Update: August 20, 2025
Mission, Vision and Strategy
and Fundraising Proposal
for
Integrative Mental Health University (IMHU)
Since its founding over ten years ago, Integrative Mental Health University (IMHU) has stood at the intersection of clinical science and spiritual wisdom. We equip professionals and seekers to engage with the full spectrum of human experience—biological, psychological, social, and spiritual—in pursuit of deep healing and meaningful transformation.
As mainstream mental healthcare evolves, IMHU is helping lead the shift from a purely bio-psycho-social model to a bio-psycho-social-spiritual model—one that honors expanding consciousness – as a distinct, evidence-supported dimension of health.
The Problem
Modern mental healthcare remains rooted in a bio-psycho-social model that excludes a deep understanding of consciousness and spirituality as legitimate and important domains of human well-being. As a result, individuals who experience mystical states, spiritual awakenings, or profound altered states of consciousness are often misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or pathologized. What are invitations to personal growth and transformation are instead too frequently treated as symptoms of illness. The potential for human flourishing is then lost.
This gap in understanding leaves people without proper support, while practitioners—trained only in conventional bio-medical frameworks—lack the tools, language, and confidence to guide clients through these deeply human experiences. Without education, resources, and systemic recognition, the mental health field risks perpetuating harm and stigma where healing and growth are possible.
Vision
We envision a future where the bio-psycho-social-spiritual model becomes the standard of care in mental health; one that recognizes mystical experiences, phenomena associated with spiritual awakening (also known as spiritual emergence, including spiritual emergencies), and expanded states of consciousness not as signs of illness, but as invitations to personal growth. In this future, individuals are supported through all dimensions of their life journey, and practitioners are equipped to respond with presence, connection, insight, humility, and skill.
“Patient demand for a whole-person approach to mental health is growing quickly, and behavioral health professionals with integrative skills are now the most sought-after voices in the field.” –Andrew Weil, MD.
Strategic Priorities
To realize our vision of making the bio-psycho-social-spiritual model the standard of care in mental health, IMHU has identified five strategic priorities that will guide our growth and impact over the coming years. Each priority reflects both the pressing needs we see in the field and the unique strengths we bring as an organization. Together, they form a comprehensive plan: advancing professional education, empowering individuals in transformation, influencing cultural and clinical paradigms, strengthening the infrastructure needed for scale, and expanding the impact of our curriculum and reach worldwide.
- Advance Professional Education in the Bio-psycho-social-spiritual Model
- Goal: Train healthcare providers, coaches, and spiritual guides to integrate an understanding of the phenomena associated with the spiritual terrain into clinical and healing practices.
- Initiatives: Expand Continuing Education (CE) accredited courses, add to certification pathways for Spiritual Emergence Coaches®, provide networking in memberships, and continue in-person trainings in the US, UK, and EU.
- Empower Individuals Experiencing Psycho-Spiritual Transformation
- Goal: Provide tools and support for those navigating psycho-spiritual awakening, crisis, or emergence, especially where conventional systems fall short.
- Initiatives: Expand resources, peer networks, and one-on-one coaching; normalize the expansion of consciousness as a natural stage of human development.
- Influence Cultural and Clinical Paradigms
- Goal: Reposition spirituality as a legitimate, necessary domain within healthcare.
- Initiatives: Publish accessible public content, collaborate with other institutions, and contribute to global conversations on consciousness and integrative psychiatry.
- Strengthen Infrastructure for Growth
- Goal: Build the operational foundation to scale our impact globally.
- Initiatives: Migrate to a modern web platform (Webflow), improve user experience, enable private memberships, and restructure our nonprofit/for-profit entities for sustainability.
- Broaden Our Curriculum and Global Reach
- Goal: Expand offerings to cover diverse spiritual traditions and cultural contexts for youth as well as adults.
- Initiatives: Launch new courses in transpersonal psychology, archetypes and mythology, ancestral healing, integration of psychedelic experiences, and scientifically supported practices that safely lead to expansion of consciousness.
Proven Traction and Market Position
“If you want excellent content that can be applied practically. also understood by anyone (including clients looking for greater understanding)… I’d recommend Emma Bragdon and IMHU… It’s essential information that’s not in the mental health curriculum and applies to anything in the realm of spiritually-emergent phenomena or spiritual emergency.” –Jordan Blacktop, PhD.
Over the last decade, IMHU has established a recognized brand in a small but growing niche: understanding and supporting people through spiritual emergencies and other transformative – non-ordinary states of consciousness.
- 90% of our traffic is organic, a testament to the depth and quality of our content, with nearly 50% of our traffic coming directly to our site due to the credibility of our brand.
- We attract over 20,000 visitors annually, including hundreds of clinicians eager to integrate a deep understanding of spiritual emergence into their mental health practices.
- We have trained clinicians internationally, with several asking IMHU to establish international chapters for our Spiritual Emergence Coach® certification program to serve more professionals and individuals outside of the United States.
This strong foundation allows us to scale in a way that preserves both our integrity and our deep alignment with the people we serve.
Executive Summary for Fundraising Appeal
Who We Are:
Integrative Mental Health University (IMHU), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, brings clinical science, spiritual wisdom, and lived experience together to empower human flourishing. For over a decade, IMHU has trained hundreds of clinicians worldwide and developed more than 50 courses. It has established itself as a rare and trusted resource at the frontier of adding a deep understanding of spiritual growth to mental healthcare. (Scroll down for details on our Executive Team)
Why Now:
Global interest in integrating spiritual experiences into mental healthcare is surging. Clinicians in the UK and India who have completed IMHU training are asking us to launch official IMHU chapters in their countries. At the same time, our digital infrastructure must evolve to meet demand: clinicians need deeper access to community, resources, and ongoing training. Without an upgrade, we cannot scale to meet this global opportunity.
Our Solution:
We propose a two-part initiative:
- Launch IMHU chapters in the UK and India, empowering local leadership and cultural adaptation.
- Upgrade our digital platform to host a secure, private membership for clinicians, offering access to our course library, live trainings, and active discussions, building networks with other clinicians.
Impact:
- Year 1: Establish IMHU UK and India, onboard clinician leaders, and support local clinicians in their work
- Year 2: Grow to dozens of IMHU-trained clinician members in the UK and India; expand reach through culturally adapted programming.
- Year 3: Hundreds of professionals engaged in a global hub, with new chapters under development.
Funding Request: $90,000 total
- $40,000 for international expansion (legal, marketing, and platform internationalization).
- $50,000 for digital infrastructure (custom membership functionality, course library integration, event hosting).
Giving Levels:
- $500 – Connector: Help seed outreach and global clinician engagement.
- $1,000 – Builder: Support platform functionality that deepens access for practitioners.
- $2,500 – Advocate: Underwrite localized content and cultural adaptation for international chapters.
- $5,000 – Patron: Sponsor private membership features, including live expert sessions.
- $10,000 – Circle Member: Enable full launch of IMHU UK or India chapter.
- $25,000+ – Visionary Steward: Anchor global expansion, sustaining IMHU’s leadership in the bio-psycho-social-spiritual model
How to Donate: Click below or contact Emma Bragdon, PhD: [email protected]
Further Explanation of our Fundraising Proposal Follows
Why Now
IMHU is positioned for its next stage of growth and contribution. Andy Johns—former Silicon Valley executive, venture capitalist, and now dedicated to transformational healing after his own series of awakenings—has recently become our Vice President. Together, Emma Bragdon, PhD, Executive Director of IMHU, and Andy Johns are expanding the curriculum, building sustainable infrastructure, and advancing a vision where spiritual growth is recognized as an essential domain in mental healthcare worldwide.
The urgency is twofold:
- Global Demand: IMHU-trained clinicians in the UK and India have formally requested support in establishing chapters of IMHU. These practitioners already act as ambassadors of our mission, but without localized structures, their reach is limited. Launching official chapters will give them the credibility, tools, and infrastructure to expand IMHU’s mission in their regions.
- Digital Infrastructure Gap: IMHU’s current website cannot support the depth of engagement needed. Clinicians are asking for a structured membership community, with ongoing supervision, discounted access to our full library of courses, live Q&A with experts, and a collaborative professional network. Without a secure, scalable digital platform, we cannot meet this demand or transition from single or multiple course delivery to sustained community impact.
The moment is ripe: cultural interest in including spiritually-transformative experiences as part of mental health is surging, and IMHU has grown organically to now have a superlative international reputation. With timely investment, IMHU can capitalize on current opportunities to provide the necessary services that support human flourishing worldwide.
The Two-Part Solution
-
International Expansion — IMHU UK & India
We will:
- Build internationalization capabilities into our new web platform to serve multi-region audiences.
- Conduct legal due diligence in each country to ensure safe, compliant operations.
- Empower local leadership teams, drawn from IMHU-trained clinicians, to contextualize programming.
- Invest in marketing and outreach to announce chapter launches and recruit early members.
Impact:
- Country-specific training, adapted to cultural contexts.
- Stronger global credibility as IMHU becomes a more visible, international presence.
- A replicable model for future chapter launches in additional countries.
Total Funding Needed: $40,000
-
Web Platform Upgrade — Private Membership for Clinicians
We will:
- Build a secure, members-only portal integrated into our new website.
- Offer unlimited access to 50+ courses curated for clinicians at the intersection of spirituality and psychology.
- Host live expert Q&A, peer groups, and ongoing advanced training and supervision.
- Provide a collaborative hub for practitioners sharing resources and methods.
Impact:
- Clinicians transition from one-time students to lifelong community members.
- A robust international professional network is cultivated.
- Membership revenue sustains IMHU’s global mission.
Total Funding Needed: $50,000
Projected Growth
Year 1:
- Launch IMHU UK and India chapters with trained clinician leadership.
- Launch the private membership platform, onboarding the first 100 members.
Year 2:
- Membership expands to several hundred clinicians worldwide.
- Regional programming grows in both the UK and India.
Year 3:
- Global membership reaches thousands.
- Additional chapters under development, creating a truly international movement.
Long-Term Outcomes
- Global adoption of the bio-psycho-social-spiritual model of care.
- Sustainable membership revenue providing IMHU with financial stability.
- A professional network of clinicians worldwide advancing spiritual growth as integral to optimal wellbeing.
Funding Request & Giving Levels
Total Request: $90,000
- $40,000 for International Expansion
- $50,000 for Digital Infrastructure
Your gift helps scale IMHU’s mission globally, empowering practitioners and embedding the bio-psycho-social and spiritual paradigm into mental healthcare worldwide.
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Contact:
Emma Bragdon, PhD. Executive Director, IMHU.org
Landline phone in Vermont, USA: 802-674-2919
Email: [email protected]
The Foundation for Energy Therapies, Inc. is the 501c3 organization DBA Integrative Mental Health University, IMHU. Please make checks out to the Foundation for Energy Therapies, Inc. (FET)
Mailing Address: FET, ? Emma Bragdon, 8 Clough Ave, Windsor, VT 05089
Contributions are fully tax-deductible for all US taxpayers.
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Our Executive Team
Emma Bragdon, PhD (left)
Dr. Bragdon is the Founder and Executive Director of the Foundation for Energy Therapies, Inc. (FET), a not-for-profit, 501(c)3 company dedicated to education and research. Integrative Mental Health University, IMHU, is a project of FET. Emma is the Chairman of FET’s Board. FET was founded in 2008, and IMHU came online in 2013.
Emma has been a pioneer in body-mind-spirit wellness for 50 years. She has written 7 books and co-produced two documentary films on topics related to mental health and healing. She has been a teacher in experiential learning for adults since 1985.
Before graduate school, Emma trained with some of the best bio-energetic and neo-Reichian therapists in the San Francisco Bay area, e.g., Stanley Keleman, Anne Dreyfuss, Nadine Scott, Phil Cucuruto, Ed Jackson, MD, William Emerson, PhD and others. Her advanced training in breathwork, bodywork and energy work became central in her understanding of how to support personal growth and wellness. Her facilitation of group breathwork in the 1980s was sponsored by her graduate school to benefit the community.
From 1985 to 1992, Emma also dedicated herself to writing about and forwarding spiritual development. She volunteered at the Spiritual Emergence Network (SEN) for 7 years, editing their journal and newsletter, and coordinating two invited conferences at Esalen Institute for them. Stanislav Grof, MD & Christina Grof, founders of SEN, attended along with other psychologists, spiritual teachers, individuals with life experience, and the psychic, Anne Armstrong. Emma’s PhD dissertation on “How to Support Someone in Spiritual Emergency” was inspired by these gatherings. Stanislav Grof, MD’s pioneering work continues to be a profound source of inspiration for her.
By 1988, Emma was licensed as a Marriage, Family, and Child Therapist, had earned her PhD in Transpersonal Psychology, and specialized in private practice around issues of Spiritual Emergency. She continues to coach individuals online from all continents in the world, as well as consulting with organizations regarding identifying and managing spiritual emergencies.
From 1990 to 2001, Emma taught 9-day experiential courses in personal development. From 2001 to 2012, she conducted extensive field research, focusing on Spiritist Community Centers and Spiritist Psychiatric Hospitals in Brazil. These institutions offer an effective, 120-year-old model of integrative healthcare that caters to all economic levels, while also meeting the requirements for government funding as needed for inpatient care. The Brazilian Spiritists are very successful in recognizing and managing spiritual emergency, having developed their effective protocols for more than 100 years.
In 2012, the President of the Spiritist Psychiatric Hospital in Goiania, Brazil asked Emma to be their “ambassador” to non-Brazilians. She has since that time been facilitating seminars for health providers to visit the hospital, experience the Spiritist therapies offered, and learn from her and her Brazilian associates, psychiatrists and spiritual healers who collaborate there and at other Spiritist Community Centers in Goiania.
In her role as Founder & Executive Director, Emma has developed IMHU since its inception in May 2013. It is currently self-sustaining, aligned with its mission, purpose and values, offering the wisdom of a stellar faculty, and independent of special interests. She is active as a teacher of some of IMHU’s online courses and is available for personal consultations, as well.
Andy Johns (left)
Andy Johns recently joined IMHU as its Vice President. He brings to IMHU a unique combination of Silicon Valley expertise and lived spiritual transformation. Over a 17-year career, he worked as an executive, advisor, and investor with ten multi-billion-dollar startups, achieving notable success in the world of high-growth technology. Yet the same drive that fueled his achievements, combined with unresolved childhood trauma, including the loss of his mother to mental illness, also led to workaholism, addictions, and eventual burnout.
A series of profound spiritual awakenings set Andy on a new path of healing and self-discovery. This journey not only restored his well-being but also revealed a deeper mission: to help others navigate transformation and discover higher purpose. Today, Andy serves on the board of Heroic Hearts Project, which supports veterans with PTSD through psychedelic therapy, and writes extensively on mental health, spirituality, and personal growth. He has recently completed training in Jungian Dream Analysis via the Jung Centre of Ireland and will soon become certified as a Spiritual Emergence Coach® through IMHU. Looking ahead, he plans to pursue a graduate degree in transpersonal psychology to deepen his expertise.
In July 2025, Andy joined IMHU to help expand its global impact. He will be working on upgrading its technology platform, supporting curriculum growth, and building capacity for international reach. With both visionary perspective and grounded business skill, Andy is helping lead IMHU into its next chapter, creating the structure to sustain its niche in leadership in the world.