Queer Practitioner Group
The opportunity below is for queer mental health practitioners living in California. Please note that participating in the group will require qualifying for a mental health diagnosis, completing a medical screening (non-refundable), becoming a client in our system, and receiving a prescription for a few ketamine troches (usually an additional $80).
The ketamine group itself will be in-person in Berkeley, so participants should have a CA address for the lozenges to be sent to. Participants should also be in CA for all sessions (including virtual).
Group Information
This group may be for you if...
Identify as a queer mental health practitioner (therapist, social worker, doctor, psychologist, somatic practitioner, etc.)
Live within driving distance of the Bay Area
Are experiencing challenging mental health symptoms that may be treatable with ketamine-assisted therapy
Are currently seeing a therapist or at least have a strong support system incase challenging material comes up
Feel interested in ketamine assisted therapy, but don’t want to commit to long-term treatment
Would like more connection to queer community
Schedule (must attend all but last meeting):
Individual medical/psychiatric evaluation with the Center for New Growth
Individual 50min prep session
Group Prep: July 11th, 6-8pm (virtual)
Group KAT: July 20th, 10:30-3pm (in-person, Berkeley)
Group Integration: July 21st, 10am-noon (virtual)
Group Additional Integration: July 28th, 10am-noon (virtual, optional)
Structure:
We hope to have somewhere between 5 to 10 participants in this group. Everyone will start with a non-refundable medical/psychiatric intake with the Center for New Growth. You’ll meet with one or two of our therapists for a 50min individual preparation session and psychological assessment to ask any questions you may have, explore what you’d like to get out of the group, and to assess if it’s a good fit for you. Once we move into the group format, you’ll have a chance to meet the other group members virtually, get to know them, and share a bit more about yourself. The ketamine session itself will be 4.5hrs long and will begin with a check-in where we can all connect, though most of the time will be spent internally-focused. Everyone will be encouraged to bring journals, put on eye shades (if that feels comfortable), and listen to music to help them create their own comfortable space. At the end, we’ll have a bit of time to check-out, and will be meeting the next day to more intentionally integrate together. An optional integration session a week later (at an additional cost) will be available if needed.
Covid Protocols:
Participants will be asked to covid test the day of the ketamine session before arriving in-person. Masks can be worn individually if desired, but will not be required.
Fees:
As a sliding scale nonprofit clinic, we're working on supporting our mission of making psychedelic therapy accessible. If you're able to pay more, you're generously supporting those who pay less. We’ll only be able to take on a few people on the lowest end of the sliding scale, which ranges from $400-$2,500 for the entire process. Please keep in mind with the individual sessions, prep, KAT, and integration, that ends up adding up to about 10 hours of support total.
About the facilitators:
These groups will be supported by Alchemy therapists Irina Alexander, Rebekah Bartholomew, Orna Konig, and Karina Ryan.
Contact:
Please email irina@alchemytherapy.org with any questions.