Alumni Weekend: Sarnat Lecture 2024

Preparing Social Workers to Meet the Moment with Psychedelic Assisted Therapy (PAT)

The Crown Family School will host the 2024 Rhoda G. Sarnat Lecture: Preparing Social Workers to Meet the Moment with Psychedelic Assisted Therapy (PAT), featuring Heidi L. Allen, MSW, PhD., Associate Professor, Columbia School of Social Work. This lecture will outline the research and regulatory landscape of psychedelics, describe the treatment protocols in psychedelic-assisted therapy clinical trials, identify implementation opportunities and challenges for MDMA Assisted Therapy, and explain the critical role of educating social workers to meet the demand for these new treatments.


Professional Development Credit is available.

This lecture will provide 1.5 hours of Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for attendees seeking professional development. 

*There is a fee for those attendees seeking Professional Development Credit


This event is free* and welcomes participants from all backgrounds.  Attendance is open to all.

Panelists
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Woman in maroon smiling leaning against a wall
Heidi Allen, MSW, PhD.

Learn More about the Keynote Speaker

Heidi Allen, MSW, PhD is an Associate Professor at Columbia University in the School of Social Work and Mailman School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management. She has a certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research from the California Institute of Integral Studies (2023) and completed the MDMA Therapy Training Program offered by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) in 2022. In partnership with faculty from the University of Pennsylvania School
of Nursing, Dr. Allen is developing curriculum for psychedelic assisted therapy (PAT) specific to within- degree training programs for social workers and nurses. Columbia School of Social Work is welcoming the inaugural cohort of students for the Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Training Program (PTTP) in fall 2024.

Dr. Allen serves on the Clinical Advisory Board at the Usona Institute, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials of psilocybin for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Dr. Allen was a speaker at Horizons New York, and
Psychedelic Science 2023. She studies access and affordability of health care in America, particularly for under-served populations. Her research has been published in prestigious journals such as Science, New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA and Health Affairs. Dr. Allen is a Commissioner on the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, a non-partisan government agency that advises Congress and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on issues related to Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

This event is free* and welcomes participants from all backgrounds.  Attendance is open to all.

If you have any questions about access or to request a reasonable accommodation that will facilitate your full participation in this event such as ASL interpreting, captioned videos, Braille or electronic text, food options for individuals with dietary restrictions, etc. please contact the event organizer.