Funding Proposal
To Support the Creation of
Empowering Youth to Navigate Extreme States:
A Psych-Education Course for
Resilience, Insight, and Peer Support
To be offered through IMHU
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Who We Are
IMHU, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, seeks funding to develop a comprehensive, online psych-education course designed to equip teens and young adults, 16–24, with the tools and knowledge they need to better manage extreme states in themselves and be supportive of their peers. This course will be led by Dr. Emma Bragdon, PhD—pioneer in spiritual emergence and awakening—and Dr. Janis Whitlock, MPH, PhD—expert in adolescent mental health and self-injury prevention.
Why Now
Young people aged 16–24 are facing rising psychological distress, trauma responses, and unintegrated spiritual experiences—often due to unguided psychedelic and/or AI exposure. Suicide and self-harm rates are rising, and our mental healthcare system is not equipped to meet these complex needs. With increasing access to psychedelics, emotional overwhelm, and AI, the time to equip young people with effective, sensitive tools is now.
Why IMHU
IMHU brings decades of leadership in psycho-spiritual education. Andy Johns, a skilled businessman, is Vice President of IMHU as of August 2025. This course combines science-backed education, emotional support strategies, and practical frameworks for resilience and growth. It offers young people—and the institutions that serve them—a new paradigm for navigating extreme states with care and clarity.
Who It Is For
This course is for individuals aged 16–24. It is also intended for parents, educators, and institutions—particularly schools and universities—who recognize the urgent need to expand psych-education.
What Your Gift Supports
- Design and delivery of the full course
- Expert instruction from leading figures in adolescent psychology and spiritual emergence
- Development of an online platform with live sessions, breakout groups, and resources
- Scholarships and sliding scale options to ensure accessibility to disadvantaged groups
Giving Levels
$500 – Seed Planter
$1,000 – Access Advocate
$2,500 – Insight Illuminator
$5,000 – Module Patron
$10,000 – Founding Circle Member
$25,000+ – Legacy Steward
Projected Impact
Hundreds of students in 2–5 institutions in year one of launch. Thousands in year three as visibility and outcomes grow. Long-term reduction in psychological crises, ER visits, and stigma around emotional and spiritual challenges.
To contribute or inquire about ways to give, please contact Dr. Emma Bragdon at [email protected].
Full Funding Proposal
Empowering Youth to Navigate Extreme States:
A Psych-Education Course
for Resilience, Insight, and Peer Support.
Lead Collaborators: Emma Bragdon, PhD & Janis Whitlock, MPH, PhD.
Who We Are
IMHU is seeking funding to develop a comprehensive online psych-education course designed to equip teens and young adults (ages 16–24) with the tools and knowledge needed to navigate extreme emotional and psychological states, both in themselves and their peers. While the course will be accessible to individuals and parents, our primary goal is to partner with schools and universities to bring this essential resource to students at scale. Co-led by Dr. Emma Bragdon, PhD—a pioneer in the field of spiritual emergence—and Dr. Janis Whitlock, MPH, PhD—an expert in adolescent mental health and self-injury prevention—the program offers science-based education, practical support strategies, and resilient frameworks to foster emotional well-being and personal growth.
“It is during these college years that young adults are most likely to experience their first mental health episode. As a teacher, I often wondered what was happening behind my students’ stressed faces and how we could help.” Andrew T. Campbell, PhD., Professor at Dartmouth College
Why Now
- Young people aged 16–24 are facing a marked rise in extreme states due to:
- Psychological imbalance, often rooted in trauma, extraordinary sensitivity, or AI interaction
- Disorienting spiritual or anomalous experiences—spontaneous or triggered by unguided psychedelic use
- Or both occurring simultaneously
While IMHU does not promote psychedelic use, we recognize that many youth access these substances to explore or rebel, often without guidance. The current mental health system cannot meet the needs of those in crisis as a result of such experiences. This course aims to improve outcomes for youth navigating these challenges.
- Psychedelic use is rising significantly among youth:
- A 2024 study found that 11.3% of U.S. individuals aged 12+ used psilocybin in the past year, with the highest rates among young adults[1]
- Hallucinogen use nearly doubled among 19–30-year-olds from 2018 to 2021, reaching about 8%, the highest since the 1980s[2]
Youth aged 16–24, are especially vulnerable to difficult psychedelic experiences, including ego-dissolution—at a time when their sense of self is still forming. Sensitive individuals are particularly at risk of long-lasting distress, isolation, or harmful coping behaviors.
As noted by Roland Griffiths, PhD (Johns Hopkins, 2023), psychedelics can lead to profound insights[3], such as: “we’re all interconnected, life is sacred, and this is emphatically true.” But realizing these insights safely requires a supportive set, setting, and trained guide—conditions rarely present among adolescents relying on peers. Without integration, even transformative moments can lead to crisis. Psych-education can help bridge this gap.
- Suicide remains one of the top causes of death for youth:
- CDC: Suicide is the second or third leading cause of death for ages 16–24
- 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey: 10% of high school students (grades 9–12) attempted suicide in the past year
- Self-harm is also surging:
- A 2025 report found [4] 17.6% of adolescents aged 14–18 engaged in non-suicidal self-injury, with rates significantly higher among girls (23.8%) than boys (11.3%)
- ER admissions for self-harm rose 30% among girls aged 15–19[5] between 2020 and 2022
Many of these youth exhibit heightened emotional sensitivity and perception. As Dr. Whitlock notes[6], self-injury often arises as a coping mechanism for overwhelming emotion—frequently tied to their empathic and energetic sensitivity, a phenomenon recognized in consciousness studies as morphic resonance.
- AI access by young people has added another level of complexity.
While some AI chatbots appear supportive, they can reinforce harmful thought patterns. When users are already inclined toward self-destruction, these bots may unintentionally validate destructive thinking or feed into manic and psychotic ideation. Cases are emerging in which prolonged engagement with AI has pushed vulnerable youth into psychosis due to its sycophantic[7] feedback loops.
Why This Course is Urgently Needed
This course will:
- Educate young people on extreme states, distinguishing between psychological imbalance and spiritually transformative experiences (“emergence”)
- Provide actionable strategies for managing emotional and cognitive disruption
- Equip students to support peers in crisis, fostering empathy and community
- Reduce stigma surrounding mental health and spiritual growth
- Offer expert-driven, accessible tools and guidance for resilience
The course introduces a clear cognitive framework for understanding spiritual emergence and emergency, helping youth locate themselves within psychological or spiritual challenges. Highly sensitive individuals will learn to see psychic opening and heightened empathy not as signs of illness, but as evolutionary capacities to be understood and cultivated. For those experimenting with psychedelics, the course provides language and context to interpret insights and avoid harm.
Our aim is to foster informed decision-making, connection, and a sense of belonging, nurturing not only individual healing but personal growth and broader awareness. By helping young people recognize their sensitivity and life experiences as meaningful, we lay the foundation for deep healing. Clinical and research evidence show that regular, supportive practices for managing anxiety and emotional overwhelm significantly benefit this age group.
This course reframes mental health challenges through a lens of transformation and growth. Research consistently shows that even youth with profound difficulties often describe their healing as empowering and awareness-expanding, not merely something to endure. This shift from recovery to resilience is central to our educational approach. (For course content, see detailed outline in Appendix A).
Who Is It For
We intend to make this course available internationally to individuals 16-24 years old, schools and universities, including parents and educators, who recognize the need to expand psych-education for those in late adolescence. This is when the symptoms of serious mental illnesses, like schizophrenia, are most likely to appear. Those already predisposed to mental illness can find anxieties gaining power over them in response to more trauma, “bad trips”, and ignorance of the universal and very human maps of spiritual emergence and emergency.
The course will be delivered through a membership-based Learning Management System, with access to recorded content, exclusive live discussions, Zoom breakout sessions, and curated resources such as articles, films, and guest speakers. Course revenue will help fund scholarships to ensure accessibility.
Impact
Impact will be evaluated through participant and institutional surveys, with measurable outcomes tied to reductions in self-harm, suicide attempts, and emergency psychological interventions. While exact numbers will depend on the receptivity of schools and colleges, we aim to launch the course in late fall 2025.
- Year 1: Hundreds of students across 2–5 schools and colleges
- Year 2: Up to 1,000 students, following survey feedback and demonstrated success
- Year 3: Many thousands, driven by published outcomes and increased visibility
As success data circulates, we expect exponential growth in reach—spreading awareness, scaling access, and catalyzing adoption across institutions.
Funding Request
IMHU is seeking $120,000 to develop the high-quality course with expert-led instruction.
Budget Overview
| Category | Estimated Cost |
| Curriculum Development | $40,000 |
| Instructor & Expert Compensation | $30,000 |
| Technology & Platform Costs | $15,000 |
| Marketing & Outreach | $20,000 |
| Scholarships & Accessibility Efforts | $15,000 |
| Total Estimated Budget | $120,000 |
$120,000 in funding will ensure robust content creation, engaging delivery, and broad accessibility.
Your Opportunity to Leave a Lasting Legacy
Accessibility is central to our mission. Scholarships and sliding scale options will ensure this course reaches those who need it most, regardless of financial means.
Your gift directly supports the creation and delivery of a groundbreaking course that will empower young people to navigate emotional and spiritual challenges with confidence, clarity, and community.
By funding this project, you are actively contributing to the emotional and spiritual well-being of a generation. You’ll help close a critical gap in education, empower teens and young adults, and build a legacy of resilience and growth.
Whether your gift is modest or significant, public or anonymous, it will leave a lasting impact. With your blessing, we would be honored to acknowledge your support in the course and across our communications—unless you prefer to give quietly.
Giving Levels
$500 – Seed Planter: Help us plant the foundation—your support fuels outreach and expands early platform access.
$1,000 – Access Advocate: Make inclusion a reality by underwriting scholarships for students facing financial barriers.
$2,500 – Insight Illuminator: Fund expert-led interviews and youth video content that bring lived experience into the heart of the course.
$5,000 – Module Patron: Sponsor the development of a full course module, shaping the way young people understand and respond to extreme states.
$10,000 – Founding Circle Member Join us at the forefront. Receive early access, personalized recognition (if desired), and a private briefing with the course creators.
$25,000+ – Legacy Visionary: Leave a transformational mark. Your leadership anchors the course’s long-term impact and accessibility. With your permission, your name or dedication will be recognized across our materials and events.
Join us in creating a future where no young person has to navigate a crisis alone. Your gift helps us turn pain into purpose—and confusion into clarity—for thousands of young lives.
Contact
To contribute or inquire about ways of giving, please contact Dr. Emma Bragdon at [email protected]. All contributions are fully tax-deductible for US tax payers as IMHU is a 501(c)3 organization.
Checks can be sent to our parent organization, Foundation for Energy Therapies, Inc, c/o Bragdon, 8 Clough Ave, Windsor, VT 05089
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End Notes
[1] Gold, M (2024) Magic Mushrooms, Teens, and Young Adults. Psychology Today
2.https://nida.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/2024/08/cannabis-and-hallucinogen-use-among-adults-remained-at-historic-highs-in-2023
[3] Izmi, N; Carhart-Harris, R; & Kettner, H. (2024) “Psychological effects of psychedelics in adolescents”. Frontiers in Adolescent Psychiatry, 3:1364617.doi: 10.3389/frcha.2024.1364617
[4] https://www.brightpathbh.com/teen-self-harm-statistics/
[5] Ibid.
[6] Whitlock, J., Lloyd-Richardson, E., Woolsen, J. (2024). Beyond “stopping”: Reconceptualizing NSSI recovery in favor of healing and growth. In Lloyd-Richardson, E., Whitlock, J., Baetens, I. The Handbook of non-suicidal self-injury. Oxford University Press.
[7] https://www.the-independent.com/tech/chatgpt-ai-therapy-chatbot-psychosis-mental-health-b2784454.html