Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy

Listen here to today’s show (4/10/23) on 94.1FM—KPFA.org

https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=398972

From microdosing mushrooms, to ecstasy, to Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP), the Bay Area is home to what some are calling a psychedelic renaissance.

Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is a treatment method that involves utilizing ketamine to help patients struggling to find relief from mental health symptoms such as resistant depression, post-partum depression, terminal illness anxiety, or PTSD. It is also used by some to explore existential and spiritual questions about their life.

Join me and my guest Melissa Whippo to discuss Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. We’ll discuss why preparation before the treatment, integration afterwards, and the set and setting, are so important in this treatment model.

Guest:

Melissa Whippo is a licensed clinical social worker, certified yoga instructor, and practitioner of sacred herbalism. She has guided thousands of women through transformational experiences, from motherhood to the ceremonial. Her work focuses on holistic healing, liminal self discovery, and sacred reciprocity. Clinically, she incorporates aspects of attachment theory, object relations, internal family systems, and has a keen interest in dreamwork and authentic movement. She has been practicing Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy since 2019 and has been a lead trainer with the Ketamine Training Center and Inbodied Life. She is pioneering research on postpartum depression and psychedelics. Learn more at www.melissawhippo.com

Resources:

-The Fireside Project is a help and harm-reduction site for people working with psychedelics.

-MAPS is a foundation working in clinical research Phase 3 trials for psilocybin and MDMA.

-The Beckley Foundation is a female-founded psychedelic research organization in the U.K. that also runs retreats in Jamaica, where psilocybin is legal.

-Erowid is a longtime online source of information for all things psychedelic, including sourcing and dosing.

-Reddit has several subreddits dedicated to psychedelics, including resource materials, sourcing and dosing.

-The Ancestor Project is a source of support for psychedelic use and integration focused on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color).