BEGIN YOUR Healing JOURNEY.
Psychotherapy
My therapeutic approach is holistic and eclectic with a grounding in harm-reduction and trauma-informed principles and making use of somatic, parts-work, and mindfulness-based practices.
Free CONSULTATION || $180/hr
Ketamine therapy
I offer ketamine-assisted therapy (KAP), both virtually and in-home, collaborating with a prescriber and via lozenges. Ketamine-assisted therapy is the only currently legal psychedelic therapy in California outside of clinical trials.
Free consultation || $180/HR
Harm Reduction
As part of the NEST Harm Reduction leadership team, I offer on-site harm reduction services at festivals, parties, and other events. I also teach harm-reduction drug education classes seasonally.
Free consult || $200/class pK
Individual Psychedelic Integration
Need help preparing for your next psychedelic journey or making sense of a big experience that you recently had? I offer psychedelic preparation and integration sessions via telehealth.
Free CONSULTATION || $180/hr
EMDR &
SoMATIC EXPERIENCING
I offer virtual EMDR (tapping-based) and Somatic Experiencing sessions to clients across California. As our therapeutic relationship advances, with trust and progress, I can also offer Somatic Experiencing touch and eyework sessions in-person within my home area.
Free CONSULTATION || $180/hr
Psychedelic Community
Meetings
Psychedelic-curious? Psychedelic-experienced? Looking to meet like-minded friends with whom to discuss these issues and develop a support network? Join my Meetup group, PSOLA!
Most events ARE free!
I approach therapy through a person-centered, trauma-informed, harm-reduction-based, and somatically aware lens. My passion is helping folks to clarify their mind, connect to their body, and honor their spirit, using the tools of our human connection, somatic and mindfulness techniques, harm reduction education & psychedelic medicines (currently ketamine).
I am trained in a number of specialized therapy techniques, including Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing, Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy, Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy, and Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy. Additionally, I have enriched my therapeutic perspective with workshops on Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, Dialectal Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy.
My main areas of experience and expertise are substance use, anxiety and mood issues, trauma, and life transitions, though I have helped clients navigate a wide range of other issues. I identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community and as Latinx myself, and I am also sex-positive, non-monogamy- and kink-friendly, and nonjudgmental about the infinite range of identities and lifestyles present in this complex tapestry we call humanity.
I offer psychotherapy through NEST Harm Reduction, and I conduct most of my psychotherapy via telehealth, but in-person sessions can be arranged as well. My rates are $180/hour for telehealth and $180/hr + mileage for KAP in person, with sliding scale available in cases of financial need. I offer a free 15-minute phone consultation to determine whether we will be a good fit together.
Psychotherapy
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) is a holistic modality in which ketamine is used as a complement to psychotherapy to help eligible patients experience more frequent breakthroughs and sustained improvement in symptoms.
I offer KAP through NEST Harm Reduction in collaboration with an independent prescribing Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. I take on the psychotherapy portion of the experience, while the NP prescribes and supports you with medical aspects. This includes determining eligibility, developing a custom treatment plan, and prescribing the medicine. Below is more information about KAP to help you navigate if it may be a good fit for you.
What is ketamine?
Ketamine is a legal, safe and effective medicine used to treat a variety of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety and PTSD. Ketamine has rapidly-acting antidepressant and mood-enhancing effects, which can begin to take effect within 1-2 hrs. after treatment and last for up to 2 weeks. It works by blocking the brain’s NMDA receptors as well as by stimulating AMPA receptors, which are thought to help form new synaptic connections and boost neural circuits that regulate stress and mood. Ketamine has also been shown to enhance overall neuroplasticity for lasting symptom improvement. Ketamine can be administered in a variety of ways, including IV infusion, intramuscular injection, nasal spray, and using sublingual lozenges. In my practice, we only use the sublingual lozenge form.
How does ketamine feel?
The effects of ketamine, which most clients find pleasant, last for approximately 45 minutes. These effects can make you feel far away from your body and facilitate shifts in perception that can often feel expansive in nature. Your motor and verbal abilities will be reduced, so you’ll be lying down in a comfortable position during the experience. Once these effects subsided, we’ll spend the remainder of our appointment giving you space to process and discuss your experience. While it may feel hard to articulate what happened during the experience, patients feel like the insights gained are nonetheless clear. Studies have shown that the benefits to mood and neurological growth can last up to two weeks after the ketamine experience.
What is the process of undergoing KAP?
The KAP process is a multi-part process:
1. Initial consultation with the prescriber
● You schedule an initial evaluation with our prescriber via Zoom. He will go over your medical and psychiatric history with you, provide education on the treatment, and determine if you are eligible for KAP.
● If the prescriber determines that you are eligible for KAP, he will develop a personalized ketamine prescription and treatment plan for you.
● The prescriber will write a ketamine prescription for you, and a small amount of oral ketamine will be sent to your home, enough for the first few KAP sessions. You will be taught to take your vitals and self-administer the ketamine lozenges in advance of our KAP sessions.
2. Preparation sessions:
● Once you receive your ketamine lozenges, we will schedule time together for our KAP preparation, dosing, and integration sessions. Preparation session(s) are virtual and will be scheduled just like regular therapy sessions prior to the KAP dosing session. The goal of a preparation session is to align on the process and set intentions for our KAP sessions together. If you are a new client, I require three preparation sessions before we begin our medicine work.
3. KAP dosing session:
● A typical ketamine dosing session lasts two hours and can take place either in-person (usually at your home) or remotely via telehealth.
● During a dosing session, you will self-administer your ketamine lozenge. You will be in a comfortable, reclining position wearing an eye mask and listening to calming music. Although a KAP dosing session may be largely an internal experience, I will be present with you the entire time to hold space and provide support as needed.
4. Integration sessions:
● After our KAP dosing session, we will meet for integration therapy sessions to review the memories, thoughts, and insights that arose during your dosing session, and to prepare for the next dosing session.
5. Follow-up consultations with the prescriber:
● After your first prescription has run out, if you have found that ketamine is something you’d like to continue with, you will need to meet with the NP to prescribe ketamine lozenge refills, as appropriate. The frequency of follow-ups depends on your unique treatment plan.
What is the cost of treatment?
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy is an affordable, accessible modality. Your prescribing and medicine session will generally not be covered by insurance, but your preparation and integration sessions may be. My typical hourly rate is $180/hr for telehealth sessions with an additional fee for mileage for in-home sessions. I do offer sliding scale for folks who are experiencing financial need. A ketamine dosing session is 2 hours long, so you can expect each session to cost roughly $360, depending on location and if a sliding scale fee has been negotiated.
KAP Costs
■ Medical Intake: $200 with NP
■ Preparation + Integration Sessions: $180 per hour, virtual
■ Ketamine Sessions: $360 per two-hour session, virtual; plus mileage if in-home
■ Cost of Ketamine Lozenges: depending on prescription, around $100
Ketamine Therapy
Harm reduction is an approach that seeks to minimize the negative consequences of risky or harmful behaviors, such as substance use, without requiring abstinence. It focuses on practical strategies to reduce harm, improve safety, and enhance the well-being of individuals and communities.
Most of my harm reduction work is done as part of the leadership team at NEST Harm Reduction. NEST offers on-site harm reduction and sanctuary services for festivals, private parties, and other events; harm-reduction drug-education trainings and courses for groups, businesses, and organizations; and free Narcan distribution. My seasonal Know Your Stuff drug education course is offered through NEST twice a year. Tuition is $200, with community scholarships available upon special arrangement. Occasionally, I take on outside harm reduction work and even volunteer. Please contact me if you are interested in hiring me as part of your harm reduction team for your event.
I also offer Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy (IHRP) as a therapeutic approach in the treatment of substance use issues. Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy combines harm reduction, psychotherapy, and mindfulness-based techniques to promote healing and reduce the negative consequences of problematic substance use. It aims to support individuals in achieving their own goals and improving their well-being. My rate for telehealth therapy around substance use is $180 per hour, with sliding scale available for those experiencing financial need.
Harm Reduction
Psychedelic integration is a process that involves working with a trained professional to integrate insights and experiences from psychedelic experiences into daily life. It can help individuals process emotions, make use of revelatory material, and create positive changes in behavior and cognition.
Psychedelic preparation involves intentional and deliberate steps taken prior to a psychedelic experience to help reduce harms and enhance benefits associated with these types of journeys. This may include setting intentions, addressing mental health concerns, instruction on creating a comfortable setting, and preparing for potential challenges.
I offer both psychedelic integration sessions and psychedelic preparation sessions via telehealth at my regular telehealth rate of $180/hour. These sessions can either be one-off practical processing meetings or scheduled regularly over time as part of a greater arc of self-exploration.
Individual Psychedelic Integration
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) with tapping is a therapeutic approach used to help people process traumatic or distressing memories. Instead of using side-to-side eye movements (the traditional EMDR method), bilateral stimulation is provided through tapping—usually alternating taps on the hands, shoulders, or knees. This rhythmic left-right stimulation helps activate both sides of the brain, allowing the individual to reprocess emotional experiences in a way that reduces their intensity. During a session, the I will guide you to briefly recall a traumatic memory while continuing the tapping. Over time, the memory becomes less disturbing, and new, more adaptive beliefs can replace old, negative ones. EMDR with tapping is often used for PTSD, anxiety, and other trauma-related issues. For C-PTSD, I focus mostly on resourcing—giving you a boost in your strengths in situations that trouble you.
Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a body-based therapy designed to help people heal from trauma and chronic stress. It focuses on the physical sensations (somatic experiences) that arise in the body, rather than revisiting the traumatic event in detail. SE works on the idea that trauma is stored in the nervous system and can be released by gently guiding the body through its natural healing process. In a session, the therapist helps the person notice internal sensations like tension, heat, or movement, and track how these sensations shift. This process allows the nervous system to complete the "fight, flight, or freeze" responses that were interrupted during the original trauma. By slowly building awareness and tolerance for bodily sensations, SE helps restore a sense of safety and regulation in the body. It’s often used for PTSD, anxiety, and physical symptoms linked to stress or trauma.
EMDR & SOMATIC EXPERIENCING
Psychedelic Society of Los Angeles (PSOLA) is a Meetup group I started in 2020 to start gathering like-minded individuals online to prepare to meet in person once it was safe to start doing so. In June of 2021, we had our first Psychedelic Peeps’ Picnic, a low-key gathering of psychedelic-inclined minds conveniently located in a beautiful natural setting in the Baldwin Hills area. Since then, we have been meeting once every other month or so, participating in the joy of being in community with other people who are interested in psychedelics, whether they are new to the idea and just curious or are seasoned travelers. The group is free to join (no dues) and community meetings are generally free to attend, though if we choose to meet at an event put on by another organization, there may be admission associated with event entry.