Why psychedelic-assisted therapy?
The use of psychedelics to achieve trance states is a practice that can be traced back tens of thousands of years and all across the globe. Once largely the realm of religious shamans, research in the 1950s and 60s brought psychedelics into the world of western science. Psychiatric pioneers such as Dr. Albert Hoffman and Dr. Stanislov Grof began studying the therapeutic potentials of LSD and psilocybin, a breakthrough movement hyped by the culture of the time, hindered by the government of the time, and which has recently revived in earnest as paradigms of mental health continue to expand.
Individuals such as Leo Zeff and Sasha and Ann Shulgin, who believed in the unparalleled ability of psychedelics to treat mental health, took legal risks to provide such therapies to thousands of people. Word quietly spread of the undeniable efficacy and rapid, lasting results of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Through the efforts of trailblazing scientists such as Rick Doblin, Roland Griffiths, and Michael and Annie Mithoefer, psychedelics are currently being investigated as therapeutic aides. In the USA, the FDA and DEA have approved multiple on-going clinical trials. The European Drug Agency is also conducting psychedelic research at several locations, including studies led by Robert Carhart Harris, MD, at the prestigious Imperial College of London.
As scientific understanding thickens and the legal red tape thins, the realm of psychedelic therapies continues to develop. Past and current trials are assessing the benefits of the use LSD, psilocybin, ketamine, and MDMA in treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other spiritual-psychological ailments; in end-of-life and care home settings; as a sole medical agent and as an adjunct to meditation or cognitive behavioral therapy. Results have been promising, offering an avenue of relief particularly where traditional psychological and pharmacological therapies alone have failed. It is our hope that in the near future, psychedelic-assisted therapies will be accessible to all.
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy
Guidelines
The guidelines our sessions follow are based on the protocol developed by Dr. Phil Wolfson, but there is flexibility in dosing based on patient responses. As each individual's psychedelic experiences and takeaways are unique to them, so too must each counseling session be highly personalized. There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach here. The process is thorough at every stage, and counselors will continually review and reassess your treatment plan. We start with an intake call, during which we will review your medical history, discuss potential treatments, and address any questions or concerns. Your treatment plan may change based on your response to the treatment.
Pricing
The price per session is $700, which includes a 4-hour session and a follow-up call.
Therapists
Erika
Erika’s area of expertise is in Death and Dying with a focus on integrating psychedelics at end-of-life and with persons experiencing a life-limiting ailment. Memento Mori or the reminder “you must die” is a guiding principal in impermanent presence.
Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy assertion that “those who have a why to live can bear any how” is at the core of her therapeutic model.
She guides individuals and their families as a Conscious Dying Institute Certified Death Midwife and is an industry expert in the field of hospice and palliative care through her Bachelor’s of Science in Long Term Care and Administration. All the while she is focused on her studies in an Accelerated BSN program and working towards a Doctorate in Psych Mental Health Nurse Practitioner.
She frequents silent meditation retreats, Baptiste style yoga and MBSR to sharpen her tool of helping others in the space of deep quiet and enlightening introspection.
Irina
Irina is a teacher and creatrix whose myriad creative expressions are woven with threads of ancestral medicine and sacred mystery. She has been studying Amazonian herbalism and the transcendental, and initiatory healing properties of Amazonian master plants with her mentor Dionisio Santos. As a practitioner of Vajrayana Buddhism, Irina has received extensive meditation instruction and has completed numerous week-long group mantra retreats, along with solitary silent retreats.
Irina incorporates Iyengar yoga practice into her transformational work, pursuing yoga as a path towards genuine awakening through self-knowledge. Her practice includes the daily study of philosophy and scripture, as well as asana and meditation. This yogic training also provides a practical developmental framework for Irina’s coaching sessions, particularly in unpacking and assimilating the meaning of psychoactive experiences. Irina’s training within diverse knowledge systems gives rise to a therapeutic context wherein her quality of calm and compassionate presence is supported by her well-centered focus and skillful attentiveness.
Kim Michelle
Kim Michelle is a yogini, artist and mother. She has been studying yoga for over 20 years and has traveled to India and Nepal to deepen her knowledge and understanding. From a young age she was taught to meditate by her mother and grandfather and was surrounded by a family of meditators practicing TM (Transcendental Meditation as taught by Maharishi Maheshyogi). In 2010 KM moved to Costa Rica to teach yoga and paint. She found the "mirror of her soul" deep in the jungle when she first took Ayahuasca in 2015. Since then she has sat many times in sacred ceremony with the "Grandmother Spirit" and has deep healing experiences to share. Her daughter was born in 2016 and is very connected with Ayahuasca, yoga and meditation. Kim Michelle's art is heavily influenced by her work in the spiritual realm.
Patricia
Patricia’s expertise lies in bridging mental health care with psychedelia, specifically in treating symptoms of past traumas and PTSD. Pulling concepts from neurobiology, attachment-based psychodynamic theory, and body-based approaches, Patricia’s aim is to orient and integrate the whole organism to promote healing.
Patricia holds a Master of Arts in Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling as well specialization as a Clinical Trauma Professional and certification in Addictions Counseling. Patricia has committed herself to being a lifelong learner of her craft and spiritual practices grounded in exploring the landscape of her mind and spirit.
Ilona Nemeth, M.A.
As a first-generation Filipina-Hungarian, Ilona centers her clinical work on understanding how the intersection of identity, systemic influences, and oppressive factors impact mental health. In therapy, she prioritizes the role of relationships as a vehicle for growth, utilizing mindfulness and meditation techniques to address anxiety and distress. Brining in Internal Family Systems theory, Ilona guides clients to explore their internal multiplicity, integrating past experiences into a comprehensive understanding of self that encompasses biopsychosocialspiritual elements of well-being. Using elements of feminist therapy and liberation psychology, Ilona helps clients find empowerment through critical consciousness.
Her interests focus on the intersection of decolonizing mental health, therapy, and psychedelics. As a 4th year doctoral clinical psychology candidate at Adler University in Chicago, Ilona provides psychotherapy in community mental health settings, assisting individuals in navigating community re-integration after incarceration and those living with a history of complex trauma, OCD, psychosis, intergenerational trauma, and attachment concerns. Ilona completed diagnostic and assessment training at a private practice, providing mental health evaluations and psychological testing for diverse age groups. During her therapy practicum at Sana Healing Collective, she gained valuable experience in psychedelic integration therapy, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, facilitated group ketamine treatments, and conducted mindfulness-based integration group sessions. Her dissertation focuses on a qualitative study exploring how BIPOC individuals use MDMA therapeutically.