What a Psychotherapist Thinks About Psychedelic Therapy
One thing I learned working in the music business is this:
When something starts trending, you don’t ignore it.
You pay attention and develop a point of view.
Most people either dismiss trends too quickly or get swept up in them.
Neither is useful.
That’s how I’ve approached psychedelic therapy.
Between research, media, and even recent comments from Donald Trump about expanding access, this is clearly moving into the mainstream.
So instead of reacting to it, I spent time understanding it and training in psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Why I Paid Attention
Where this started to feel especially relevant was with clients dealing with depression symptoms, trauma symptoms, and substance use issues.
Those are areas where progress can be uneven. Where people can do a lot of “right” things and still feel stuck. And where the stakes are high enough that it makes sense to stay open to approaches that might help.
At the same time, there is growing research suggesting that substances like ketamine, psilocybin, and MDMA can create real shifts for some people.
I take that seriously.
I also think it gets simplified too quickly.
Because whatever happens during the experience still has to translate into real life.
What People Don’t Say Out Loud
A lot of people are already experimenting.
They’re just not talking about it in therapy.
Which means they’re having these experiences without much support in understanding what happened or how to use it.
That’s where things can get lost.
Because the value is not just what happens during it.
It’s what you do with it after.
And this isn’t only about what you’re doing now.
If you experimented years ago, even casually, that can still be worth bringing into therapy. Those experiences tend to get dismissed or filed away, but they often connect to how people understand themselves, their relationships, or their coping in ways that are actually useful to revisit.
Where This Fits in My Work
I’ve added ketamine-assisted therapy to my practice so I can better support clients who are already curious about this or considering it.
It allows me to stay in the role I’m actually trained for, which is being my client’s therapist, helping them make sense of what’s happening and translate it into real change.
It does not mean I’m suddenly only a “psychedelic therapist.”
This is one of the tools I offer. Not the focus of everything I do.
My job is still to help clients with their relationships with themselves and others, understand their patterns, and move something forward in their lives. This is just one way that can happen.
Where Ketamine Fits
If you’re not looking to disappear for a full day or travel somewhere to do this, ketamine is the most practical option right now.
It’s legal. It’s medically supervised.
And it’s short.
A session is about 3 hours, with the ketamine effects lasting about 45-50 minutes.
For a lot of people, that makes it something they can realistically consider without stepping out of their life entirely.
My Point of View
This is not a cure-all.
It’s also not something to dismiss.
It’s one tool that can be useful in the right context, with the right support.
What I Recommend
If your current therapist isn’t trained in assisting clients with integrating psychedelic experiences, you may want to see a therapist who is for a few sessions and then return to your current therapist.
Be honest with your therapist or psychedelic practitioner about what you’re hoping to get out of this so they can offer informed guidance.
And think about what support looks like before and after, not just during.
For some people, that might include ketamine-assisted therapy.
For others, it might look like talking more directly about experiences they’ve already had and actually integrating them.
Either way, the goal is the same:
Not just having an experience, but seeing something shift in a real and lasting way.
