The ASKP3 Expert Faculty members are developing a roadmap for the future of ketamine and emerging treatments that are rooted in research, education, and standards of best practice. Expert Faculty members also serve as an extension of the ASKP3 Board of Directors, providing input and guidance on practice issues in the ketamine field, as needed.
Annually, the ASKP3 Board of Directors reviews the list of Faculty and makes adjustments to ensure that the faculty represents our intradisciplinary community.
We are actively seeking ASKP3 members to join our Expert Faculty through an annual application process at the start of the year. Applications for consideration to serve as Expert Faculty are accepted in the Fall. Selection and notification of Expert Faculty is posted by December 1. Expert Faculty meet, in-person, the day prior to the ASKP3 Annual Conference.
Dr. Arora has an extensive background in Adult Psychiatry, Addiction Medicine, and Interventional Pain Medicine. His medical education began at Midwestern University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Downers Grove, Illinois. He then went on to complete his Psychiatry Residency training at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, where he focused on the treatment of addiction and chronic pain, before pursuing an Interventional Pain Medicine fellowship from Nova Southeastern University/Larkin Hospital in South Miami, Florida.
Dr. Arora has also completed a Master of Science degree in Human Anatomy from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a visiting fellowship in Neuromodulation (including ECT, TMS, and tDCS) from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
Dr. Arora’s diverse experience makes him especially well-versed in the myriad of complex patient presentations and novel therapeutic treatment options available today.
Dr. Arora also likes to remain active in academia with several publications and speaking engagements.
Amna Aslam is a Research and Special Projects Consultant at Fermata, focusing on treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and PTSD. Amna holds an MBA in Risk Management and Insurance and M.S. in Pharmacy Administration, specializing in Health Economics Outcomes and Research with a specific interest in mental health therapies.
Ms. Aslam has extensive experience overseeing clinical research projects, particularly in evaluating the efficacy and outcomes of psychiatric therapies. Amna has served as adjunct professor, teaching assistant, and graduate research assistant at St. John’s University. She has also served in various capacities such as operational lead, vice president, and president for the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) for special interest groups and student chapters.
Ms. Aslam’s work includes numerous professional publications, posters, and presentations at esteemed conferences, focusing on ketamine therapy and other innovative treatments for psychiatric disorders. Amna’s contributions to the field are exemplified by her dedication to promoting knowledge sharing and establishing collaborative projects within the mental health community.
Dr. Arsalan Azam is a board-certified Emergency Medicine physician and medical director of Daydream MD. He attended medical school as a Dean’s Scholar at Case Western Medical School and completed his clinical rotations at the Cleveland Clinic.
Dr. Azam attended residency in Emergency Medicine at Metropolitan/Harlem Emergency Medicine Residency. Subsequently, he worked as an emergency medicine physician around the country, including as a relief physician for hospitals impacted by staffing shortages.
During his time as a physician, Dr. Azam has dealt with numerous psychiatric emergencies and wanted to do more to help his patients. This inspired him to start Daydream MD to provide affordable, effective, state-of-the-art psychedelic and mental health solutions to his community.
Dr Michael Banov is Medical Director of Psych Atlanta, Psych Atlanta Treatment Resistant Depression Program, and Psych Atlanta Research Center, which has offices in Marietta and Roswell, Georgia. He is also a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Georgia. He is Medical Director and President of Psychsource, LLC, a not-for-profit that provides mental health information to the community.
Dr Banov earned his medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. He completed a clinical fellowship in adult psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. He also completed a residency where he was Chief Resident in the psychotic disorders program at Harvard Medical School. Dr Banov is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and is also certified in adolescent psychiatry and addiction psychiatry. He has given numerous presentations at national academic and medical conferences on managing and caring for patients with psychiatric disorders.
He is Principal Investigator on several active clinical trials studying the safety and effects of different therapeutics to treat mental health disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. He has been published in several peer-reviewed journals, such as CNS Spectrums and Brain Stimulation. He is a distinguished fellow in the American Psychiatric Association and a fellow in the Academy of Physicians in Clinical Research. He has been the medical director of Psych Atlanta Ketamine, Spravato, and TMS treatment center since its inception seven years ago.
Dr. Brooks is generally recognized as the nation’s leading practitioner of ketamine infusion therapy and chronic pain. He is a board-certified anesthesiologist, completed his training at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and taught at Yale University School of Medicine.
In 2012, Dr. Brooks founded NY Ketamine Infusions in New York City as one of the world’s first therapy centers dedicated exclusively to providing this breakthrough therapy.
Shannon Darling is an integrative psychiatric nurse practitioner based in Colorado with a passion for supporting individuals on their healing journeys. Specializing in ketamine-assisted therapy, she works with clients who are seeking a holistic and transformative approach to mental health. Trained through both the Integrative Psychiatry Institute (IPI) in Boulder and the Psychedelic Research and Training Institute (PRATI), Shannon combines her expertise in integrative psychiatry with cutting-edge treatment methods to foster lasting healing.
As the owner and operator of her own private practice,Shanonn is dedicated to creating a safe, supportive environment where clients can explore the benefits of ketamine-assisted therapy alongside a variety of therapeutic modalities. She is committed to empowering clients with the tools and resources they need to achieve mental wellness and personal growth.
Shannon was born and raised in Colorado and enjoys spending time with her three children and staying active with her family. Her approach to care is deeply rooted in her values of compassion, individualized treatment, and a genuine desire to help others find peace and clarity in their lives.
Dr. Dougherty is a board-certified psychiatrist who treats those with psychiatric disorders along with having a special interest in traumatic brain injury and sports psychiatry/sports psychology. He continues to collaborate with colleagues to promote the literature in the TBI field. He is very comfortable treating medically complicated patients and is an expert in the cutting-edge treatment of ketamine for depression.
Dr. Dougherty completed his psychiatric training at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Prior to this, he completed a family medicine residency at Bryn Mawr Hospital where he received the resident mental health award. He also has a masters degree in genetics from Thomas Jefferson University. He went to Philadelphia College of Osteopathic medicine for medical school and completed his undergraduate work at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.
Dr. Dougherty is a member of the International Society of Sports Psychiatry (ISSP) and a member and former board member of the American Society of Ketamine Physicians, Psychotherapists & Practitioners (ASKP3). He is a part-time faculty member at Johns Hopkins Hospital and also the Associate Medical Director at Harbor of Grace Recovery where treatment focuses primarily on first responders such as firefighters, police officers, EMTs and military members.
Dr. Lara Edinger specializes in the treatment of chronic neuropathic and musculoskeletal pain disorders. She is board certified in Neurology and Pain Medicine and is an assistant clinical professor at the UCLA Department of Neurology.
While her focus is mainly on Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) she has particular interests in post traumatic headache, pelvic pain, peripheral neuropathy, fibromyalgia, mast cell activation, and phantom limb syndrome.
Dr. Edinger has provided expert services in a variety of legal cases involving:
- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
- Chronic post traumatic headache
- Traumatic brain injury
- Musculoskeletal pain disorders resulting from trauma
- Degree of impairment and disability caused by pain
- Evaluation of costs associated with treatment
- Providing opinions on life care planning
Dr. David Feifel earned a Bachelor of Science, Master’s Degree, MD, and a PhD(Neurobiology) from the University of Toronto, Canada. After completing an internship in Internal Medicine, Dr. Feifel completed a Psychiatry residency at the University of California, San Diego, serving as outpatient Chief Resident in his final year.
He was then recruited to join UCSD’s School of Medicine as a faculty member and rose to rank of full Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and in the Neuroscience graduate program.
At UCSD Dr. Feifel was Director of the Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Program, was the founder and Director of the UCSD Adult ADHD program, and created the Department of Psychiatry’s Center for Advanced Treatment where he introduced several novel treatments such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and Ketamine Therapy. He was one of the first providers in the country to utilize these treatments.
Dr. Tiago Gil, MD, is a board-certified anesthesiologist with a focus on ketamine's applications for mood disorders.
After years of experience in operating rooms and emergency medicine, he established a Ketamine Clinic in São Paulo, Brazil in 2017, where he personally administers a significant number of infusions.
In 2019, Dr. Gil joined the research group at Universidade de São Paulo (USP), concentrating on mood disorders. His work is guided by ethics and evidence-based medicine, aligning his practice with the best available scientific knowledge. Dr. Gil is on the verge of publishing the first real-world data on IV esketamine outcomes in the Brazilian population. He remains committed to expanding his expertise in anesthetics with mood-altering properties and seeks collaborative partnerships to further professionalize his work. With a dedication to professionalism and science-based practice, Dr. Tiago Gil, MD, contributes to the field of anesthesiology and psychiatry by exploring innovative treatments for mood disorders.
Dr. Grande is board certified in family medicine and addiction medicine, and practices primary care at Pioneer Family Practice in Lacey, Washington. She is an early adopter of clinical use of ketamine in the sub-dissociative dose range, at which patients self-administer a minimally detectable dose of ketamine orally or sublingually in the ambulatory setting daily, in some cases for many years. She has treated over 600 patients since 2012, primarily for chronic pain and depression, and also for acute pain, acute suicidality, and in opioid use disorder. She has trained dozens of prescribers in this technique.
Dr. Grande was a co-founder and first medical director (2019-2021) of a busy low-barrier buprenorphine clinic in Olympia, Washington. She has over a decade of state and national advocacy experience in the realm of addiction treatment and will be President of the Washington Society of Addiction Medicine as of April 2025. She plans to support the growing advocacy work of ASKP3 to provide sensible guidance to state regulators who are trying to balance the benefits and risks of ketamine.
Dr. Grande has published peer-reviewed articles on pain, addiction treatment and ketamine. She is engaged in clinical research on ketamine. She first worked with ketamine during a partial anesthesiology residency at University of Washington, and completed residency training at St. Peter Family Medicine in Olympia. Her medical degree is from the University of Washington School of Medicine, where she is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine.
Originally from New York, Dr. Ruchir Gupta, MD completed his medical school at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse and his residency in Anesthesiology at New York Medical College – St. Vincent’s Hospital in Lower Manhattan. After practicing as a board-certified anesthesiologist for a short time in New York, Dr. Ruchir Gupta, MD decided to go back for additional training and enrolled in an ACGME-accredited Fellowship in Chronic Pain Management at Alix School of Medicine Mayo Clinic, Arizona. Training at one of the top institutions in the country allowed him to learn cutting-edge techniques in chronic pain therapy and also headache management. Dr. Gupta also completed rotations at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and Jacksonville, where he learned the newest techniques in orthopedics (Super Concentrated Plasma and bone marrow concentrate procedures).
Dr. Gupta has authored over 20 peer-reviewed publications in the medical field and also is the author of 2 medical textbooks. He currently fosters a comprehensive approach to pain therapy which includes medication management, traditional injection therapy, IV infusion therapy, bone marrow concentrate therapy, and holistic methods.
Irfan Handoo, MD was born in Columbia, Maryland. Dr. Handoo earned his undergraduate degree from UMKC and his Medical Doctorate at the UMKC School of Medicine in 2005. After graduating from medical school, Dr. Handoo completed his residency at the University of Kansas Medical Center at Wichita, where he completed a fellowship in psychopharmacology under the supervision of Dr. Sheldon Preskorn. Dr. Handoo does have experience in residency as a sub-investigator for clinical research trials. Dr. Handoo is Board Certified in Psychiatry and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, Clinical TMS Society, and American Society of Ketamine Physicians. He has been published in several journals, including The Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. Dr. Handoo is one of the most experienced psychiatrists in the country for treatment- resistant depression and was one of the first doctors to start TMS in the Kansas City area. He has performed TMS for over 1,000 patients over the years. Dr. Handoo was the first doctor in the Kansas City area to start IV ketamine treatments in 2016 and was among the first 300 doctors in the U.S. to start IV ketamine treatments. He has helped administer over 7,000 IV ketamine treatments over the years. Dr. Handoo has been recognized as a member of the Expert Faculty of the American Society of Ketamine Physicians. He has been selected as a 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 Kansas City Top Doctor by Kansas City Magazine
Samuel Ko, MD, MBA, is the founder and medical director of Reset Ketamine (www.resetketamine.com) in Palm Springs, California. His clinic has been featured in Vice, White Coat Investor, Gizmodo, Independent, and NBC Palm Springs.
He is committed to providing an innovative and rapid treatment for depression, anxiety, PTSD, and chronic pain so that patients can go back to living a whole, healthy life.
Dr. Ko is a Board Certified Emergency Physician, a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians, Fellow of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine, and a member of the American Society of Ketamine Physicians, Psychotherapists, and Practitioners. He is a graduate of University of Rochester’s combined MD/MBA program and has additional training from Co-Active Training Institute (CTI), Reiki Master, Neuro-linguistic programming, and Time Line Therapy. His most recent project is an online course teaching other clinicians how to start their own ketamine private practice www.ketaminestartup.com
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A Boston-based Psychiatrist with a subspecialty in Neuropsychiatry, Dr. Kritzer-Cheren, completed his medical and graduate education at the University of Miami School of Medicine, followed by a psychiatry research track residency at Duke University Hospital investigating preclinical mechanisms of electroconvulsive therapy. He went on to complete a clinical fellowship in Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital followed by a T32 post-doctoral fellowship in translational neuroscience investigating the role of murine lateral septal prodynorphin-expressing neurons in stress-induced reward deficits. He is an attending physician at MGH and McLean Hospital. He is the Associate Director of the MGH Ketamine Clinic and has extensive experience with ketamine/Spravato treatments, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and neuropsychiatry. His research aims to improve interventional psychiatric approaches with translational neuroscience. He has published on topics that include ECT, TMS, ketamine, long covid and preclinical mechanisms of response to stress and neuromodulation.
Kim D.N. Le, M.D. is a board-certified psychiatrist dedicated to providing personalized care that harmonizes the mind, body, and spirit. Dr. Le's interest lies in merging evidence-based treatments with complementary practices.
She received her medical degree from the University of California at Davis and completed her residency training at the University of California at Irvine. She has completed various courses on psychodynamics, hypnosis, and mindfulness-based psychotherapies. She is a meditation teacher for Mindful Heart Programs and is Master Certified in Accelerated Resolution Therapy. Dr. Le has received additional training in functional medicine through the Institute of Functional Medicine. She has done clinical and translational research at UC Davis and at UCLA that culminated in the publication of scientific articles in peer reviewed journals.
In 2015 she and her husband, Dr. Michael Mantz, co-founded Santa Barbara Integrative Psychiatry. Their private practice utilizes a holistic, integrative approach that offers ketamine assisted psychotherapy with other personalized complementary modalities to assist individuals on their wellness journey towards realizing their innate potential.
Carlene MacMillan, MD, a Harvard-trained double board-certified adult and child psychiatrist, is the Chief Medical Officer at Osmind. Osmind is a technology platform that enables clinicians to deliver breakthrough mental health treatments including ketamine and transcranial magnetic stimulation.
Dr.MacMillan serves on the Board of the Ketamine Taskforce for Access to Safe Care and Insurance Coverage as a Vice President. She is on the Board of Directors of the Clinical TMS Society and the Co-Chair of the Insurance Committee. She is the Co-Chair of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Consumer Issues Committee. She advocates for evidence-based treatments to be reimbursed by payers and is a staunch supporter of the incorporation of measurement-based care into the practice of all mental health professionals.
Dr.MacMillan participates in multiple additional national and local committees and workgroups on behalf of the American Psychiatric Association dedicated to these initiatives. She practices clinically as the co-founder of Fermata, an interventional psychiatric group practice and clinical trial site for rapid acting mental health treatments in New York City.
Michael Mantz, MD, MH, is a board-certified physician by the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 2009 and he holds a master’s degree in Herbal Medicine.
Dr. Mantz has received additional mentorship and training in both functional and integrative medicine. During his psychiatric residency training at UC Irvine, Dr. Mantz completed several courses on psychodynamics, hypnosis, and mindfulness-based psychotherapies.
Dr. Mantz and his wife Dr. Kim Le started a private practice in Santa Barbara in 2015 – Santa Barbara Integrative Psychiatry. In 2019, he and his wife began treating patients using Ketamine-assisted Therapy (KAT).
Dr. Mantz gives presentations and leads groups on functional and integrative psychiatry. His focus is on improving brain function using a combination of modern clinical medicine, neuroscience, and psychotherapy weaved together and blended with ancient healing wisdom practices.
Dr. David Mathai is a board-certified psychiatrist and researcher with Sattva Medicine in Miami, Florida. He also serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Mathai received advanced pharmacology research training as a postdoctoral fellow with the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, where he worked as a scientific collaborator, study physician, and session therapist for clinical trials of psilocybin-assisted interventions. He completed medical school and residency training with Baylor College of Medicine and the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, receiving awards for excellence in psychotherapy and research.
As a researcher, Dr. Mathai has investigated and produced numerous scientific publications on topics such as behavioral models of addiction and cognitive impairment, the neuropsychiatric effects of cannabis, and the clinical properties of psychedelic-type therapies such as ketamine, MDMA, and psilocybin. He is particularly interested in the potential for psychedelic therapies to facilitate durable forms of benefit when delivered within healthcare infrastructures that are medically safe, psychologically supportive, and put people first.
Dr. L. Alison McInnes is Vice President, Scientific Affairs at Osmind. She is a nationally recognized expert in psychiatry and mood and anxiety disorders, having specialized in treating refractory disease for over a decade. She is additionally an expert in ketamine treatment and psychedelic medicine.
Dr. McInnes received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford University and her MD from Columbia University graduating with honors (Alpha Omega Alpha). She completed residency at UCSF and received both a VA Research Fellowship and Howard Hughes Physician Research Fellowship at that time. She continued to do research and became an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine where she ran a NIMH-funded lab studying the genetics of behavioral disorders. She then went on to found and direct a multi-site ketamine therapy program at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California before coming to Osmind.
She is a member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and has authored two important papers describing outcomes of ketamine infusion therapy in the largest real-world data sets examined to date. Other memberships include ASKP3, APPA, and APA. In her current clinical practice, she focuses on difficult-to-treat mood disorders and complex cases.
Rupert McShane leads the Interventional Psychiatry Service (ECT, TMS and ketamine) at Oxford Health NHS Trust. An Old Age Psychiatrist by training, he was previously Coordinating Editor for the Cochrane Dementia Group and now runs a ward and a memory clinic. Following a small NIHR study of ketamine in resistant depression, he established a ketamine clinic at Oxford Health https://www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/ketamine/. This includes both self-pay and NHS-funded streams. This now includes online group ‘preparation’ and ‘integration’ sessions. His team, which includes three out-of-programme clinical fellows who spend a year in the IPS, also runs an international ketamine journal club (2nd and 4th Tuesdays at 5.30pm), a consultant peer group for those interested in ketamine or TMS, and a biannual conference (https://www.ketamineconference.org/). He is particularly interested in what it would take to scale an effective treatment which costs £0.70 a dose for safe NHS use.
Charles Miller, a graduate of the MTSA anesthesia program in Nashville, TN, brings a wealth of experience to the field, including OB anesthesia, regional anesthesia, and cardiac anesthesia. During his time as a Resident Registered Nurse Anesthetist (RRNA) at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, he engaged in innovative research, laying the foundation for his expertise in opioid-free pain management through ERAS protocols. Motivated by a strong desire to improve treatment options, Charles pursued training and a greater understanding of Ketamine Infusion Therapy for mental health disorders and was the first to introduce it into Chattanooga’s healthcare landscape.
As the Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Scenic City Neurotherapy since 2019, Charles has led the clinic to become a top provider of non-opioid, non-narcotic treatments for chronic pain and mood disorders worldwide. Scenic City Neurotherapy’s growth is a result of Charles’ intentionally established processes. Further, the clinic’s unique success is attributed to Charles’ commitment to education and empowerment of patients, leading to meaningful improvements in their quality of life.
Charles’ commitment to superior treatment options led to the development of the Minimally Stimulated Ketamine Infusion Therapy (MSKIT) protocol, positioning him as a thought leader in Psychoplastogenic Medicine. His innovative approach extends to the development of life-changing Psychoplastogenic Treatments, such as the innovative combination of MSKIT with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), aimed at increasing positive patient outcomes and advancing the conversation surrounding the optimal utilization of psychoplastogens in the treatment of mental health.
Continuing his pursuit of innovation, Charles actively contributes Scenic City Neurotherapy’s clinical data to research initiatives through the Osmind community. He also serves as a valued member of the Osmind Community Advisory Board (CAB), advocating for advancements in mental health treatment and research alongside fellow clinician leaders.
Charles participates in speaking engagements at conferences nationwide and advocates for best practices in ketamine infusion therapy across the United States. His efforts extend to educating healthcare providers, patients, and the wider public on the effective use of Ketamine Infusion Therapy and TMS for managing mental health and chronic pain conditions.
Dr. Nadro is a board-certified anesthesiologist who graduated from Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his residency in anesthesiology at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood Illinois.
Dr. Nadro has practiced 26 years and served as co-medical director of three ambulatory surgical centers for nearly 20 years and director of the department of anesthesiology for 22 years.
Dr. Nadro is a national lecturer and has been actively involved in the advancement of ketamine infusion therapy to treat mental health disorders and chronic pain since establishing a ketamine clinic in 2018. His passions are family, music, fishing, and canoeing.
Brittany O’Brien, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine. She received her doctorate in clinical psychology from The New School for Social Research and completed her postdoctoral training at Baylor College of Medicine.
Dr. O’Brien is an expert in evidence-based behavioral interventions for mood, anxiety, and trauma-related disorders with risk of suicide. She has served as co-investigator on multiple state, industry, and foundation sponsored clinical research studies investigating the efficacy and effectiveness of ketamine, psilocybin, and other glutamatergic modulators.
Dr O’Brien has a specific interest in the effectiveness of ketamine as a treatment for psychiatric disorders and factors that enhance or limit treatment response. Her work in this area has been presented and published on the national and international level. In addition to her clinical work and research, Dr. O’Brien is committed to training the next generation of clinical psychologists. Currently, she oversees the Mood & Trauma Related Disorders pre-doctoral training internship in the Psychology Division at Baylor College of Medicine.
Christine Pateros, MA, RN is a global spiritual guide, ceremonialist, psychedelic-assisted nurse therapist, artist, author, healer, teacher and presenter. Chris serves as Course Director for PRATI’s End Of Life Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Training, and is Lead Faculty and Operations Director for other PRATI offerings. Grounding in ecocentric ritual, ceremony and practices, and called to existential work, Chris’ seeking and mystical soul-seeing has awakened her spirit to support others to own and share their potent gifts in the world by guiding individuals and groups in embodied conscious living and dying practices through her private practice based in Denver, Colorado. Chris is a lineage carrier of the Qero mystics of the Peruvian Andes. She is a trained and certified ketamine-assisted therapist (Ketamine Training Center, 2019) and Ecopsychologist (MA 2022) and is MAPS MDMA trained (2024). As a mother who has lost a child, Chris is intimate with living and thriving with grief as a part of the medicine of life that she carries in her work in the world. She currently lives in Denver, Colorado with regular time spent in Chicago and Kythira, Greece.
Tatiana is a Psychotherapist, experienced Psychedelic Assisted Therapist and a Ketamine Assisted Therapist, currently living and working in Vancouver, BC (Canada). She is a trauma therapist, educator, and a doctoral student in counselling and psychotherapy.
Tatiana has extensive experience working with patient populations affected by complex trauma, addictions, and chronic pain. Tatiana's greatest interests and hopes are to contribute to education, and to help create best ethical and clinical standards and practices when working with non-ordinary states. Tatiana is a social justice advocate, committed to creating equity in accessing resources, in particular treatment for substance use disorders for individuals from underrepresented groups, and communities who have been historically marginalized.
Sam is a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC) dedicated to providing compassionate, progressive, relationship-based mental health care. With a comprehensive background in psychiatric nursing and a deep understanding of the complexities of ketamine therapy, Sam is committed to helping individuals navigate their mental health journey with empathy, respect, and collaboration. In practice, Sam holds close the research-supported fact that the relationship between provider and client forms the foundation for positive outcomes.
Sam earned his Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) with a specialization in Psychiatric Mental Health from Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles. Drawing from clinical experiences across various outpatient settings, Sam has developed diverse knowledge base that informs his approach to prescribing, an approach that melds targeted psychopharmacology, progressive treatment modalities, therapeutic support, and shared decision-making. In their practice, Sam takes a holistic approach to mental health care, integrating evidence-based practices with a focus on each patient's unique needs and experiences. They believe in the power of a collaborative therapeutic relationship and work closely with patients to develop personalized treatment plans that may include medication management, psychedelic preparation and integration, psychotherapy, lifestyle modifications, and support for overall life quality.
Sam is passionate about bringing mental health care into a new age, utilizing all the tools at our disposal to create real, sustainable change in the lives of his clients. Sam has committed himself to remaining on the leading edge of quality mental health care, continuously seeking opportunities for professional growth and staying current with the latest advancements in psychiatric care to provide the best possible outcomes.
Outside of work, Sam enjoys making music, watching others make music, surfing, and being active, which helps him maintain a balanced lifestyle and brings a well-rounded perspective to their practice.
Scott has been a student of consciousness since his thesis on that topic at the University of Arizona in the 1970s. Following medical school, MDMA assisted psychotherapy became part of his practice before this medicine was scheduled in 1985. He completed a psychiatry residency at a Columbia program in New York. Scott also completed a child/adolescent psychiatry fellowship at the University of New Mexico.
Scott has published four books on holistic and integrative mental health including the first textbook for this field in 2001. He founded Wholeness Center, the largest integrative mental health center in the US, in 2010. Scott is a past president of two national medical organizations. He serves as a site Principal Investigator and therapist for the Phase III trial of MDMA assisted psychotherapy for PTSD. Scott has also published numerous articles about cannabidiol in mental health.
He is currently involved with 5-MEO-DMT and LSD research. Scott co-founded the Psychedelic Research and Training Institute (PRATI) to train professionals in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. Scott served as the initial CEO for the Board of Psychedelic Medicine and Therapies in 2021. He lectures all over the world to professional groups interested in a paradigm shifting perspective about transformative care.
Dr. Stewart is an Emergency Physician, Fellow of the American College of Emergency Medicine, practicing since 2003 in the US and in Norway. He trained at the University of New Mexico School of medicine and Oregon Health and Sciences University. He was an associate clinical professor at OHSU. He worked with the Norwegian Society of Emergency Medicine to bring the specialty of emergency medicine (AMM) to Norway.
He was a founder of Santa Fe Ketamine (now Insight) in New Mexico - the first in the state in 2016, Axon Clinic - the first in Norway in 2018, and the first public ketamine treatment unit in Scandinavia in 2020.
His current research interests include using novel psychoactive medications in the treatment of mood disorders and addiction. He is the medical advisor at PsykForsk, DPS Nordre Østfold and the site physician for international clinical trials on psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine. He is the current academic medical advisor to the public ketamine treatment center at DPS Moss, previous Regional Director of the Nordics for Awakn Life Sciences, and now the Medical Director of Axon Clinics. Dr. Stewart is the co-founder of the Norwegian Association for Psychedelic Science and serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Psychedelic Studies.
Gita Vaid is a Board Certified Psychiatrist and psychoanalyst practicing in New York City. She serves as a lead instructor at The Ketamine Training Center with Dr. Phil Wolfson.
Dr. Vaid serves as the International Course Director for Mind Medicine Australia’s Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and the Director of Psychedelic Awareness at The Chopra Foundation. She is a co-founder of the Center for Natural Intelligence — a multidisciplinary laboratory dedicated to psychedelic psychotherapy innovation.
Tammy worked 8 years as an RN; most of that time was spent at Beaumont Health Systems in Royal Oak, Michigan as an Emergency Center and Medical Intensive Care Unit nurse. She entered Oakland’s graduate program in 2006 and graduated in 2008. She has been a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist for 13 years.
Tammy has provided thousands of anesthetics for patients of all ages and health status’, and for a wide variety of medical specialties. In January of 2020, she decided to pursue a second master’s degree and graduated in August 2021 as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner.
Sara Whaley is a highly experienced healer with a comprehensive background in yoga, meditation, and psychedelic guidance. With over 4,200 hours of experience in psychedelic preparation, guidance, and integration, she specializes in helping clients achieve deeper levels of self-awareness and healing. In her clinical role at Rocky Mountain Mind and Body, Sara guides patients through ketamine-assisted therapy. She also provides personalized guidance with legal plant medicines in private settings across Colorado, offering a safe and supportive environment for healing beyond traditional approaches.
Sara’s professional journey began with a focus on psychology, specializing in addiction therapy. During her formal education and subsequent internship, she recognized that true healing requires addressing the individual holistically—integrating mind, body, and spirit. This realization led her to study Yoga and Ayurveda with distinguished teachers such as Guru Amrit Desai, Kamini Desai PhD, Dr. Bharat Vaidya, and Stuart Sovatski PhD. She further expanded her expertise through advanced training in Psychedelic Therapies at Naropa University, along with psychedelic guide training at Medicinal Mindfulness with Daniel McQueen. Additionally, Sara’s yoga studies took her to India, where she deepened her understanding of the healing potential inherent within all individuals.
Integrating her diverse experience and training, Sara offers a unique holistic approach to supporting her clients in finding peace, balance, and clarity. She has taught yoga nationwide, led 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training programs, and collaborated with hospitals and treatment centers to bring healing to diverse populations. Whether in clinical or private settings, Sara consistently creates a personalized, compassionate, and safe environment for individuals seeking transformation and healing.
Laura Wiginton is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a psychotherapist in private practice in Houston, Texas. Her current clinical practice is focused on the use of Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy in the treatment of intractable mood disorders and trauma. She has a particular interest in the customization and layering of treatment modalities (i.e. IM ketamine inside of a therapeutic container layered with IV ketamine in the days before and after IM sessions) to improve outcomes.
Laura received her bachelor’s degree from Rice University and her master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a member of the Ketamine Psychotherapy Associates (KPA) and serves as the liaison for ASKP3’s Therapist Advisory Panel to the ASKP3 Board of Directors. She is involved with and has served on the Board of Directors for the Houston Eating Disorder Specialists and the Houston Group Psychotherapy Society. In addition to her work with ketamine, Laura also trained in MDMA Assisted Psychotherapy with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).
Dr. Stefany Wolfsohn is a board-certified Anesthesiologist and a lifelong resident of Ventura County.
In September 2017, Dr. Wolfsohn founded the Ventura Center for Advanced Therapeutics where she has been able to offer cutting-edge ketamine-based therapies and IV therapy solutions for treatment-resistant mental health and chronic pain conditions. The practice combines a holistic, individualized approach that utilizes ketamine therapy together with other complementary interventions to bring relief to patients who have found limited success with other treatment modalities. Collaborative care involving licensed mental health providers and/or coaches with additional training in these therapies is encouraged to provide appropriate psychological support before, during and after each treatment experience.
Dr. Wolfsohn has worked across a broad spectrum of settings, including both in-hospital and outpatient surgery centers. A Diplomate of the American Board of Anesthesiology, Dr. Wolfsohn has over a decade of experience providing anesthesia services and perioperative care to patients in large interventional pain practice. In this setting, she has specialized in treatment-resistant chronic pain syndromes.
Dr. Wolfsohn has obtained additional mental health, trauma, and psychedelic medicine training from Vital, a 12-month program through Psychedelics Today. She is currently pursuing a master’s in clinical counseling at Alliant International University and is expected to graduate in 2025.
She is a member of the American Society of Ketamine Physicians, Psychotherapists, and Practitioners (ASKP3), the American Society of Anesthesiologists, APPA and APA. Dr. Wolfsohn has been safely administering ketamine for treatment-resistant conditions since 2007 and has a special interest in helping groups and individuals with complex mental health and pain conditions.
Jeffrey Zabinski, MD, MSW, MA, is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, where he is the Director of Interventional Psychiatry and an Associate Program Director for the adult psychiatry residency program. He specializes in psychotherapy and psychopharmacology for patients with difficult to treat and medically complex psychiatric illness.
Since joining Columbia in 2020, he helped with the launch operations of the intranasal esketamine and IV ketamine clinical services, and has numerous trainees rotate in the clinic - medical students, residents, fellows, and social work interns from the Columbia School of Social Work's Psychedelic Therapy Training Program. He has also helped co-found the Interventional Psychiatry Consortium, focusing on increasing access to interventional psychiatry curriculum. Dr. Zabinski believes in the safe expansion of access to a broad array of evidence-based treatments - getting those treatments to patients who need them the most. He is optimistic about the role of ketamine and ASKP3, and hopes to bring his expertise to the ongoing dialogue about the future of ketamine in clinical care, research, and education.