shaped
Why does a simple request turn into a meltdown? Why is getting out the door so hard? And why does screen time seem to spark so many struggles?
These are just some of the questions parents in Baltimore County Public Schools brought to our three-part conversation series, Step Inside Your Child's Mind. We connect the dots between the questions parents ask and the science of executive function, offering practical insights into the skills that shape children’s learning, behavior, and well-being in the article, The Brain Skills Behind the Behavior: What Every Parent Needs to Know.
As we wrap up the school year in Maryland, we’re encouraged by the early results and look forward to the final data showing improvements in executive function skills.
To strengthen our executive function initiative in Baltimore County Schools, our Youth Executive Function Team of Jessica Rose-Malm, Kadena Williams, and Dr. Bruce Wexler presented a workshop, Executive Functions: Supporting the Hidden Skills that Shape Learning and Behavior, for nearly 100 Baltimore County Public School psychologists, school counselors, social workers, and pupil personnel workers.
Explore some of the highlights from the workshop and strategies educators can use to support executive function.
We're eager to share this training with other educators as we work toward our vision of integrated evidence-based youth executive function programs throughout the school day in K-12 school systems.
First-grade teacher, Kimberly Travers, incorporates youth executive function activities into her math lessons and uses balance activities between subjects.
“Throughout the day, I embed some of those executive functioning activities, including gross motor skills. Typically, when we’re transitioning between subject areas, we’ll do one.
They love trying to stand like a tree. Now they’re working on getting to 20 seconds before they topple over!”
Science reinforces what many educators observe every day: movement and mindful breaks throughout the day can improve student behavior and academic outcomes.
Listen to the full interview with Kimberly Travers and our Youth Executive Function Project Manager, Kadena Williams.
Expanding Access Through Drug Repurposing
BrainFutures Provides Insights to the FDA
In response to the FDA's request for public input on drug repurposing, BrainFutures and the American Society of Ketamine Physicians, Psychotherapists, and Practitioners submitted comments encouraging the agency to consider approval of intravenous ketamine for major depressive disorder, bipolar depression, and acute suicidality.
Ketamine (also known as racemic ketamine, which is chemically distinct from esketamine - Spravato®) is an FDA-approved general anesthetic that's currently used as a generic drug in clinical settings. There is strong evidence that it can also rapidly relieve symptoms of depression and suicidal ideation, often when other treatments have failed. Reflecting the strength of the evidence, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs includes ketamine in its clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of major depressive disorder.
FDA approval for these indications could have a meaningful impact on patient care by:
Increasing Access An approved indication would make it easier for physicians, health systems, and payers to offer ketamine treatment, helping expand access to patients across the country, including those in underserved and rural communities.
Reducing Costs As a low-cost generic medication, racemic ketamine typically costs just a few dollars per vial ($5-10). By comparison, FDA-approved brand name equivalents, which are FDA-approved for treatment-resistant depression, can cost hundreds of dollars per treatment ($590-885). Expanding approved uses of racemic ketamine would lower costs for patients, public and private health payers, and taxpayers.
Improving Outcomes Standardized FDA-approved dosing, monitoring, and safety protocols would improve the likelihood of effective, timely treatment for patients with depression and suicidal ideation.
Drug repurposing offers an opportunity to quickly and affordably bring effective treatments to patients who desperately need them. BrainFutures remains committed to advancing policies that expand access to safe, evidence-based mental health care.
Soulquinox: The Psychedelic Science & Spirituality Summit
Sometimes the most important insights emerge from the questions that remain unanswered. That spirit shaped the closing panel at Soulquinox: Psychedelic Science & Spirituality Summit, where BrainFutures Executive Director Sarah Norman guided a conversation focused not on what the Summit already covered, but on what still needs to be explored.
Sarah simply asked the panel, "What didn't we talk about today?" With insights from Dr. Rachel Yehuda, Rick Doblin, Natalie Lyla Ginsberg, Janis Phelps, Anthony Bossis, and Dr. Steven Zeiler, important themes in the field emerged. These include the foundational role of therapy, the importance of Professional Practice Guidelines and Interdisciplinary Core Competencies as the field matures, and the urgent need to close the gap between research and real-world access by addressing systems problems such as reimbursement.
When Sarah opened the floor for questions, the room came alive: a timely reminder that this community is deeply engaged and eager to move from conversation to action.
“We’re reaching kids at such a young age, helping them with metacognition, thinking about their choices, and thinking about how they’re learning. That will set them up for success and help them become lifelong learners.”
- Anna Gaskill ACTIVATE™ Leader and MTSS Resource Teacher
