Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
Tending to grief and trauma, finding forgiveness, letting go of the past, rediscovering your gifts, reconciling resentments, and reconnecting with joy, well-being, compassion and fulfillment
Welcome to Santa Cruz Transformational Therapy
With humility and reverence for the resilience, courage and vulnerability it can take to heal ourselves, it is an honor and a gift to support you.
Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy in Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley
We integrate psychotherapy with guided psychedelic experiences to move beyond traditional talk therapy, allowing clients to address core issues rather than solely managing symptoms.
In 2019, a large study using Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy reported a significant decrease in depression and anxiety. This study is important because it shows that combining psychotherapy with ketamine is very effective.
Additionally, ketamine comes with a dissociative experience that can be disorienting and bring up a lot of psychological material for people. Having a trusted guide next to you makes the experience more relaxing, while also taking the opportunity to generate new insights into your situation.
Benefits of Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
How it works in the body
Ketamine enhances neuroplasticity by significantly increasing Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, a brain hormone which can promote reversal of the loss of connectivity between neurons caused by patterns of depression.
Ketamine normalizes activity of the default mode network , the brain network responsible for obsessive negative thinking in depression, creating an opportunity to get unstuck and regain hope.
Ketamine blocks receptors for glutamate, a neurotransmitter associated with brain excitotoxicity and inflammation. All of these mechanisms appear to play a significant role in the rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine.
How it works with Therapy
Ketamine is a dissociative psychedelic and can help bring a larger window of tolerance for intense emotions, thoughts and memories. It can open a door to being with parts of our psyche we may have exiled away or that have become unconscious.
For some, it creates more distance between who we are and the way we are contracting against what is arising, which in turn can decrease suffering.
With the help of the altered state Ketamine can provide, we can access an inner healing intelligence within ourselves that can help us find greater acceptance and compassion for ourselves, a deeper sense of identity and belonging in nature and the community of life, and a path to reconciling resentments, hurt and pain we are carrying in our hearts.
Our Services and Fees
We believe in tending to the root cause of the problem and creating a unique plan for each individual participant.
Your experience will consist of an initial round of Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy.
Most clients do 4 to 8 rounds.
You can work with our team to customize and adjust the design of your experience.
Your experience will consist of the following components
Preparation
Preparatory sessions online.
A medical screening and assessment with a medical doctor.
Journey
In person journey with a therapist and medical doctor on site supporting you in Scotts Valley, CA.
Integration
Integration sessions with a therapist online.
Couples Rates bring the cost down to $1150 a person for an initial round
Initial Assessment with Therapist online $200
Medical screening with Physician online and/or in person in Scotts Valley $400
Two preparatory sessions online with Therapist $200 each
Journey 2-3 hours with Physician and Therapist in person in Scotts Valley $900
Integration with Therapist online $200
Total for initial round: $2100
Insurance
We are not able to bill insurance directly for Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy. You may be able to get reimbursed from your health insurance. We can provide a superbill to submit to your insurance by request for therapy sessions.
Click here to book a short free consultation call.
Lead Therapist and Founder
Garret Conway MA LMFT, PATP
For over 20 years, Garret has been dedicated to the healing potential and power of nature connection experiences and therapy. He has worked extensively with a diverse group of communities all over the world. Garret holds an MA in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology and Wilderness Therapy from Naropa University and has served as an Executive Director, University Lecturer, and Therapist supporting individuals, couples, and families in both workshop settings as well as in his private practice. He is informed by Gestalt, Somatic, Experiential, Internal Family Systems, Mindfulness, and Transpersonal philosophies as well as nature-based healing in his work. As a father of two, Garret loves surfing and camping with his family and playing basketball in his free time. Garret currently has a private practice in Scotts Valley, California and is a certified Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Provider from the Integrative Psychiatry Institute in collaboration with MAPS.
He views therapy as a collaboration where therapist and client work together to connect with an inner healing intelligence and unconditional positive regard within each of us. Client and therapist can then tend to trauma, grief, resentments, and limiting beliefs that are contributing to symptoms. With humility and reverence for the resilience, courage and vulnerability it can take to heal ourselves, he creates a nonjudgmental, kind and compassionate space with room for humor, absurdity and fun. Garret integrates healing modalities from various wisdom traditions that awaken our physiological and emotional connective systems in collaboration with the natural world. This process can help clear historic trauma and family of origin wounding that is reinforced by a mass cultural amnesia. He draws from evidence-based client-centered modalities including Transpersonal Psychology, Ecopsychology, Internal Family Systems, Gestalt, Family Systems and Somatic approaches to healing.
California LMFT134308
