T-shaped expertise: rethinking interdisciplinarity in psychedelic research
Joost J. Breeksema, Ulf Bremberg, Jens H van Dalfsen, Maria Lindskog, Tomáš Páleníček, Dea Siggaard Stenbæk, Pehr Granqvist, Christina Dalla, Katerina Antoniou, Felix Müller, Helena Aicher, David Dupuis, Carolina Seybert, Albino J Oliveira-Maia, Milan Scheidegger, Michiel van Elk, Filipa Sampaio, Inna Feldman, Christine E. Hallgreen, Nikolai C. Brun, B.C.A. Toebes, Eva Friedel, Dimitris Repantis, Robert A Schoevers
Psychedelics June 28, 2026 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyche.2026.100026 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Operationalization Embeddedness Indigenous Complexity science Epistemology Engineering ethics |
| Key points | Argues that genuine interdisciplinary progress in psychedelic research requires cultivating T-shaped competencies and intersectoral training to address systemic complexities and epistemic fragmentation. |
Abstract
The research, understanding, and implementation of psychedelic therapies is characterised by a layered complexity that arises from the dynamic interactions between pharmacological and extra-pharmacological factors, and the embeddedness of psychedelics within broader societal, legal, and regulatory systems ill-equipped to accommodate them. This complexity is compounded by an epistemic fragmentation: dominant biomedical paradigms are frequently incommensurable with bodies of knowledge produced within the social sciences, humanities, or Indigenous knowledge traditions. There is growing recognition that psychedelic research requires genuinely interdisciplinary engagement, although existing calls for collaboration rarely specify the structural or pedagogical conditions necessary to operationalize it. Addressing these multi-layered systemic complexities requires moving beyond superficial, service-model collaboration. Rather than treating these tensions as problems to be resolved, we argue that genuine interdisciplinary progress requires researchers capable of productive friction across epistemic cultures. We propose the cultivation of T-shaped competencies and intersectoral training as a structural response to the systemic challenges facing psychedelic research and implementation.