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Story
From a survivor
🇿🇦

#1459

I am writing to formally share a concerning experience I had with a former therapist, whose actions have raised serious ethical and professional issues. These actions have caused significant emotional distress, disrupted my therapy, and left me feeling abandoned during a vulnerable time. It is important that this matter is investigated thoroughly. I first began working with the therapist at a treatment center offering Ibogaine therapy. Early in our sessions, I shared my personal website, which details my work as a psychedelic therapy concierge. This role, by definition, involves connecting clients with licensed professionals rather than providing therapy or any therapeutic work myself. We agreed during our initial consultation that our professional roles would not interfere with our therapeutic relationship, and we chose not to pursue any business collaboration. However, after undergoing Ibogaine treatment at the center, I was unexpectedly abandoned during the critical integration phase of my therapy. This phase is crucial for processing and making sense of the treatment experience, and I needed support during this time. The therapist told me she no longer wanted to work with me, citing unsubstantiated rumours from the "Iboga community" without offering any specifics or clarity. Despite my repeated requests for more information, I was left with no answers, and instead, my professional reputation was publicly attacked. The therapist scrutinised my website, misrepresented my role as a concierge, and made false accusations about my qualifications and intentions. She suggested that my professional work was somehow misleading, when in reality, my role is strictly to facilitate connections between clients and qualified professionals. It was distressing to see her misunderstand and misrepresent my work, and it crossed a line from professional to personal attacks. What’s more concerning is that the therapist made these allegations without giving me the opportunity to address them directly. Rather than providing clarity, she offered no formal transition plan or referral to another qualified therapist, leaving me without support when I needed it most. The lack of professionalism and the refusal to provide specific details of the accusations left me with a sense of betrayal and confusion. There are also serious concerns about confidentiality. The therapist’s mention of therapy notes and her suggestion that they could be disclosed with a court order raised alarms about the potential violation of my privacy. There is a real possibility that private details from our sessions were shared with others without my consent, and this could have damaged my reputation within the community. To make matters worse, the therapist suggested that my attempts to seek legal counsel were retaliatory, which is a gross misrepresentation of my actions. I reached out to legal professionals only to understand my rights and protect my interests after the abrupt end of our therapeutic relationship. This decision was not an act of retaliation but a necessary step to navigate the difficult situation caused by her actions. On top of this, I discovered troubling safety issues at the treatment center, including a lack of emergency exits and treatment rooms that could only be accessed by a narrow spiral staircase—an unsafe design in the event of a medical emergency, especially given the potential side effects of Ibogaine. Billing practices also raised concerns. I was charged international rates for my treatment without prior notice, and an airport transfer service recommended by the therapist overcharged me by three times the standard fare. These practices were not only unethical but showed a disregard for clients’ financial well-being. Although a refund was eventually agreed upon, the lack of transparency was unsettling. The emotional and psychological toll of this entire experience has been profound. The abrupt termination of our therapeutic relationship during a critical phase has only exacerbated my distress. I was left without the necessary support to process the Ibogaine treatment and integrate the experience effectively. I firmly believe that the therapist's conduct not only violated ethical standards but also caused harm to my well-being. The lack of professionalism, false accusations, breach of confidentiality, and inadequate handling of the situation are all deeply concerning. I am requesting a formal review and investigation into the therapist’s actions, and I would like to see the relevant parties held accountable for their misconduct. Additionally, I believe this situation warrants further attention regarding possible compensation for the emotional distress and harm caused. The therapist’s actions have undermined the very essence of what therapy is meant to provide—support, trust, and a safe environment for healing. The case has been reported to the local board accordingly. This situation cannot and should not be allowed to continue without appropriate action. I hope that this matter will be taken seriously and that steps will be taken to ensure that this kind of behaviour is addressed.

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  • Message of Hope
    From a survivor
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    It is not your fault!

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  • Story
    From a survivor
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    Formation

    Formation
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  • Message of Hope
    From a survivor
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    To anyone who's struggling with addiction, anxiety, or depression, I want you to know that there is hope. I’ve walked through the darkest days where it felt like the weight of the world was crushing me—where every step felt like a battle, and every breath was a fight to stay afloat. But I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way forever. I’ve fought hard, for many years, with addictions and mental health challenges that seemed insurmountable. It often felt like I would never escape the grip of those demons. But through that fight, I discovered something that changed everything: psychedelic therapy and plant medicine. It wasn’t a quick fix, and it wasn’t a magic pill, but it gave me the space to confront my pain, to understand it, and to heal in ways I never thought possible. The healing process was messy and imperfect, but it helped me reconnect with myself in profound ways. It gave me the chance to break free from the cycles I thought were unbreakable. It allowed me to see the world, and myself, with fresh eyes—a sense of peace and clarity that I hadn’t known for years. The journey wasn’t easy, and it still isn’t, but I’ve learned that healing isn’t linear. There are setbacks, yes, but each day is a step forward, and every little progress counts. To anyone reading this: You are not defined by your struggles. You are not broken. There is so much power in you, even when you can’t see it. It’s okay to seek help. It’s okay to ask for support. It’s okay to feel uncertain. But trust me when I say that healing is possible. It may not look the way you expect it, and it may take time, but your life is worth fighting for. And you are capable of finding your way through the darkness, just like I did. Never give up on yourself. There is light at the end of this tunnel, and no matter how long it takes, you will get there. Keep going. You’ve got this.

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  • We all have the ability to be allies and support the survivors in our lives.

    Story
    From a survivor
    🇺🇸

    #924

    This story was compiled from an interview with a survivor on Date: I was in an intimate relationship with my abuser for several years. When we first met, he was taking several trips to Mexico to “train to become a shaman” Our relationship was passionate, but was deeply unsafe and escalated over the years. When we first started dating, he was on felony probation for domestic abuse with his ex-wife, but continuously denied any wrongdoing. He constantly created a narrative that he was a victim and that she was trying to hurt him. He was very active about promoting himself on social media, telling people how amazing he was as a “shaman” and how he’s a great family man and loved his son and being a father. Behind closed doors he was verbally and emotionally abusive towards me and constantly was berating me. Looking back, I now can identify this as narcissistic abuse. Following an intense ayahuasca ceremony last spring, he was in a very dysregulated and ungrounded state and was lacking integration. He became aggressive and verbally coercive towards me and I was becoming unstable as a result of him emotionally abusing me. I had a history of self-harm behavior in my past and he was verbally encouraging me to engage in self-harm behavior and telling me that I was strong enough to follow through. I was afraid to speak up and reach out for help because he was highly regarded in our community and didn’t think anyone would believe me if I told them what he was saying or how he was acting towards me behind closed doors. . We had an upcoming ceremony planned to co-facilitate and I was very concerned about his mental state and ability to hold space and serve medicine. On the day of my assault, we were co-facilitating for a couple in a medicine ceremony. During the ceremony, the woman looks at me and tells me that she wishes for a sacred union that is spiritually connected like the one we (my abuser and I) had. I felt terrible since I was suffering so much on the inside and that I was hiding the abuse. Once the ceremony finished and the couple left, I felt a calling to do personal work with the medicine. I asked my partner to hold space for me because I was struggling with fear and feeling like I was walking on eggshells. I verbalized my intention to him and stated that I wanted clarity and strength to find a path forward. He listened and agreed that he was able to serve me with this intention. He left to prepare the medicine and I trusted him to dose me correctly. He served me twice and the second dose was much stronger than I anticipated. After the second dose, I completely white-d out. I have no memory of the experience. As I was coming back into awareness, I was naked, on my back, and he was sexually assaulting me while I was unconscious. I come to slightly and begin to open my eyes. I feel our prayer necklaces intertwined and hitting my chest. I push him off me and move away from him. He approaches me and begs to continue stating “I was so close… I just need to finish.” I didn’t know what to do as he harassed me or if he would become violent or aggressive. I was frozen, so I just gave in. I felt so violated and I completely disassociated. I didn’t have the capacity to cry. I was in utter disbelief that he could violate me in such a way in such a sacred space. After we packed up, we had a mile walk back to our car and we walked in silence. The whole time I was trying to figure out how it was my fault. I was in disbelief, how could he not understand that I was asking him to protect me. He noticed that I was being quiet and kept asking what was wrong… as if he didn’t even realize that he raped me, while I was unconscious, in a sacred ceremony. Afterwards, it took me a few weeks to plan how I was going to leave. He had recently gotten permission to have his son visit from out of state and he was gone for a few days to get his son and fly back to our home. Once he returned, I confronted him about the sexual assault and asked him why he violated and raped me in ceremony. He laughed at me and told me it was his right to have sex with me whenever he wanted and that I belonged to him. I knew that I had to get away from him as soon as possible. At the time, we were staying at my father’s house with my son age and his son age. I called my father the following day, he came over and told my abuser that he could no longer live at the house. We notified his felony probation officer that he was no longer living with you and we were kicking him out of his house. We offered to let his son stay with us for a few days because he was reporting that he was mental unstable and stressed out. That weekend, my father and I took the boys on a trip and while we were out of town, my abuser had broken into my home and video-called me while he was lying naked on my bed. In the following weeks, my abuser stalked me. I found hand written notes in the bushes around my home, leaving me messages that he is doing black magic to stay connected to me and engaging in masturbation to her picture every day. “I’m working a lot of magic on you. I’m creating a strong energetic bond from my heart to your heart… I work sex magic while watching our pictures and video and when I cum I can feel our connection get stronger” I went into hiding and had to move from several aribnbs and temporary rentals to hide from him for four months while I was fearing for my life and safety. He has admitted to raping me in ceremony in a handwritten letter left at my house. When he couldn’t find me, he began posting naked pictures of me on social media without my consent and began sending private pictures of me to others. When I came forward with my story of abuse, the community backlash I experienced of people defending him and telling me that I was trying to destroy his life. He began working in the medicine space to try to psychically/spiritually attack me. I had people telling me that he was using voodoo dolls to try to attack me and coercing groups of people to engage in dark magic against me. I was in such fear that I was unable to go to the grocery store, unable to leave my house, I had night terrors for months. I have taken steps to file an injunction against him on cyber stalking claims. It was reviewed by a judge and I was granted a multi-year restraining order against her attacker in Month, Year. I have been working on healing myself after months of abuse, violence and stalking. I’ve begun to get the strength to tell my story. I’m grateful for the continued support that I am able to give to create trauma-informed safe containers. I am focused and doing the work and helping to protect others. He is currently serving 7 years probation for domestic violence/strangulation against his ex-wife. He is currently still serving medicine and claiming to be a healer and shaman. I hope that people will do background checks on facilitators before they choose to work with them.

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  • Story
    From a survivor
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    #888

    In year I divorced my husband of 11 years and escaped a marriage of coercive control and domestic violence. I had never been hit, I was a psychologist specializing and trauma and I didn't know I was being abused until the trauma built to the point of a mental breakdown. My life was in shambles, I had signed a divorce decree that gave myself and my children no protection, I had been shunned by the church that I had been an elder at due to a smear campaign intended to shame, isolate and harm. I found myself engaging in behaviors that were brand new to me as a women that had been raised in and continued to live in conservative evangelical christian spaces. In the wake of the divorce I began to explore my sexuality, tried drinking and began experimenting with THC. I had a lot of fear around these behaviors but couldn't seem to stop myself. Was I a liberated modern woman or did I have PTSD with all its myriad socially stigmatized behavioral symptoms. Living in the bible belt and being shunned as a scarlet letter wearing Hester Prynne caused significant emotional pain, however it was the time that my children were with my abuser that caused the most severe mental and physical symptoms. Within weeks of the divorce being signed the first agency investigation happened. I was terrified, powerless and had no social or family support, working full time and trying to keep my young children cared for a fed was more than my traumatized nervous system could manage and yet I pushed through. The weeks without my children were chaotic and filled with dating and trying to create a new life with relationships, yet I found I had very little ability to ascertain who was safe and who was not. I was raped the summer of the divorce by a tattoo artist who I had been working with for years and believed was my friend. This created more PTSD symptoms which heightened my overall state of fear and panic. I had matched with a man on a dating app named Name and had been talking to him for a few weeks prior to the rape. He had spent two years at a buddhist monastery studying the Tao. I relished the ability to have deep existential conversations as I had been deconstructing my religious faith which in and of itself was traumatic. I no longer knew what to believe in, who to trust, what was real. I had dedicated my life to Christianity and the church had hurt me so deeply. I began a frantic attempt to learn about world religions, ancient wisdom traditions, spirituality, esoteric philosophy and a handful of conspiracy theories along the way. Name and I talked about life, its meaning, Alan Watts, the contemplative life, mysticism and so many things that gave me life. Having very few people in my life led me to go deep quickly, even with strangers on the internet, and he was unphased when I shared my rape with him. Name often spoke in quips, riddles and parables- something I chalked up to his spiritual maturity. He was a man of the world and of wisdom and I was a little disgraced church girl learning about the big wide world. We discussed meeting for a date that finally happened just a week after my assault. I picked him up from a house he rented with his friends. He worked at a local hospital in medical technology with two bachelors degrees, one in biology and one in chemistry. He said his first love was chemistry and he thought of himself as a chemist. Alas the economy was not great and he found this contracting job working the technological components of surgeries, running and updating the computing systems. He was bright and his face looked older than his age. We went to restaurant and I cried, heart on my sleeve about my divorce and fear for my children, the pain of PTSD and the shame I carried being removed from the Church. In response he vulnerably shared that he was gay and closeted, and having worked with many patients who have lived this double life I felt immense compassion for him. At the end of the meal he asked if I wanted to go back to my place to smoke marijuana and I felt safe with my new friend to say yes. I drove us back to my place where he prepared a bowl, sprinkling something on top that he said would "enhance" the chemical properties of the cannabinoids. As a novice THC user and having never taken other drugs before I felt that the chemist would know what he was talking about and I looked forward to the warm high that took me out of my head while also numbing my panicked body. I had never smoked out of a pipe and so Name instructed me to take three big inhales, hold them as long as I could and then releasing them. On the third inhale the room began to crumble into fractals or bright colorful flowers and terror overcame me. I felt my soul get ripped out of my body, the fear and pain were immense and I had no understanding of what was happening. I felt that I had died. I was plunged into darkness, I saw the creation of the world, I was God creating the planet for humans to enjoy and then watched humanity tear it apart, I wept. I knew that I was dead and yet my children's names and faces called to me, I couldn't leave them. I came to conciousnes on my bed racked with fear, I screamed at him to get out, I never wanted to see him again. Who could I tell of what had happened? I was so fearful of losing my children, I was afraid that if I called the police or asked for help I would be blamed and so I survived and stuffed this trauma down with the rest of them and continued to function. When my children were returned to me complaining of suspicious injuries with inconsistent stories. I had a meeting with an early child interventionist who was working with my youngest as the children had been displaying behavioral problems subsequent to the divorce. During this meeting I expressed my fears and was shocked when she informed me that she had a duty to report. I had been in this role as a professional and to have the tables turned felt like a profound retraumatization. I was referred to the family abuse center and given the moniker "victim of domestic violence." Waking up to the fact that I was a survivor of domestic violence was its own kind of trauma and facing the weekend alone with three small children filled me with fear. I reached out to the people who had been community for me before the smear campaign: "I'm in crisis, I need help! can you be with the children and I this weekend?" No one would come alond side us. In that moment of desperation I reached out to Name and another man I had dated briefly and asked them to come jump at the trampoline park with me and my children that weekend. That was how he made his way back into my life. Over the months I knew him there was a second agency investigation in which a friend of mine after hearing about the drugging called in to the organization. I complied with drug tests and cooperated with the investigators who told me I had to chose between Name and my children. The obvious answer was my children and Name was never again around them. That is when his behavior took a dark turn. Unbeknownst to me everything Name had told me about himself, including the spelling of his name, was a lie. He drugged me a handful of times during the months before his death, I would be drinking tea he brought me as we swiped on "cute guys" together on our respective dating profiles and suddenly be shot into another world begging him to comfort me. He inserted something into my rectum at night while we slept leaving me seeing rainbows. I'm not sure what I was given however he did disclose that the first night we met he had given me DMT. I had never heard of psychedelics outside of the brief overview of the hippie movement in history class and had no frame of reference to understand what had happened. He began to brainwash me into believing I had, in fact, died that night. We had long talks in which I wept as he explained that my children had been returned to my house and found my dead body. There had been a funeral. My children were angry at me because my ex had told them I killed myself because I didn't love them. Name then comforted me in my brokenness of being such a selfish mother to do that to my children. He taught me that "life" since the night with DMT was "just a dream" a version of purgatory, my consciousness spinning in space and making up a story. He also told me that my soul had been a "dark angel" and that I was a satanic force, this broke me and I remember pleading and begging with him that I so desperately wanted to "be good" and "be of the light." Perhaps what it most shocking is that I continued to work and parent during this time. These two jobs were grounding for me and took me out of my head, it was in the times where my children were gone that I felt I was slipping into insanity and yet I couldn't speak about this to anyone because I might loose my children, and plus I was dead afterall. Name and I eventually developed a sexual relationship, he was at this point my spiritual teacher, giving me journaling prompts and opening me up to new experiences. He said "friends can have sex" and so even though he was gay we slept together on occasion. One night he hit my so hard in the head after I kissed a man at a bar that my ears rang for days. Shortly thereafter he violently raped me. I fought physically, screamed and exhausted all of my energy until my body gave up and he finished the act of brutality. The feeling I had after was not that unlike the DMT experience, it felt like I had died. "You raped me!" I said, the sides of my mouth so downturned it felt as though my face was a Dali painting melting to the floor. He informed me that it was BDSM and I didn't know what I was talking about, I believed him. Name ended up in the hospital a day after I discovered that my liquor cabinet had been emptied, I remember screaming at him "you're an alcoholic?!" I had never worked with or been around an addict before and the lies and manipulation were something I had no frame of reference for. He went to rehab for a week and returned saying he'd just fallen off the wagon. He got sick right after the new year and the days before my children returned I took care of him. His body seemed to be going out and I knew that he had chronic health problems. He told me he thought he was going to die, and then said he had the flu and winked at me. I wrapped him up by the fire and sang to him. The day after my children returned I hadn't heard from Name which was unusual however I received a call from agency asking me to come in. I took my children to the office downtown where they tried to separate me from them, my youngest wouldn't comply. I sat there as they explained the reason that I had been called in- Name was dead. I let out a scream, what had happened? He has been sick, but it was just the flu. When I attended his funeral I was introduced as his fiance. I was in shock as truth after truth came about about the man I had loved and who had also almost killed me. I came to learn that he had been an almost life long addict who had come to my town for inpatient rehab. His mother shared with me that after one rehab he had been in she had found a journal in which he had invented a whole story about being and army veteran which was not true. I discovered that He hadn't worked at the hospital but rather, when he moved to a sober living group home had gotten part time employment at office max... which just so happened to make the name badges for the hospital in town, he had made himself a name badge to perpetuate his deceit. In shock, I gave the eulogy for this man who I had known for 5 months, someone I clearly had not known at all. The combination of sexual, physical and spiritual abuse I have suffered due to this man is something that I have no words to describe. Recovery has been incredibly challenging and lonely. I wish I could say that the traumas stopped with him, however they didn't. What happened to me 6 years ago is being used to further abuse me in the legal system and in custody trial. Finding the Shine support group was life changing for me. I have a greater understanding of what happened, why it happened and how to move forward without the weight of shame and victim blaming that I carried for so many years. I hope that in sharing my story others may heal too.

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  • Message of Healing
    From a survivor
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    Healing, to me, is a deeply personal and multifaceted process that goes beyond just physical recovery. It involves a reconnection with oneself—emotionally, mentally, and spiritually—after experiencing some form of hurt, trauma, or disruption. It’s about returning to a place of balance and alignment, where you can feel whole again, but not necessarily the same as before. Healing doesn’t mean erasing pain or forgetting the past. It means learning to live with it, accept it, and, over time, transform it into something that no longer holds you back. Healing involves self-compassion and the willingness to face parts of yourself that you may have avoided or ignored. It’s about being able to process and integrate your emotions, thoughts, and experiences, and to let go of negative patterns that no longer serve you. This process requires vulnerability, and often a sense of trust in the support system around you—whether that’s through therapy, relationships, or other forms of guidance. Healing also involves a deep sense of forgiveness, both for yourself and others. It’s recognizing that people, including yourself, make mistakes, and learning how to move forward with grace, instead of being trapped in resentment or guilt. It’s also deeply connected to growth. Healing doesn’t mean you go back to a prior state, but rather that you emerge stronger, wiser, and more compassionate. It’s a continual unfolding of self-awareness, self-care, and resilience. At its core, healing is about reclaiming agency over your life and learning how to navigate the world with a renewed sense of peace, even amidst its challenges. It’s not an end point but a journey—one that can ebb and flow, where you continue to discover new layers of yourself along the way.

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  • Story
    From a survivor
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    #869

    I met my abuser Month, Year at a indinginous pipe ceremony. The community met often. I would speak to him and his wife on occasion. I realized later that he was there to recruit people for his medicine retreats, his tantra events and he would search out his victims. What a better place where there are impressionable people wanting to heal, looking for something to help. He would tell me I needed to try mushrooms, to help with my depression and anxiety. I did stop taking my antidepressants on Date cause another person of “good standing” in our community was offering iboga and also was promising that would help me. I never did an iboga ceremony with that group but in Month, Year, I could not go to a retreat that my abuser and his wife were offering. the retreat was out in City, State and they thought they would include me by offering me my own private journey. my abuser offered to come to my house and he would hold a mushroom ceremony for me.. 4 people including my abuser showed up at my house one Friday night. I remember I was so excited cause these people who seemed so knowledgeable and respected were singling me out and I felt special. Except when they showed up it felt weird. I took a small amount of chocolate and a couple of hours in I still did not feel much. He offered me more. The night was uncomfortable but I kept thinking, these people know what they are doing, they have my best interest in their hearts. I’m not sure they really did. They left me around midnight that night. The medicine hit me just as they were all leaving. I was completely alone, tripping out. It was a long night. The next day, no one texted or phoned to check in with me. I just went through the next few days feeling pretty lost. My abuser, his wife and I continued to do indigenous ceremonies together, Hapey, pipe ceremonies, sweat lodges. By 2018, we had been hanging out socially a lot. My abuser started to offer psychedelic meetups at his house. I could not go to the first few because of work but my work schedule changed in the spring. I could go to the meet ups. I started to learn about the psychedelic movement and all these medicines had to offer. Name of Organization was steamed into one of our meetings, he had this vision and I wanted to be part of it. I found out my abuser was teaching Tantra. What’s that? I was curious. Another way for me to explore who I was. I started to go to his tantra events. It was fun, I was hanging out with the abuser and his wife and they knew how to have fun. It became my life. My abuser started coming out to my town. Asked if I wanted to meet for beers. He was paying lots of attention to me. I heard about the struggles he was going through with his marriage and how psychedelics and the lifestyle, being polyamourus was helping my abuser and his wife. I’m not sure where the offer came from but My abuser was telling me how he help break me open sexually and we could do private sessions. The first meeting, We met for super and a beer. He came to my house. We undressed and I sat, facing him. We hugged and did circular breathing exercise together to calm down. We talked about our desires, boundaries and fears. I remember him telling me he didnt want to get an erection because in the teaching he should not have one but he did already. I laid down and he did a youni massage on me. All the attention on me. I could not believe someone wanted to give me all this attention. I must be pretty special. We had been meeting every other week for a few months for sessions. He came for a session one night. He asked me if I wanted to be involved in his business of selling microdose online. Hell yes I did. Out of the all the people in the community, he picked me to help him. I felt special. That night when we did our session it was different. Up till that time he only massaged me, no penis vagina contact. That night I felt him insert himself. We did not discuss this. I froze for a bit but I continued to let him do what he wanted. If I said no I lost what he was offering. I remember thinking I’m selling my soul to the devil! I remember feeling confused. I was excited cause I was going to be part of something big but I felt violated. We continued our sessions but they just turned into sex. He wanted to have a relationship with me but not be a couple. I was so entwined in his life. I did everything with my abuser and his wife. Month, Year, My abuser and his wife were going on vacation and they needed me to do the mailing and keep the microdose business going, he was letting me into his very secret life. I killed that job will they were gone. I showed my abuser that I could handle his business. That was his baby and he was proud of it. It was one of the 3 most successful microdose businesses online at that time in Country. Abuser Name, my abuser was one of the companies selling the stamets stack that Abuser Name would eventually send a legal letter to to stop selling the stamets stack And you continued to support him through speaking at his conferences and I see you are coming to his conference in may in City along with Name. The site was Website. It’s been taken down in the last year. We continued to hangout, sell drugs together. I realized that I was helping to support him and his wife’s life. She was a tantric(sex worker) And between her And I, I'm sure we paid the bills. I helped over years with the psychedelics meetups, retreats, helped start and run his conference and did lots of work to make that happen, did medicine with him in group settings and in private and helped start his business plus many other things. I helped at the community events that he created. He was from a very religious background and had since left the church and claimed he needed community. He started these communities to find his victims. He picks people who are vulnerable and uses their skills or their connections. He then drops them especially if they do not agree with him. Over the years he would sometimes treat me very special as long as I conformed to his rules, he needed me. He would one minute be very attentive to me and then next he would punish me for talking to someone about us or speaking out of line. He would take away sex, medicine, eventually he took the microdose business. He was starting to gain moumentum in the legal psychedelic world. He started a businesss in Year that trains therapist to hold psychedelic space here in City . Then he stared to get exemptions from the Country government to give people psilocybin for their end of life distress. Now he is being given clinical trails to give front line care givers medicine. His dream was coming true. He wants to run retreat Centers. He found an investor to buy a resort in Country. That was short lived as business went bankrupt and he had a incident down there with a shibo hitting on clients. During the time of his start up he started to really distance himself from me. He only contacted me when he needed help and tried to keep me just involved enough. I ran Facebook pages for him and still had the microdose business. In Year, he asked me to take a bigger part in the microdose business because he had to distance himself from the ilagel business. That changed. He came out to my place one day and said he sold it and I was done. I called bullshit. That was his pride and joy. He sold it to his son. I was a threat. He still talked to me and we met for beers once in awhile. I was even invited to some social events at his house. Date Year, I went to a party at his house. It was a bit of a weird feeling going on. He dropped his wife while dancing. She hit her head pretty hard. An hour later I was looking for him as it was almost midnight. I walked in on him and his newest victim finishing having sex. He ran out the room. I looked at her and told her she should run from him. He’s dangerous. She is part of the community he started. She has money, is indigenous and has connections in that community, he needs her to get with the indigenous community. Midnight hit that night, he was still friendly, even tried to kiss me. We were suppose to go out in the new year. One day he sent a message that he could not meet and blocked me on all social media. He never did give me an answer why. Probably cause I found out about him and the other women. This is when the universe started to show me who I was involved in. Actually the universe was talking to me all along but I was not listening. I would have mushroom journeys facilitated bu my abuser and his wife. In those journeys, I would get messages from the medicine. The medicine was yelling at me to get away from him. I even I had a journey where I had snake coming out of me and then later actually seeing him as a rapist. That journey I sat up on my mat and he was sitting in front of me and I was freaking out but could confide in no one. No one was safe. I started to open my eyes after that. What has unfolded over the last 11 months. I was going to integrations circles with a lady. She would travel with me. We talked. I found out one day, she wanted to end her life because of a relationship she had with My abuser in the summer of Year. She had heard stories of a lady who caused him lots of stress.She did not know it was me until I shared my story one night with her. That was the first lightbulb moment. I heard another story about more emotional abuse from another lady, who pointed out he’s a predator. He likes to find women in vulnerable positions in communities he develops and then he takes them sexually and mentally. vStories kept showing up to me. I wasn’t looking for the stories. He contacted me in Month to have a mediation meeting. The mediator was a lady who is a therapist and knew both of us. I did not feel comfortable so I asked my support person to come. I’m glad I did as I will tell you some info about the therapist in a minute. We had the meeting. I did well speaking for myself. He eventually admitted the meeting was not to apologize but make sure that I stay silent. Nothing was solved. I find out he recorded the meeting. Next came a letter of cease and disest. It was a threat. He had his conference coming up in City, Province, and he was going to the government to talk about clinical trials. he did not want me speaking, cause I know to much. That proved to me my story is worth sharing. I have recently found out that the therapist that mediated the talk we had in Month has had sexual relations with him in the same way as me, through tantra sessions.. I used her as a therapist 2 years ago. I could not go deep enough with her for some reason, I did not understand at the time. She also writes for his therapist training program. That one hurt deep. Over the years of being involved with my abuser. I have suffered. I lost about 70lbs in a short time, my anxiety was so high as I never knew from one minute to the next if he was going be hot or cold to me. I did not know who to trust as people in the community would go back and tell him what I said. He always seemed to know what I was doing, what I was saying. He would talk to me and then ignore me for periods of time. This is a common thing with the other women I have talked to. They felt like he was following them, watching them. He always knew what we were doing I was vulnerable with trauma. He made promises to heal. He used that promise as a position of power and exploited it to get me into a sexual relationship. He broke me down and got into my psyche, he used substances to heal me to break me open and worm inside every aspect of me: body, mind, heart, soul, even financial survival. He is sneaky and manipulative and good at it. Name's desire to develop acronym stems from personal experiences with psychedelics that “brought him to his knees” and forced him to face his ego. He aligns himself with people such as Name,who wrote some material for his company. microdose, and a few others. I never understood why he picked me. Maybe cause I was well liked and respected in the community. I showed up. I lost my self. Hard to trust anyone when everyone’s connected in the community. 10 minutes is not long enough to share this story but it is a start. It took a lot to get here. I’m grateful that I found somewhere to share my story and I feel like I’m just beginning to share. I struggle with relationships. As soon as one little red flag comes up, I sabotage, it’s hard. Update. I told my story publicly, Month, Year at the Conference Name conference. Since then I recorded a podcast, took part in a documentary, to be released next year, and had two articles written about my abuser and his company. My story got some attention and in Month, Year he was arrested for sexual assault. The trial will be in Month, Year. He stepped down from his company as CEO and Company Name does not exist anymore.

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  • “It’s always okay to reach out for help”

    Story
    From a survivor
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    My Loved Ones Ketamine Provider Groomed them into a sexual relationship and my Loved One Attempted Suicide several times

    I had posted something before and I don't know if it's okay to post this here but I hope it is. I am so angry right now and just had to get this out. My Loved One’s suicide attempt. Multiple attempts if we are being accurate. I want to start by telling you, I am no stranger to the suicide world and suicide ideation. I suffer from Major Depressive Disorder and when I became involved with my Loved One (LO.), I knew I had met someone who would/could understand my depression as I understood theirs (to a degree). I also knew that if I continued the relationship there might be a time when we might need to lean on each other (hopefully not at the same time). My previous career also had me working with families of victims of Suicide in the direct aftermath of completed suicide (my company came in and cleaned the scene. I want to apologize for the length of this and please understand that I have had to consolidate 12+ months into a few pages and its barely a drop in the bucket of this story. For All Intents and Purposes (there are 4 main people in this story; plus myself as the storyteller) Below are the abbreviations I am using throughout the story KP = Ketamine Provider (CRNA). *My loved one was their patient* L.O.= Loved One (The Patient) Psych Nurse (Nurse Practitioner – Psychiatric Nurse. *My loved one was their patient* LMHC = (License Mental Health Counselor/Therapist) *My loved one was their patient* The Ketamine Provider owns their independent clinic The Psych Nurse owns their practice and the LMHC is their employee Suicide Attempt One In Month, Year– my L.O. (L.O.) was given two back-to-back high-dose ketamine infusions from KP (KP) (two days in a row). The decision to give my L.O. two back-to-back infusions was made by the KP and the Psych Nurse. The KP took my L.O. back to their home (KP’s home, not L.O.’s home) and also fed them 4mg of their (KP’s) personal Ativan, to “calm them down”. My L.O. sent a message to their psychiatric nurse (who assisted in scheduling the back-to-back infusions) and pleaded to never be left alone again after a ketamine infusion with their abuser (the KP). The following day a 2nd high-dose ketamine infusion was given to my L.O. along with more (personal) Ativan and afterward dropped off at a relative’s home. This time the they were not taken back to the KP’s home (as previously described “the abuser” from the previous day/evening’s infusion). My L.O. was in a lot of distress after this 2nd high-dose treatment and tried reaching out to the KP but they found their number was blocked from receiving calls/texts. It is assumed they were blocked because my L.O. didn’t want to go home with the KP. My L.O. began reaching out to their psychiatric nurse. But was met by the psychiatric Nurse telling them to stop contacting KP. The more and more my L.O. reached out (via texts and calls) the Psych Nurse told them “you are manic and scaring me”. They were told to “stop calling” (the Psych Nurse) because “they were not going to answer the telephone”. They didn’t want to take a call because “it would wake up their entire home and “my child is sleeping”. Both KP and the Psych Nurse knew they had given my L.O. two high dose back to back infusions and ignored them. Cut them off from help. They were supposed mental health care providers. (It has been learned) My L.O. was having a paradoxical psychosis due to the (2) high-dose ketamine infusions and all of the Ativan that the KP and Psych Nurse had been giving them. The KP was supplying their own prescribed Ativan to my L.O. The Psych nurse had given them a prescription for Ativan a day before. Neither KP or Psych Nurse would answer calls (as stated above), in the midst of the paradoxical psychosis and their providers ignoring them…My L.O. slit their throat open to end their life, sending out final text messages and photos to the psych nurse stating “I hope you and KP are happy for what you have done to me.” This is when the psych nurse decided that my L.O. needed help and 911 was called. EMS and First responders were able to get to & save the life of my L.O. Everyone in the house that evening now has PTSD and became traumatized from this suicide attempt as they are all over 80 years old, because the Psych Nurse and the KP failed their patient. They (KP and Psych Nurse) chose to use more than the average standard dose per mg/kg/hr dose of Ketamine and continue to give Ativan to control the patient. The Psych Nurse has ZERO formal training on Ketamine administration. The KP is a cRNA and was only trained by their former employer, before opening their clinic. The KP has ZERO formal training in psychiatric and mental health matters or therapy to treat patients’ mental health. ****It should be noted that the Day before the 1st Infusion the KP stated in the morning to my L.O. they were going to admit themselves to in-patient care because they were “not well.” It should also be noted that the same evening the Psych Nurse told my L.O. They were going to “Baker Act” the KP, because they were not well. The KP never admitted themselves to an inpatient facility. The Psych Nurse never baker acted the KP. What did happen the following day(s) was the KP and Psych Nurse administered the High Dose Infusions to my loved one. (All of this is documented in text messages) 3 days were spent in a baker act. The psychiatrist at the hospital asked my L.O why they had attempted to take their life. My L.O. told the doctor. They were in a romantic relationship with KP and the KP had been mentally and emotionally abusing them and they were having issues in their relationship because the KP was still actively involved with their abusive spouse. The psychiatrist at the hospital interviewed the KP and the KP lied and stated that they were not in a relationship with the patient. And that my L.O. was confused “it was the anniversary of the breakup of their previous relationship” , and they were having a hard time with it. (This is documented in my L.O.’s health records). It can be proven that the KP was in a relationship with my L.O. and the text messages sent to them before and after the suicide attempt show how “IN LOVE and didn’t want to lose them”. KP was also going to visit my L.O. during visiting hours and cuddling with them in the day room of the facility. AT THIS POINT YOU MIGHT BE THINKING WAIT WHAT? THE KP was in a Relationship with your Loved One, the Patient? HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?? HOW DID THAT START? The Grooming of My Loved One My L.O. was referred to the KP by their Psych Nurse provider, stating that ketamine treatments would be beneficial and that they wanted them to see the KP, to help with their treatment-resistant depression. My L.O. stated that during the first 4 months of treatment, they would wake up and the KP was sitting in the room talking to them after their infusions. The Ketamine provider called it “therapy time”. The Ketamine Provider is only a CRNA and in Statutes this is practicing outside of their scope. The Ketamine provider would text message the patient excessively. In the first month alone the provider sent over 500 text messages to the patient. The 2nd month over 1200 text messages which included inappropriate photographs. The KP provider also would talk about their former drug use, current alcohol and partying ways, and body modifications such as piercings. They would also speak about how often they were hit on while they were out at functions and conferences. The provider once gave my L.O. a ride home and while parked outside of a relatives house, disclosed that they were unhappy in their marriage and told them personal things about how bad things were in their marital home. My L.O. still under the influence of the ketamine infusion sat quietly and did not respond. The provider was constantly texting my L.O. and crossed many boundaries at this point, many of the text messages were personal and selfies, and some were inappropriate and sexual of nature. The KP provider even suggested that my L.O to give food poisoning to their new romantic partner; to go through their wallet to confirm their identity and age. One evening after providing a ketamine infusion to my L.O. (after 4 months of text messages and “therapy time” after ketamine treatments ) the KP confessed they had fallen in love with them, and they hated their abusive spouse and would leave them if my L.O. felt the same way. Because they felt that my L.O. had feelings for them. ** Remember For 4 months the KP had been sitting in on every infusion and been slowly grooming and manipulating my L.O.** My L.O. stated they were attracted to the KP. The KP took this as their cue and then undressed my L.O. and proceeded to have sex with them. From here on out the KP laid stakes on my L.O. and this marked the beginning of the relationship between the KP and my L.O.(the patient) The KP mandated the patient break up with their romantic partner, even though the KP was married and had not initiated a divorce. The KP then confessed to the Psych Nurse that they had engaged in sex with the patient and were now in a relationship. The Psych Nurse then reached out to a divorce attorney and assisted in obtaining legal counsel so that the KP could file for divorce and be with my L.O. The Psych Nurse even went as far to blind CC my Loved on the email sent to the divorce attorney. The Psych Nurse then purchased a burner phone so that my L.O. (patient ) and the KP could talk and not be discovered by the KP’s spouse. The KP also mandated that the patient download and use “WhatsApp” to have conversations, to hide from their spouse, and send photos of their genitals, since they could set the messages to disappear after 24 hours. The Psych Nurse did not report the KP for having sexual relations with a patient. The Psych Nurse encourages the relationship. It is believed that the psych nurse also instructed my L.O.’s licensed mental health counselor to not report the relationship. After the relationship was established the KP began even more sick and diabolical actions of imprinting themselves on my L.O. The KP provided free infusions to my L.O. and would engage in intercourse as my L.O. was coming to after an infusion. It is believed that this is part of the reason my L.O. is “trauma bonded” to the KP. The KP would unhook the IV from the pump and engage in sex, while my loved one was still in the recliner. The KP also mandated that my L.O. refrain from taking certain prescription medications to make the sex better for them so they could engage in hours of sex. During the first month (30 days) of the relationship with the KP, my L.O. attempted to break things off due to experiencing mental abuse from KP. The KP would have mental breakdowns and claim they were going to kill themself if they broke up. The KP was still living with their spouse but would often rent hotel rooms so they could have sex. But the majority of sex happened right inside of the clinic on the floor or in the patient chairs, until the KP moved out of their marital home, 45 days after the first sexual encounter with the patient. During the 2nd month of the relationship, it became very apparent the KP was abusive, my L.O. attempted to get out of the relationship because they began to feel that it was detrimental to their health; the gaslighting, manipulation, verbal psychological, and mental abuse were too much for them. The KP again threatened to commit suicide if they broke up. The KP promised to be better and get better “help” and would go get a therapist. The KP then started counseling from my L.Os mental health counselor and began to see the Psych Nurse who was treating my loved one. KP claimed that they could not find anyone else in the very large city they reside in. I believe this was to cover up the relationship, as this relationship was highly illegal and against State statutes to have sex with your mental health patient. The Psych Nurse and the LMHC both covered up this relationship and failed to report it to the Department of Health or State Nursing Board. The Psych Nurse and the LMHC both profited off the patient by billing the insurance company for psycho-therapy sessions from both the KP and my loved one. The Psych Nurse also encouraged the relationship, so it is believed that they did not want to say anything because they did not report the relationship from when they learned about it two months prior. The KP also had the LMHC treat their children as patients as they were having a difficult time dealing with the impending divorce and break up of their family. The KP had begun bringing my L.O. in as a “parental figure” and stated to my L.O. that the children loved them, and they needed them in their lives. They ask about them all the time. My L.O. does not have children of their own and it made them feel as if they finally had the family they always dreamed of. This was again another manipulation tactic of the K.P. Over the course of the entire relationship, every time my L.O. tried or attempted to terminate the intimate personal relationship the KP would have a “mental meltdown” and state they were going to kill themselves. They often made dramatic outbursts and comments of “someone needs to take care of my patients” or would physically hurt themselves in front of my L.O. and children by hitting themselves or laying on the floor and crying clutching bottles of alcohol. The K.P. would also state they would sell the ketamine clinic as it was not worth their life. In the third month of the relationship, the KP tried to smooth things over by taking my L.O. on an all-expenses paid trip to Saint Augustine. While in the shower the KP shoved their finger up the anus of my L.O. My L.O. told them to stop and they didn’t want that and asked “Why would you do that, we have both talked about butt sex and we both said we never wanted that? KP stated said… because “it happened to me and I felt you were safe, I needed to do it to you so I could see if I could get over being anally violated”. The KP sexually assaulted my L.O. to “get over” something they had experienced in the past by another partner. I'm not sure how that works… I’ve been raped before and I have never had to rape someone else to get over it. My L.O. finally broke off the relationship with the KP. But the KP again tried one last attempt to keep the relationship and rope my L.O. back into it, by claiming they were going to kill themselves. The KP even sent “Goodbye” texts to their shared Psychiatric Nurse. The KP didn’t do any harm to themselves. They were just crying wolf like the many times before. After a month of gaining clarity and feeling they had gotten to a safe space, my L.O., decided that they needed to contact the Department of Health and report the KP for having sex with their patient(s). They were afraid that the KP might seek another victim and use Ketamine again to gain control over another patient. Currently, it is unclear if this was an isolated event (relationship/sexual encounter) or if it has happened before. But the threat was still there, and it needed to be reported. What is clear though the provider has had an affair with another KP (their former boss). KP is unethical in many ways. KP did confess to my L.O. that they had copied their former boss’s ( Ketamine provider) patient list (the one they had an affair with) to build their business. My L.O. contacted the Department of Health and reported the provider. In retaliation, KP went to the county court and placed a stalking injunction against my L.O.. stating that my L.O. was stalking them and they were afraid of them. This is the same provider who sent 500+ text messages to the patient in the first month 1200+ in the second month sent inappropriate photographs to their patient, and invited them out on outings to spend time outside of the ketamine clinic. The provider even asked them to come to the Walk-a-ton for suicide awareness last year, so they could spend time together. My L.O. declined as they were going to be spending time with their significant other (the one the KP wanted to give food poisoning to). In the 7 months that the provider knew my L.O., the text conversations (mostly from the provider) totaled over 900 PDF pages (all of which are in my possession). Suicide attempt Two In Month, Year, everything became too much for my L.O. They had been spiraling since March because of the PTSD of the KP; manipulation, gaslighting, and psychological, emotional, and mental abuse. The false accusation The provider filed in court and with the police. The KP created a trauma bond and groomed my L.O. to fall in love with them all under the influence of Ketamine. Because the KP wanted to be in a relationship with my L.O. (the patient). It must be noted My L.O. paid for these treatments (the first 4 months). They had been giving hundreds and hundreds of dollars in the hope that their mental health could be healed. My L.O. trusted this KP with their mental health. And it almost cost them their life. I still fear that it will. In July my L.O. drove to the parking lot of the KP’s clinic and in the middle of the night and attempted suicide. I had luckily been at my L.O.’s home and noticed my L.O. had left the house and figured out why they left. I was able to call 911 and assist the sheriff’s office in finding them. I don’t even know physical the address of my own doctor’s office. And I was able to recite every address I knew where my L.O. could be. I don’t even live in the same city as my L.O. I live over 3 hours from them and was just visiting and taking care of them because they were having an exceptionally hard time. I prevented my L.O. from ending their life that day. I worry that in the future I might not be so lucky to prevent it. I know the statistics that the likelihood of them retrying is very high. Especially since this was the 2nd attempt. The KP has now been playing the victim. Stating that the patient is a dangerous person. That they are afraid of the patient their former lover/partner – whom they had groomed into the relationship. The scariest part is this provider is still allowed to practice while the Department of Health investigates all of this. I wanted to add a little about me. I spent 11.5 years running a company that cleans up after suicides and homicides. A crime scene clean-up company. I have taken thousands of phone calls from family members after a suicide. Never in a million years had I ever believed that I would be on the opposite side of that phone call. NEVER. I never thought I’d be saying my L.O. attempted suicide, or my L.O. killed themselves. I am no stranger to suicide and those who have experienced it. It is why I am such a huge advocate for mental health. It’s the reason I dropped my entire life and worked remotely in my L.O.’s city to make sure they were okay, so they weren’t alone as they were trying to deal with the PTSD from what they experienced from their ketamine provider. I was trying to help navigate the darkness. Or sit in the dark so they weren’t alone. Because as someone with depression, I know how dark that dark is. My reason for writing this is because of the Ketamine provider I speak of. Is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The KP has befriended a person on the Board of Directors for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention who is also an Investigator at the Department of Health (in which this event occurred). The KP has donated $1000 to the AFSP for the suicide awareness walk that will be hosted in the city. I find it fascinating they have collected a donation of $1000.00 from this KP for the Suicide awareness walk a ton. Is this HUSH HUSH MONEY ?? Is this cover-up money? Is the donation to get insider information on their case? Or to have the case altered in their favor? I am so sick to my stomach. At the thought of this or that the provider is allowed to be a sponsor.(granted they don't know the story.... well actually I have sent an email to their public relations department this morning) The audacity that the KP even has to make the community feel like they care about Suicide Awareness when they are the ones that caused someone to attempt suicide multiple times because they wanted to be in a relationship with their PATIENT. A mental HEALTH PATIENT. People do not seek Ketamine treatments because they are well. The Ketamine provider learned everything about my Loved One while they were under the influence of ketamine, they made my loved one feel they were a safe provider and then they sucked my loved one into an adulterous relationship, left their spouse, broke up their family and abused my loved one; psychologically, emotionally, mentally, and verbally. So much so that my loved ones tried to kill themselves. On the second attempt my loved one tried to kill themselves in the parking lot of the ketamine clinic in hopes it would bring media attention. I have been so angry that this Ketamine Provider is making a mockery of SUICIDE AWARENESS when they are such a sick and vile hazard to the community. I also find it disgusting that the KP uses SUICIDAL THREATS to keep control of people in their lives, as a crutch to manipulate people and keep them in their life. We have been very private about this situation as it is embarrassing to know our loved one was sexually assaulted by a practitioner. It has been a lot to digest to know that someone suffering from mental illness (depression and PTSD) has been sexually taken advantage of and all 3 of the people (ketamine provider, Psych Nurse & LMHC) were supposed to be helping our loved one…. Were the ones that almost cost us their life. And we would all be grieving for the rest of ours. I felt like I needed to speak out. I am at a loss as to why the Department of Health is moving so slowly. I feel like I need to contact a new station or something and this needs to go public Nationwide so that people are aware of this predatory behavior. My Loved One is not well. This has exacerbated their PTSD/CTPSD and we are getting them help but its been a very long road and they are tired. So very tired. This has been a setback on so many levels. The story gets worse....there are even more evil things that have happened but this is all I care to share for now. I feel like we have been living in a Netflix Docuseries for the last year. My mental health has taken a toll. But I can tell you that my Ketamine Provider in my city has been nothing but wonderful and my experience with Ketmaine saved my life. My heart hurts that my loved ones' Ketamine provider and ketamine almost cost them their life.

    Dear reader, this story contains language of self-harm that some may find triggering or discomforting.

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  • Message of Hope
    From a survivor
    🇺🇸

    As my doctor said to me, "You did nothing wrong."

    Dear reader, this message contains language of self-harm that some may find triggering or discomforting.

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  • Story
    From a survivor
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    SLIDING SCALE KETAMINE THERAPY TRAP

    I am a survivor of what I believe to be therapist abuse, emotional manipulation, and grooming behaviors from LCSW, which I experienced while undergoing Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy. I came to the center in my city, full of hope that I would get to access this kind of therapy as a lifelong, low-income person who has experienced immense trauma starting at the age of two. I had heard of the benefits and life-changing experiences that others had experienced with this type of therapy and was hoping for the same. Without access to the sliding scale cost model that the center was offering LGBT+ and BIPOC, I would have never been able to afford a therapy like this. I was hopeful to be able to access this therapy and would check in regularly about my place on the waitlist. FOR THE READER'S INFORMATION: COMMON REACTIONS TO SEXUAL MISCONDUCT BY A THERAPIST If a therapist has engaged in any sexual behavior or contact with you, you may experience some or all of the following feelings or reactions: Intimidated or threatened. Guilt and responsibility—even though it is the therapist’s responsibility to keep sexual behavior out of therapy. Mixed feelings about the therapist—e.g., protectiveness, anger, love, betrayal. Isolation and emptiness. Distrust of others’ feelings or intentions or your feelings. Fearful that no one will believe you. Feeling victimized or violated. Experiencing traumatic symptoms, e.g., anxiety, nightmares, obsessive thoughts, depression, or suicidal or homicidal thoughts. Before Intake, Admin told me I would have a psychological evaluation with a psychiatrist. INTAKE I arrived for my psychological intake, where LCSW accessed me. I was surprised to learn he was not a psychiatrist. I had seen LCSW in the main lobby as he hurried towards the elevator as I was reading the board to find the suite Location was in. I joined LCSW in the elevator, and he asked what floor I was going to. I said,” 4, the same as you, were probably going to the same place”. I made that assumption on how LCSW looked, as I assumed the guy with long died hair probably had something to do with psychedelics. We both ended up at the the center, where he instructed me on how to use the call button and told me to expect the admin to grab me from the waiting room soon. This appointment seemed pretty standard, so he asked me some basic questions and reviewed some basics of KAP therapy. I remember discussing my yoga practice and studies in herbalism, and he asked me what inspired that path. I told him my honest answer was a bit embarrassing as I was 15 and was first introduced to yoga in a small town in State when reading about it in Seventeen magazine and had read an interview with a yogi. I also said that I thought the yogi was attractive, which probably caught my attention. LCSW responded to this by saying. “Likely.” I found his response to be a bit demeaning. He didn’t understand the complexity of being raised in isolation in a place that lacked a diversity of culture and could only connect to the outside world through old magazines that my friends would hand down to me at school. At the end of this appointment. He told me that I would get a list of therapists and that I would get to pick from that list. I later received an email from LCSW: “Great news, I will be your therapist.” This felt uncomfortable to me for a few reasons: the inconsistency in the information I was told about choosing my therapist made me nervous, and I usually avoid working with male/male-bodied therapists due to significant traumas I have experienced from being raped, objectified, and brutally attacked by men. I chose to trust the process and hoped that this might be an opportunity to experience healing and safety with a male-bodied person who would hopefully be safe with me. LCSW told me we had to reschedule the first preparation appointment due to an emergency. As I tried to walk away unbothered by the random emergency, he stopped me and apologized multiple times, and I thought it strange that he would spend so much time apologizing to me if there was an emergency. PREP 1 My preparation appointments with LCSW were bizarre. My first couple of appointments discussed the possibility of therapeutic touch, what therapeutic touch is, and informed consent. I found it odd how much time was spent on these subjects; this was discussed at length during all three preparation appointments. I had done a lot of somatic healing bodywork with a physical therapist, and these conversations were not new to me. Still, I was uncomfortable with the amount of time and number of times this was brought up during preparation. PREP 2 LCSW discussed therapeutic touch again at great length. He claimed to be trained in somatics. LCSW said to me, “ I am your therapist for only a short amount of time, so we can do ANYTHING you want.” LCSW said to me, “ I know I am your therapist, but I want you to have as much power as you want.” LCSW asked me how I felt about therapeutic touch. I let LCSW know I was uncomfortable with touch in any capacity and would prefer to be given physical distance as much as possible. I told LCSW that I, historically, would avoid touch in any capacity throughout my life and gave examples of how I place pillows between myself and my friends when I sit on couches next to them. LCSW asked me if I was comfortable with him suggesting to me that I could touch myself. I felt uncomfortable with how he worded this but didn’t react. For example, he said some patients have tremors uncontrollably and can be instructed to place their hands on their arms. I told him I did not want him to make these suggestions. LCSW asked me what the thought of being touched felt in my body. He asked if this felt squirmy, and I said yes. During my preparation appointments, LCSW acted like he was some kind of drug dealer and made it seem like he would be involved in how many mg of Ketamine would be prescribed to me from the pharmacy. He asked me during each session how many milligrams I would want. He said I got to choose up to 600mg per session. I asked if I was prescribed 600mg each session and if I would have to take all of it during the session if I decided not to. He said I could do this. I asked for the max prescription, and he told me I could be prescribed 250mg. This was another example of him offering me a choice (like choosing my therapist) and then taking that choice away. He then asked me again how much I wanted to be prescribed in the following session. I remember this session was in person. I told him I wanted to be prescribed the high end of what is normal, and he said he would go with that. I was made aware that the dosage is prescribed by the prescribing doctor, Prescribing Doctor, and there is a standard dosage that most patients are prescribed with a max dosage of 400mg. LCSW disclosed his gender identity to me and asked me if I had a preference in how he would present himself during our sessions because sometimes he wears dresses and glitter. I asked if he was asking about my comfort with my gender expression. He assured me that was not what he was asking about and, instead, wanted to know if I would be more comfortable with one of his gender expressions over another, and I let him know that I didn’t think it mattered. I found this conversation beyond strange and uncomfortable. I’ve been in therapy since I was 18, and I have never had a therapist behave in the ways I convey with LCSW and found him to be strange, unpredictable, over-sharing, and unsafe. Before my final in-person preparation appointment, LCSW informed me that he had moved his office to a different location in the center because it was larger. PREP 3 LCSW quickly allowed me access from the waiting room on this day. Almost immediately after I pressed the button on the wall, I could hear his footsteps coming down the hallway, and this made me uncomfortable as most therapists or doctors that I have worked with allow for 1-5 minutes to pass before greeting me in the waiting room. I felt LCSW was unusually excited or rushed about my arrival. LCSW had warned me in the previous preparation appointment that he had moved offices because the new office was larger. I was highly uncomfortable with the move when I saw his office. I froze in the doorway. He moved his office to the center's most private and secluded area. The new office seemed smaller. A reclined chair in his old office was available for the KAP therapy, which felt safe. The chair was not in his new office, and my options for where to lay down during my KAP therapy were a couch that I was much too tall for or a mattress on the ground. I felt unsafe laying on a mattress with LCSW in the room, but I thought I had no choice. I had experienced so much seductive and inappropriate behavior with him that discovering I would not have a reclined chair and would be isolated in the building was devastating news to me. The fact that his new office did not have room for the antigravity chair in his old office was an example of how this move was not due to the office being larger than he claimed. I had brought gifts for LCSW for the Winter Solstice. I had gifted him a piece of mushroom art made with layers of paper and a mushroom hairpin that my coworker made. These items were kept on a shelf in his office for all of my following sessions. I wasn’t aware that therapists are not supposed to accept gifts from their clients. LCSW was overly excited about the gifts. During our in-person preparation session, LCSW would ask me questions unrelated to my therapy. Do you like guacamole? Do you enjoy Role-Play Board Games? When I asked why he asked me these questions, he answered, “I’m trying to understand your resources.” After initially reporting him to my doctor, I discovered his dating profile while listing his display name, “Guacamole,” and his interests, “Role-play Board Games.” Now, I wonder if he was spending my sessions with me trying to gauge our compatibility for dating. LCSW would be extremely flirtatious with me. He would have his long hair up in a bun, pull it out slowly, groom it with his fingers, and display it in front of his shoulders, all while batting his eyes at me. Both times he did this, I went into shutdown. I would avoid eye contact, look at the floor, hunch, and move my body in the opposite direction, showing my physical discomfort. I would be talking about something both times he did this, and each time, I lost my words and stopped talking as a part of the shutdown state of my nervous system. This flirting with his hair happened on PREP 3 and KAP 1. One session was a preparation appointment, and the second time was before I was administered ketamine for my KAP session. I asked LCSW if people clench their jaw while on Ketamine as I often have a lot of jaw tension and use a nightguard at night. He shared with me that his other clients who are “guarded” usually feel more relaxed on Ketamine and that often the jaw relaxes, but he let me know I could bring my guard if I wanted. I remember not liking that LCSW had indirectly called me guarded, but he was not wrong about that assessment. I had learned to be guarded to protect myself from people, especially harmful people like LCSW, who were unpredictable and unregulated. As I think back to this interaction, I wish I had been able to remain guarded around LCSW, which was not possible for me while on a psychedelic. LCSW asked me during an in-person preparation appointment if I had been hypnotized and if it worked. LCSW would use Neurological Language Processing on me to try and seduce me and make me think about sex during two of my sessions, PREP 3 & KAP 1. When he gave directions for taking the ketamine medication, he would speak at a regular pace until he got to the part of the directions that directed me that I could spit or swallow the ketamine. Specifically, the words “spit and swallow” were slowed down to an unusually slow pace, and he would stare into my eyes with intensity when he said those words slowly. He would slow that part of the directions down to a slow pace, all while making intense eye contact that made me highly uncomfortable. He did this during my last preparation appointment and also during my first appointment with the ketamine. During these experiences, with the sexual and seductive nature of the emphasis of these words, while giving me directions, I would go into shutdown. I would look away and disengage with LCSW during these interactions. I was feeling highly unsafe, overwhelmed, confused, and afraid. KAP 1 During my first KAP appointment, LCSW welcomed me from the waiting room, pressed the switch on the wall, and looked around the room as usual. He would typically follow me down the hallway to his office, which made me uncomfortable as I have been stalked coming home at night off the bus countless times. In any capacity, I will avoid having any persons behind me as I feel safer when I can see people and when I have enough physical distance to run or defend myself if I can see signs of aggression in a person. I was surprised that LCSW would walk closely behind a person with PTSD, and I felt he had minimal experience working with people with PTSD and didn’t understand trauma-informed care. Most trauma-informed professionals I work with would check in with me regularly about what I was comfortable with. Before working with LCSW, I’d never had a doctor or staff walk so closely behind me. For example, I have had Doctors ask me if I am more comfortable sitting in a chair that faces the door instead of having the door behind me, and LCSW never checked in with me about any of these things. I was violently attacked for asking a 300lb man to try and be quiet so that I could sleep. I struggled to ask for what I needed to feel safe and comfortable from men after this experience, and I did not feel safe asking LCSW not to walk behind me or continue invading my personal space. While being let into the center, I stood behind him with as much physical distance as possible and waited for him to finish so I could follow him down the hall. He instructed me to walk down the hallway to his office and followed me closely. I entered LCSW’s dark office with the blinds closed. I felt uncomfortable immediately but was trying to manage my fear and stress the best I could as I was so dedicated to healing with Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy and was looking to this therapy as my last hope after having tried everything with a slow, painful progress that had many setbacks as I struggled to avoid people like LCSW in my life who prioritize their desires over my well-being. We were in the center alone during all my appointments except the intake. There were no other therapists or admin. My KAP appointments were scheduled at the end of the day in the winter, so it was often already dark outside. I have since learned that being so isolated and having appointments late in the day are red flags. I was moving and brought in a book from my personal library to give to LCSW. On Book Name. LCSW responded to this by saying, “That’s really sweet.” This book lived on his bookshelf in following appointments. LCSW let me know I could set up my altar items at the end of his table and that he was going to the restroom and would be right back. I would like to mention that LCSW often seemed very different after visiting the bathroom. I suspected he was struggling with drug abuse and addiction, as when he went more than a few hours without a restroom break, he would look awful with sunken eyes with dark circles under them. He would get sweaty and look generally ill, and the only time I have seen anything like this was when I was around a family member who was experiencing opioid addiction. I was recovering from my KAP session when he looked ill to me, so it might have something to do with the medication or lighting. When LCSW returned from the bathroom, he walked right behind me while I was on my knees setting up my altar. I began physically shaking when he walked behind me because I feared him. I was visibly shaking, and LCSW started blowing air forcibly out of his nose multiple times, loudly. He was standing right behind me as I was visibly shaking and without tissue or covering his face. He blew out of his nostrils very forcefully multiple times until I froze. Then, I slowly turned my head in his direction and asked him, “Do you have allergies?” He said, “No, I have_____.” I can’t remember the condition he stated he had, but I remember it included something nasal-related to his nose. After asking this question to him, he immediately stopped with the weird, aggressive nose forceful exhalation. I never saw him do any weird breathing at any other time. I believe he did this to distract me from my body shaking and to gain sympathy from me as a form of emotional manipulation. My body was showing me how unsafe I felt, and I believe that LCSW wanted to distract me or was threatened by this. He then asked me to share the items for my altar with him. LCSW, told me he had to read my blood pressure. I was wearing a thick sweater and tried to pull the sleeve up high enough to be able to wrap the band around my arm. I could not pull the arm up high enough and asked LCSW if he could just put the band over my sweater. He said no and asked if that was okay. I sighed with disappointment and removed my sweater. Underneath my sweater, I wore a crop top/tank top shirt with no bra because I was instructed to dress comfortably. I was not comfortable with being so exposed around LCSW after experiencing so much harmful sexual behavior from him. Still, I was so desperate to receive this Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy treatment that I was trying my best to cope with the harm I was experiencing. LCSW helped to wrap the band for the blood pressure reader around my arm. He did this very slowly. When he went to press the velcro together on the band, he used the tips of his two fingers, pointer & middle finger, and slowly pushed the velcro together with his two fingertips like this. This was taking forever and was very inappropriate and sexually charged. At this point, I got angry with LCSW. I audibly sighed with anger and frustration, and LCSW recognized this. He stopped petting my arm and took a step back. He told me to uncross my legs. He stood on the other side of the room and stared at the wall as the automatic blood pressure reader read my blood pressure. The machine went off with three beeps, and LCSW was still staring at the wall, completely disassociated. LCSW administered the Ketamine to me and did the creepy “spit or swallow” thing after this. He then helped me get onto the mattress and tucked me in, touching my body while tucking me in around my arms and legs. I remember having a difficult time relaxing or feeling comfortable during this appointment. I did not want to wear my eyemask or the noise-canceling headphones because I didn’t feel safe with LCSW and wanted to be aware of my surroundings as much as possible. I remember looking down at my body multiple times to make sure he wasn’t touching me. After about an hour into the session, I let LCSW know I had to use the restroom. LCSW helped me and told me we would have to walk slowly to the bathroom as I lacked balance. Someone from one of the other offices was walking behind us. I got into the bathroom and used one of the stalls. I sat there after finishing, not wanting to come out because I was so afraid of being around LCSW. The person who walked behind us to the bathrooms was also in the restroom in one of the other stalls. As she went to leave, she probably noticed that I was sitting in a stall and not doing anything. She asked me if I was okay, and I said yes. As we walked back, I exited the bathroom and noticed that LCSW was holding my hand, which I found very confusing. LCSW helped me back onto the mattress, tucked me into my blankets again, and touched my body on my arms and legs again. LCSW violated my informed consent by holding my hand and touching me while tucking me into my blanket while I was on Ketamine. I had clearly stated to LCSW that I did not want him to touch me in any way. I had a little loss of coordination but generally was fine walking on my own, and I did not need LCSW to hold my hand to “help” me. I was in an open and loving state of mind while on the medication, and this experience is when things got confusing for me. I knew I felt Uncomfortable with the unusual attention he was giving me and with the seductive and flirtatious behaviors he exhibited before taking ketamine with him. This was the first time those feelings confused me, and a part of me liked how it felt to have this attention while under a psychedelic. These feelings caused me internal distress. After returning to the room, I tried to relax into my experience. I experienced a body sensation that reminded me of my body sensation when I had an out-of-body experience where you tense up right before leaving your body. I heard LCSW say, “There you go.” This freaked me out and took me out of my experience. I remember fidgeting my body after this. His comment felt like it was sexual to me. LCSW checked his laptop during my first KAP appointment and often texted someone through iMessage. As soon as the music ended, LCSW said my name “Name.” This jolted me out of my relaxed state. He told me he needed to use the restroom, and I asked him to bring me some water. When he returned, I had moved to the couch, and he responded to this move by saying, Woah. We chatted about my experience, as I didn’t feel like talking while on the medication. He then checked in with me and told me it was 515pm. Fifteen minutes later than when our appointment was supposed to end. I had arranged transportation and was shocked by how late our appointment had gone. I scrambled to get my things together to get to my ride in time. LCSW told me that I should plan to have my transportation picked up 15 minutes after our sessions, but this should have been communicated to me beforehand. I have since learned that therapists extending your appointment time past when it is supposed to end is a red flag. INTEGRATION 1 This was my first integration appointment. LCSW asked me how I was doing, and I said, “Fine.” He asked me to use a different adjective, and I told him I was feeling a lot. During this appointment, I went through my backpack, looked for my journal, and pulled out my headphones in their case in front of LCSW. He responded to seeing these headphones with an angry sigh. I shared some of the things I journaled about, and he seemed impressed by what I had written. I shared with LCSW about an oracle deck I had used the night after the first KAP session. I shared a card I pulled the night after my first KAP appointment while asking, “How can LCSW help me.” I read the description of the card I had pulled: “angel’s trumpet.” He got down on his knees and moved towards me with a coffee table in between us. He told me the reading resonated with him. I asked him how so, and he talked about his cornerstone of death work as the card description discussed how this card was related to hospice workers, which LCSW shared with me he had done before his current job. I resonated more with aspects of the reading that mentioned a seductive nature as I felt he had been sexually inappropriate with me, but I did not share that with him. He asked to see the cards' box and got loud and excited about my deck. “THERE’S A MAGIKAL BOTANICAL ORACLE DECK!” I often found LCSW’s energy to be unpredictable. He would, at times, use his therapist's voice and then have these excited or angry outbursts. He asked me if he could take a photo of the deck, and I said that was fine. After this first integration appointment, I felt a lot of shame and anxiety around having the headphones that I perceived LCSW had gotten angry about. He might be mad at me for seeking sliding scale services while having expensive headphones. I got these noise-canceling headphones as a self-care item for myself when I thought I would be undergoing KAP therapy while living with my ex, who would slam doors and move around the house angrily. I got these headphones to help me eliminate that noise and feel a sense of safety for integration. I felt so much anxiety and shame around my perception of LCSW being angry with me that I impulsively made a $500 donation to the center that I requested my employer match. My company later agreed to match my donation. I could not afford this donation, but I wanted to feel like LCSW was not angry with me for using the sliding scale services. the center later refunded my donation after reporting the harm. I requested this reimbursement, which I was grateful for as this was not a donation I was in any financial situation to make, and it was made on credit. I had made sure this donation was made privately and chose not to share my name as a donor with the center as I didn’t want LCSW to mention this to me because I didn’t want to talk about this uncomfortable situation with him. LCSW's phone was going off with a bell sound at the end of the session, and he apologized multiple times for this and said it shouldn’t be going off while he was messing with his phone. INTEGRATION 2 The second ketamine appointment was canceled because LCSW had gotten sick. He had canceled an earlier preparation appointment because he had COVID, and I remember thinking he gets sick a lot. He wanted to keep our integration appointment and schedule it virtually, so we met via Google Meet. In his email coordinating this with me, he stated he would still “love” to have a virtual appointment. I didn’t like his use of the word love. He started the virtual appointment by overly complimenting my hair and telling me it looked good multiple times, making me uncomfortable. I remember I gave a cold and short “thanks.” He told me I had transformer hair and asked if I had recently changed my hair. I told him no, I was just wearing my hair up. I thought to myself that he was weird to make such a big deal about my hair and that I had worn my hair up around him before. In the background of his call was his bed in his bedroom, which I thought was strange and inappropriate. REACHING OUT FOR HELP On the evening a few days following integration 2, I asked my friend and mentor, a Naturopath Doctor, for advice. We scheduled an on-call, and I shared my concerns about this therapist. I wasn’t sure if I should approach LCSW with my fears about his behavior. She was extremely upset about the information I was sharing about my experience. She shared her knowledge about ethics as a provider and told me that this behavior was highly inappropriate and that she was worried about me. I remember her yelling out, “Don’t mess with my girl, fucker.” She asked me if I thought he was a predator. We came up with a plan that I would write out my concerns about LCSW’s behavior and share them with him during my next appointment. I did write this all out in my journal that evening. With Doctor's wisdom, I began to see that while experiencing this inappropriate behavior from LCSW before and during the altered state I was in using Ketamine, I had developed an addiction to the dysfunctional emotional state I would enter into when I experienced this abuse. I had been starving myself after my first KAP appointment, feeling high off the inappropriate attention, and having confusing feelings after experiencing the boundary crossing while on a psychedelic. I felt like the experience with LCSW was confusing my feelings surrounding love and solidifying my prior experiences that love is abuse. I was abusing myself, thinking I was loving myself. I wanted to look good, and since the abuse I experienced during my last preparation appointment at the end of Month, I had dropped four pant sizes. I was rapidly losing weight, which was noticed by my other care providers, who mentioned the change in weight to me. Since writing this in my journal and approaching my second KAP appointment, I have become very nervous about approaching LCSW with my concerns. I did not want to have this confrontation with him. I decided the night before that I was not going to read this to him unless there was another boundary crossing or sexually inappropriate interaction. KAP 2 Toward the beginning of my second KAP appointment, I asked LCSW about a stuffed animal bat he had on his bookshelf. He went into a very long-winded description of this bat. While looking at the bat in my opposite direction, he said that the wings were the PRIDE flag and the ears were the polyamorous flag. After sharing the polyamorous flag ears, he looked his right shoulder in my direction. I was staring at the wall across from me. I was worried about his intentions behind basically telling me that he is polyamorous. KAP 2 and integration 3. During these appointments, LCSW was more professional. He left his hair in a bun. He didn’t emphasize “spit or swallow.” He was normal when reading my blood pressure. I was so grateful that he had finally changed his behavior and respected these boundaries. I felt like he finally recognized how these behaviors affected me. I just had to manage my conflicting feelings around a part of me that felt like I had become addicted to this inappropriate attention. I was compassionate towards myself about that as I knew it made sense why I felt this way, that my experience was confusing, and that the psychedelic experience opened me up to feeling loving and caring to the therapist who I was feeling so unsafe with prior. I knew I could get help with this from my regular therapist and planned to discuss this during our next session. LCSW asked if I wanted the eye shade and headphones this time. I said I wanted to try them because hearing the lady in the room who shared a wall with LCSW, who worked with a different organization, and hearing him talk during my session last time was distracting. He said, “Yeah, I’m sorry about that.” LCSW was still sick during this appointment and was wearing a mask. I was annoyed that he was coughing during my experience, and I found that distracting even with the headphones. At the end of this session, I gave LCSW a gift of a mullein tincture that I had ethically wildcrafted from the wilderness, extracted, and offered him a chance to try it. He asked me how to take it, and I shared the standard dosage of three dropper fulls three times a day and let him know to discontinue use if he had any side effects and when he no longer has symptoms of illness. Again, at the end of our appointment, we ended 15 minutes late. INTEGRATION 3 During our last session, I asked LCSW if he had tried the mullein tincture. He told me that he had taken it home, was using the standard tincture dosage, and was enjoying it. LCSW asked how it felt to have him respect my boundaries. He asked me this because he chose to be professional during one of our sessions. I told him I wasn’t sure if that was possible, but I was grateful for how he showed up yesterday. I had processed some of the imagery or hallucinations I experienced in KAP 2, including my cat, who had passed OE. I shared with LCSW how I chose OE because she was the only kitten in the litter who seemed to want me to hold her. He responded to this story by saying, “You picked each other.” I found his wording and response odd and worried that he was hoping that I would pick him in response to him picking himself as my therapist and picking me for a patient to be inappropriate with. I shared with LCSW that I was surprised that I did not feel a dissociative effect with Ketamine. I shared that I could feel my body more than I ever had before, and I was curious about this because I had spent most of my life dissociated from my body due to trauma. I gave examples of how other drugs would work oppositely for me than the general public. He responded to this by calling me an anomaly. I found this odd as I always thought that these effects were due to me being neurodivergent. For many people with ADHD, coffee can make them sleepy. I was uncomfortable with LCSW making comments like I was unique or one of a kind, and I didn’t think that was a healthy mindset I was seeking for myself. LCSW asked me to share something coming up that I wasn’t sure I felt safe talking about with LCSW. I told LCSW I was uncomfortable talking about this with him because he is a male-bodied person and because we had a weird dynamic. He nodded and said yes, I am a male-bodied person. I worded this like that because LCSW shared with me that he identifies as non-binary, so I did not want to refer to him as a man out of respect. I told LCSW about how I would wake up to my ex-boyfriend on top of me many times and how, eventually, I developed an injury from this repeated trauma that made it so I was unable to have sex without experiencing a lot of pain. LCSW had an angry outburst at this news and told me that I was raped and that it wasn’t consensual, and Name was loud and angry. This made me highly uncomfortable, and I shut down. LCSW asked me for the name of the man who did this to me. I gave him the name, and then I started to defend the person who did this to me because I don’t think LCSW took the time to understand the layers of this trauma, how much I loved the person who did this to me, and what factors were involved (alcohol) that made this person do things they wouldn’t normally do. LCSW started to calm down after this, as his anger triggered me. LCSW said he believed good people do bad things. LCSW asked me what gym I go to during this meeting. After reporting LCSW, I saw one of the therapists that worked for him at my gym, during a queer event, and I felt highly anxious that he was having people watch me. I have been going to this gym for seven years and have never seen this therapist before. At the end of the appointment, I offered LCSW a cottonwood bud oil extract that I had ethically wildcrafted from the wilderness and processed and extracted. I let him know, and it was labeled for external use only. I told him it was nice on this skin but that it should be tested on a small piece of skin first. He was grateful for this gift from me. He did not inform me that accepting patient gifts was inappropriate and did not uphold professional boundaries. I was not aware of these boundaries and ethics around gift-giving until after initially reporting sexual misconduct. I have text evidence about my ride from KAP 2. These texts were oddly missing from my text history, so my friend sent me screenshots of the messages she had on her phone. REACHING OUT FOR HELP & SUPPORT My friend who I first told about that harm I was experiencing followed up with the morning after KAP 2. After my integration appointment, I spoke with a friend at the sauna at my gym who went to school to become an LCSW and shared my experience with her. She told me that he had violated the code of ethics and that I was highly vulnerable. She then shared with me that her psilocybin guide had slept with her during their work together and that she had stopped her treatment with him. She asked me if I thought this was the first time he had done something like this. I had a panic attack in the locker room of my gym after talking to my friend. A week after KAP 2, I then shared my experience with my regular therapist, who also asked if I thought I was the first person he behaved this way with. She also informed that he had clear ethical codes. I had a panic attack during this session. The questions about LCSW being a predator remained in my mind. I knew his behavior as a therapist was inappropriate, and I wondered if the sometimes subtle nature of the experience and strange experience with his directions of “spit and swallow” could be accidental, especially when he repeated these behaviors even after I went into a shutdown state during my first experience with this behavior. I spent most of the night researching this kind of abuse. I am good at hyper-fixating and spending many hours researching a subject, quickly learning everything I can about it. I found many articles about grooming behaviors from therapists and emotional manipulation/therapy abuse that I felt uncomfortable with and how much I relate to them. These articles discuss the alleviation of symptoms of depression for victims due to the addictive nature of this inappropriate attention. I was pissed. I wanted to heal my brain, and I could not allow that to be based on a temporary response to the inappropriate attention I was receiving. I then read about how therapists sometimes adjust their behavior, becoming more professional after the patient shows some attachment or addiction to this behavior. The theory is that the patient will then approach the therapist and make the situation feel like a victim desires to have inappropriate interactions. I could not allow a situation like this when I had been so dedicated to healing for so many years of my life. I was highly agitated after learning more about this kind of abuse. I knew at this point that I was being deeply harmed and abused to an extent I couldn’t be fully aware of without the support of the people I spoke to about it and the knowledge of how this abuse affects victims. I planned to give myself time to process this new information before taking action. A week and one day after KAP 2, I had panic attacks in the waiting room of my doctor's office because I was struggling with the experience I had with LCSW and the knowledge I gained about the abuse I was experiencing. The doctor asked me about my experience with KAP, as I had listed Ketamine on my medications. It took me about an hour to tell her about my experience, but eventually, I was able to get it out of me between the tears and panic attacks. I did not want to report this to the doctor. I knew she would have to report him. I knew I would have to stop my therapy, and I did not want to give up this opportunity for KAP therapy. At the time, I also did not want to get LCSW in trouble, and a part of me felt incredibly guilty for telling this doctor about my experience. She was so amazing through this process. She spent about 2 hours with me, supporting me by sharing my experience. I had chosen this doctor for her indication of being trauma-informed; she had been patient, helpful, and understanding. She told me that I didn’t do anything wrong as I expressed my shame about how my feelings were confused once I had used a psychedelic with LCSW. She helped me come up with a safety plan. I knew I was in a very fragile state and thought it would be wise to have someone hold onto my ketamine. She reached out to my doctors with my permission. She was able to get ahold of Prescribing Doctor, the prescribing doctor. On the day of my initial report to my doctor, I spoke to Prescribing Doctor on the phone, who works with Name. Prescribing Doctor is the prescribing doctor and is a part of the leadership team at the center. I was uncomfortable during this phone call with Prescribing Doctor; her tone was delighted and cheery. She told me she was in the middle of the forest in Locationwith joy and excitement. Her cheerful tone seemed highly inappropriate, given the circumstances, as I had just spent the day having panic attacks due to being groomed by her coworker. Later. I met with Prescribing Doctor in person. I asked Prescribing Doctor what was next after I reported the sexual misconduct. I shared with Prescribing Doctor how LCSW would disrespect my boundaries and continue to do so after I shut down in his office. Prescribing Doctor responded to this by saying, “he missed it.” I shrugged my shoulders in response. She reacted to my shrugging my shoulders by getting wide-eyed. Her reaction made me feel crazy and like she did not believe me. Prescribing Doctor then offered me a facilitated dialog with LCSW LCSW and offered that LCSW could bring the items I left in his office to my home, but I did not want that. I confirmed I did not feel comfortable having LCSW come to my house. It was an incredibly inappropriate thing even to suggest. Prescribing Doctor's notes do not include that the offering and idea of a facilitated dialog was her idea as a response to me asking what is next after reporting the sexual misconduct. She ignores my requests for this detail to be added to my record. The notes make it seem like it was my idea, which is not the case. I had no idea what a facilitated dialog even was before her offering it to me. Prescribing Doctor agreed to hold onto my medication and I could have it back whenever I felt ready. She later refused this unless I signed an NDA/release of all claims and when I shared my story more widely I was retaliated against and she claims she did this because I shared my experience of SI. I later was made aware that I wouldn't be able to take my life with ketamine and that it is safe for this reason, and I would likely just take a long nap. I also had not had any thoughts about using Ketamine to hurt myself. I was later offered the facilitated dialog again with the Location team as part of a social justice framework. Cofounder and Psychiatrist informed me they could not provide it due to their insurance. That news was devastating, and I drove to a bridge to jump off it the next day but wasn’t brave enough to do so. I felt like the center had no idea how to handle my experience and report and was in a position to respond to it with care, and having something else offered to me by them and then taken away was traumatic. I think I held on to hope that I would get some kind of justice in the way that they had offered it to me, and having it taken away after experiencing something that broke me on a mental, physical, and spiritual level was not something I was in any position to handle. I was told multiple times over the course of reporting sexual misconduct by LCSW that the center and Prescribing Doctor had reported the sexual misconduct I experienced. It was only after some probing that I was made aware that any details regarding my experience had to come from me directly to the board and I felt that them not disclosing this to me without probing was a manipulation tactic to make me believe that the reporting was taken care of. I felt like the center was unwilling to uphold their signing of this document because they did not believe me. They allowed LCSW to continue to work in a leadership position. I have reported LCSW to the LCSW report and am sending this document to the LCSW Social Work Board in State. I have received support from SHINE and joined their peer support group for survivors of psychedelic harm. I am still seeking a regular therapist and am no longer working with my prior regular therapist due to her eating lunch during the last two therapy appointments. I have become hypervigilant for any signs of unprofessionalism from my care team after this sexual misconduct I experienced from LCSW. This experience with LCSW and the leadership team at the center of my city, has devastated my well-being. I came close to jumping off a bridge the day after getting the news about no longer being offered the Facilitated dialog. I have lost my trust in all people and my care team. I stepped away from therapy as I no longer feel safe in these dynamics. I fired all of my doctors and therapists. I started smoking cigarettes to try and help cope with the stress. Most days, I hope to die and don’t wish to continue living. I have angry outbursts where I would act on urges and exhibit behaviors that are abnormal for me. I lost all will to live, and most days, I don’t have the energy to care for myself. I would be amazed if I didn’t end up taking my own life in the next two years. The few people who care for me don’t know how to help me and comment on how hopeless I seem. Some of the people closest to me have stopped answering my calls or texts because they don’t know how to help me, and I have been in crisis for many days since Jan. 26th. I am trying many new psychiatric medications that are not helping me. The center and LCSW entirely abandoned me. I was not allowed to speak to LCSW. I had to wait many weeks between emails from the center. I was denied being matched with another therapist to help me understand the changes I was experiencing after two KAP sessions and experienced such sinister abuse and trauma from LCSW. My regular therapist, tried calling Prescribing Doctor so she could get information on how to support me better, but she has yet to get a callback. I asked the center for LCSW resignation.

    Dear reader, this story contains language of self-harm that some may find triggering or discomforting.

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  • “Healing is different for everyone, but for me it is listening to myself...I make sure to take some time out of each week to put me first and practice self-care.”

    Story
    From a survivor
    🇿🇦

    #1459

    I am writing to formally share a concerning experience I had with a former therapist, whose actions have raised serious ethical and professional issues. These actions have caused significant emotional distress, disrupted my therapy, and left me feeling abandoned during a vulnerable time. It is important that this matter is investigated thoroughly. I first began working with the therapist at a treatment center offering Ibogaine therapy. Early in our sessions, I shared my personal website, which details my work as a psychedelic therapy concierge. This role, by definition, involves connecting clients with licensed professionals rather than providing therapy or any therapeutic work myself. We agreed during our initial consultation that our professional roles would not interfere with our therapeutic relationship, and we chose not to pursue any business collaboration. However, after undergoing Ibogaine treatment at the center, I was unexpectedly abandoned during the critical integration phase of my therapy. This phase is crucial for processing and making sense of the treatment experience, and I needed support during this time. The therapist told me she no longer wanted to work with me, citing unsubstantiated rumours from the "Iboga community" without offering any specifics or clarity. Despite my repeated requests for more information, I was left with no answers, and instead, my professional reputation was publicly attacked. The therapist scrutinised my website, misrepresented my role as a concierge, and made false accusations about my qualifications and intentions. She suggested that my professional work was somehow misleading, when in reality, my role is strictly to facilitate connections between clients and qualified professionals. It was distressing to see her misunderstand and misrepresent my work, and it crossed a line from professional to personal attacks. What’s more concerning is that the therapist made these allegations without giving me the opportunity to address them directly. Rather than providing clarity, she offered no formal transition plan or referral to another qualified therapist, leaving me without support when I needed it most. The lack of professionalism and the refusal to provide specific details of the accusations left me with a sense of betrayal and confusion. There are also serious concerns about confidentiality. The therapist’s mention of therapy notes and her suggestion that they could be disclosed with a court order raised alarms about the potential violation of my privacy. There is a real possibility that private details from our sessions were shared with others without my consent, and this could have damaged my reputation within the community. To make matters worse, the therapist suggested that my attempts to seek legal counsel were retaliatory, which is a gross misrepresentation of my actions. I reached out to legal professionals only to understand my rights and protect my interests after the abrupt end of our therapeutic relationship. This decision was not an act of retaliation but a necessary step to navigate the difficult situation caused by her actions. On top of this, I discovered troubling safety issues at the treatment center, including a lack of emergency exits and treatment rooms that could only be accessed by a narrow spiral staircase—an unsafe design in the event of a medical emergency, especially given the potential side effects of Ibogaine. Billing practices also raised concerns. I was charged international rates for my treatment without prior notice, and an airport transfer service recommended by the therapist overcharged me by three times the standard fare. These practices were not only unethical but showed a disregard for clients’ financial well-being. Although a refund was eventually agreed upon, the lack of transparency was unsettling. The emotional and psychological toll of this entire experience has been profound. The abrupt termination of our therapeutic relationship during a critical phase has only exacerbated my distress. I was left without the necessary support to process the Ibogaine treatment and integrate the experience effectively. I firmly believe that the therapist's conduct not only violated ethical standards but also caused harm to my well-being. The lack of professionalism, false accusations, breach of confidentiality, and inadequate handling of the situation are all deeply concerning. I am requesting a formal review and investigation into the therapist’s actions, and I would like to see the relevant parties held accountable for their misconduct. Additionally, I believe this situation warrants further attention regarding possible compensation for the emotional distress and harm caused. The therapist’s actions have undermined the very essence of what therapy is meant to provide—support, trust, and a safe environment for healing. The case has been reported to the local board accordingly. This situation cannot and should not be allowed to continue without appropriate action. I hope that this matter will be taken seriously and that steps will be taken to ensure that this kind of behaviour is addressed.

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  • Message of Hope
    From a survivor
    🇿🇦

    To anyone who's struggling with addiction, anxiety, or depression, I want you to know that there is hope. I’ve walked through the darkest days where it felt like the weight of the world was crushing me—where every step felt like a battle, and every breath was a fight to stay afloat. But I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way forever. I’ve fought hard, for many years, with addictions and mental health challenges that seemed insurmountable. It often felt like I would never escape the grip of those demons. But through that fight, I discovered something that changed everything: psychedelic therapy and plant medicine. It wasn’t a quick fix, and it wasn’t a magic pill, but it gave me the space to confront my pain, to understand it, and to heal in ways I never thought possible. The healing process was messy and imperfect, but it helped me reconnect with myself in profound ways. It gave me the chance to break free from the cycles I thought were unbreakable. It allowed me to see the world, and myself, with fresh eyes—a sense of peace and clarity that I hadn’t known for years. The journey wasn’t easy, and it still isn’t, but I’ve learned that healing isn’t linear. There are setbacks, yes, but each day is a step forward, and every little progress counts. To anyone reading this: You are not defined by your struggles. You are not broken. There is so much power in you, even when you can’t see it. It’s okay to seek help. It’s okay to ask for support. It’s okay to feel uncertain. But trust me when I say that healing is possible. It may not look the way you expect it, and it may take time, but your life is worth fighting for. And you are capable of finding your way through the darkness, just like I did. Never give up on yourself. There is light at the end of this tunnel, and no matter how long it takes, you will get there. Keep going. You’ve got this.

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  • Story
    From a survivor
    🇨🇦

    #869

    I met my abuser Month, Year at a indinginous pipe ceremony. The community met often. I would speak to him and his wife on occasion. I realized later that he was there to recruit people for his medicine retreats, his tantra events and he would search out his victims. What a better place where there are impressionable people wanting to heal, looking for something to help. He would tell me I needed to try mushrooms, to help with my depression and anxiety. I did stop taking my antidepressants on Date cause another person of “good standing” in our community was offering iboga and also was promising that would help me. I never did an iboga ceremony with that group but in Month, Year, I could not go to a retreat that my abuser and his wife were offering. the retreat was out in City, State and they thought they would include me by offering me my own private journey. my abuser offered to come to my house and he would hold a mushroom ceremony for me.. 4 people including my abuser showed up at my house one Friday night. I remember I was so excited cause these people who seemed so knowledgeable and respected were singling me out and I felt special. Except when they showed up it felt weird. I took a small amount of chocolate and a couple of hours in I still did not feel much. He offered me more. The night was uncomfortable but I kept thinking, these people know what they are doing, they have my best interest in their hearts. I’m not sure they really did. They left me around midnight that night. The medicine hit me just as they were all leaving. I was completely alone, tripping out. It was a long night. The next day, no one texted or phoned to check in with me. I just went through the next few days feeling pretty lost. My abuser, his wife and I continued to do indigenous ceremonies together, Hapey, pipe ceremonies, sweat lodges. By 2018, we had been hanging out socially a lot. My abuser started to offer psychedelic meetups at his house. I could not go to the first few because of work but my work schedule changed in the spring. I could go to the meet ups. I started to learn about the psychedelic movement and all these medicines had to offer. Name of Organization was steamed into one of our meetings, he had this vision and I wanted to be part of it. I found out my abuser was teaching Tantra. What’s that? I was curious. Another way for me to explore who I was. I started to go to his tantra events. It was fun, I was hanging out with the abuser and his wife and they knew how to have fun. It became my life. My abuser started coming out to my town. Asked if I wanted to meet for beers. He was paying lots of attention to me. I heard about the struggles he was going through with his marriage and how psychedelics and the lifestyle, being polyamourus was helping my abuser and his wife. I’m not sure where the offer came from but My abuser was telling me how he help break me open sexually and we could do private sessions. The first meeting, We met for super and a beer. He came to my house. We undressed and I sat, facing him. We hugged and did circular breathing exercise together to calm down. We talked about our desires, boundaries and fears. I remember him telling me he didnt want to get an erection because in the teaching he should not have one but he did already. I laid down and he did a youni massage on me. All the attention on me. I could not believe someone wanted to give me all this attention. I must be pretty special. We had been meeting every other week for a few months for sessions. He came for a session one night. He asked me if I wanted to be involved in his business of selling microdose online. Hell yes I did. Out of the all the people in the community, he picked me to help him. I felt special. That night when we did our session it was different. Up till that time he only massaged me, no penis vagina contact. That night I felt him insert himself. We did not discuss this. I froze for a bit but I continued to let him do what he wanted. If I said no I lost what he was offering. I remember thinking I’m selling my soul to the devil! I remember feeling confused. I was excited cause I was going to be part of something big but I felt violated. We continued our sessions but they just turned into sex. He wanted to have a relationship with me but not be a couple. I was so entwined in his life. I did everything with my abuser and his wife. Month, Year, My abuser and his wife were going on vacation and they needed me to do the mailing and keep the microdose business going, he was letting me into his very secret life. I killed that job will they were gone. I showed my abuser that I could handle his business. That was his baby and he was proud of it. It was one of the 3 most successful microdose businesses online at that time in Country. Abuser Name, my abuser was one of the companies selling the stamets stack that Abuser Name would eventually send a legal letter to to stop selling the stamets stack And you continued to support him through speaking at his conferences and I see you are coming to his conference in may in City along with Name. The site was Website. It’s been taken down in the last year. We continued to hangout, sell drugs together. I realized that I was helping to support him and his wife’s life. She was a tantric(sex worker) And between her And I, I'm sure we paid the bills. I helped over years with the psychedelics meetups, retreats, helped start and run his conference and did lots of work to make that happen, did medicine with him in group settings and in private and helped start his business plus many other things. I helped at the community events that he created. He was from a very religious background and had since left the church and claimed he needed community. He started these communities to find his victims. He picks people who are vulnerable and uses their skills or their connections. He then drops them especially if they do not agree with him. Over the years he would sometimes treat me very special as long as I conformed to his rules, he needed me. He would one minute be very attentive to me and then next he would punish me for talking to someone about us or speaking out of line. He would take away sex, medicine, eventually he took the microdose business. He was starting to gain moumentum in the legal psychedelic world. He started a businesss in Year that trains therapist to hold psychedelic space here in City . Then he stared to get exemptions from the Country government to give people psilocybin for their end of life distress. Now he is being given clinical trails to give front line care givers medicine. His dream was coming true. He wants to run retreat Centers. He found an investor to buy a resort in Country. That was short lived as business went bankrupt and he had a incident down there with a shibo hitting on clients. During the time of his start up he started to really distance himself from me. He only contacted me when he needed help and tried to keep me just involved enough. I ran Facebook pages for him and still had the microdose business. In Year, he asked me to take a bigger part in the microdose business because he had to distance himself from the ilagel business. That changed. He came out to my place one day and said he sold it and I was done. I called bullshit. That was his pride and joy. He sold it to his son. I was a threat. He still talked to me and we met for beers once in awhile. I was even invited to some social events at his house. Date Year, I went to a party at his house. It was a bit of a weird feeling going on. He dropped his wife while dancing. She hit her head pretty hard. An hour later I was looking for him as it was almost midnight. I walked in on him and his newest victim finishing having sex. He ran out the room. I looked at her and told her she should run from him. He’s dangerous. She is part of the community he started. She has money, is indigenous and has connections in that community, he needs her to get with the indigenous community. Midnight hit that night, he was still friendly, even tried to kiss me. We were suppose to go out in the new year. One day he sent a message that he could not meet and blocked me on all social media. He never did give me an answer why. Probably cause I found out about him and the other women. This is when the universe started to show me who I was involved in. Actually the universe was talking to me all along but I was not listening. I would have mushroom journeys facilitated bu my abuser and his wife. In those journeys, I would get messages from the medicine. The medicine was yelling at me to get away from him. I even I had a journey where I had snake coming out of me and then later actually seeing him as a rapist. That journey I sat up on my mat and he was sitting in front of me and I was freaking out but could confide in no one. No one was safe. I started to open my eyes after that. What has unfolded over the last 11 months. I was going to integrations circles with a lady. She would travel with me. We talked. I found out one day, she wanted to end her life because of a relationship she had with My abuser in the summer of Year. She had heard stories of a lady who caused him lots of stress.She did not know it was me until I shared my story one night with her. That was the first lightbulb moment. I heard another story about more emotional abuse from another lady, who pointed out he’s a predator. He likes to find women in vulnerable positions in communities he develops and then he takes them sexually and mentally. vStories kept showing up to me. I wasn’t looking for the stories. He contacted me in Month to have a mediation meeting. The mediator was a lady who is a therapist and knew both of us. I did not feel comfortable so I asked my support person to come. I’m glad I did as I will tell you some info about the therapist in a minute. We had the meeting. I did well speaking for myself. He eventually admitted the meeting was not to apologize but make sure that I stay silent. Nothing was solved. I find out he recorded the meeting. Next came a letter of cease and disest. It was a threat. He had his conference coming up in City, Province, and he was going to the government to talk about clinical trials. he did not want me speaking, cause I know to much. That proved to me my story is worth sharing. I have recently found out that the therapist that mediated the talk we had in Month has had sexual relations with him in the same way as me, through tantra sessions.. I used her as a therapist 2 years ago. I could not go deep enough with her for some reason, I did not understand at the time. She also writes for his therapist training program. That one hurt deep. Over the years of being involved with my abuser. I have suffered. I lost about 70lbs in a short time, my anxiety was so high as I never knew from one minute to the next if he was going be hot or cold to me. I did not know who to trust as people in the community would go back and tell him what I said. He always seemed to know what I was doing, what I was saying. He would talk to me and then ignore me for periods of time. This is a common thing with the other women I have talked to. They felt like he was following them, watching them. He always knew what we were doing I was vulnerable with trauma. He made promises to heal. He used that promise as a position of power and exploited it to get me into a sexual relationship. He broke me down and got into my psyche, he used substances to heal me to break me open and worm inside every aspect of me: body, mind, heart, soul, even financial survival. He is sneaky and manipulative and good at it. Name's desire to develop acronym stems from personal experiences with psychedelics that “brought him to his knees” and forced him to face his ego. He aligns himself with people such as Name,who wrote some material for his company. microdose, and a few others. I never understood why he picked me. Maybe cause I was well liked and respected in the community. I showed up. I lost my self. Hard to trust anyone when everyone’s connected in the community. 10 minutes is not long enough to share this story but it is a start. It took a lot to get here. I’m grateful that I found somewhere to share my story and I feel like I’m just beginning to share. I struggle with relationships. As soon as one little red flag comes up, I sabotage, it’s hard. Update. I told my story publicly, Month, Year at the Conference Name conference. Since then I recorded a podcast, took part in a documentary, to be released next year, and had two articles written about my abuser and his company. My story got some attention and in Month, Year he was arrested for sexual assault. The trial will be in Month, Year. He stepped down from his company as CEO and Company Name does not exist anymore.

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  • Story
    From a survivor
    🇺🇸

    My Loved Ones Ketamine Provider Groomed them into a sexual relationship and my Loved One Attempted Suicide several times

    I had posted something before and I don't know if it's okay to post this here but I hope it is. I am so angry right now and just had to get this out. My Loved One’s suicide attempt. Multiple attempts if we are being accurate. I want to start by telling you, I am no stranger to the suicide world and suicide ideation. I suffer from Major Depressive Disorder and when I became involved with my Loved One (LO.), I knew I had met someone who would/could understand my depression as I understood theirs (to a degree). I also knew that if I continued the relationship there might be a time when we might need to lean on each other (hopefully not at the same time). My previous career also had me working with families of victims of Suicide in the direct aftermath of completed suicide (my company came in and cleaned the scene. I want to apologize for the length of this and please understand that I have had to consolidate 12+ months into a few pages and its barely a drop in the bucket of this story. For All Intents and Purposes (there are 4 main people in this story; plus myself as the storyteller) Below are the abbreviations I am using throughout the story KP = Ketamine Provider (CRNA). *My loved one was their patient* L.O.= Loved One (The Patient) Psych Nurse (Nurse Practitioner – Psychiatric Nurse. *My loved one was their patient* LMHC = (License Mental Health Counselor/Therapist) *My loved one was their patient* The Ketamine Provider owns their independent clinic The Psych Nurse owns their practice and the LMHC is their employee Suicide Attempt One In Month, Year– my L.O. (L.O.) was given two back-to-back high-dose ketamine infusions from KP (KP) (two days in a row). The decision to give my L.O. two back-to-back infusions was made by the KP and the Psych Nurse. The KP took my L.O. back to their home (KP’s home, not L.O.’s home) and also fed them 4mg of their (KP’s) personal Ativan, to “calm them down”. My L.O. sent a message to their psychiatric nurse (who assisted in scheduling the back-to-back infusions) and pleaded to never be left alone again after a ketamine infusion with their abuser (the KP). The following day a 2nd high-dose ketamine infusion was given to my L.O. along with more (personal) Ativan and afterward dropped off at a relative’s home. This time the they were not taken back to the KP’s home (as previously described “the abuser” from the previous day/evening’s infusion). My L.O. was in a lot of distress after this 2nd high-dose treatment and tried reaching out to the KP but they found their number was blocked from receiving calls/texts. It is assumed they were blocked because my L.O. didn’t want to go home with the KP. My L.O. began reaching out to their psychiatric nurse. But was met by the psychiatric Nurse telling them to stop contacting KP. The more and more my L.O. reached out (via texts and calls) the Psych Nurse told them “you are manic and scaring me”. They were told to “stop calling” (the Psych Nurse) because “they were not going to answer the telephone”. They didn’t want to take a call because “it would wake up their entire home and “my child is sleeping”. Both KP and the Psych Nurse knew they had given my L.O. two high dose back to back infusions and ignored them. Cut them off from help. They were supposed mental health care providers. (It has been learned) My L.O. was having a paradoxical psychosis due to the (2) high-dose ketamine infusions and all of the Ativan that the KP and Psych Nurse had been giving them. The KP was supplying their own prescribed Ativan to my L.O. The Psych nurse had given them a prescription for Ativan a day before. Neither KP or Psych Nurse would answer calls (as stated above), in the midst of the paradoxical psychosis and their providers ignoring them…My L.O. slit their throat open to end their life, sending out final text messages and photos to the psych nurse stating “I hope you and KP are happy for what you have done to me.” This is when the psych nurse decided that my L.O. needed help and 911 was called. EMS and First responders were able to get to & save the life of my L.O. Everyone in the house that evening now has PTSD and became traumatized from this suicide attempt as they are all over 80 years old, because the Psych Nurse and the KP failed their patient. They (KP and Psych Nurse) chose to use more than the average standard dose per mg/kg/hr dose of Ketamine and continue to give Ativan to control the patient. The Psych Nurse has ZERO formal training on Ketamine administration. The KP is a cRNA and was only trained by their former employer, before opening their clinic. The KP has ZERO formal training in psychiatric and mental health matters or therapy to treat patients’ mental health. ****It should be noted that the Day before the 1st Infusion the KP stated in the morning to my L.O. they were going to admit themselves to in-patient care because they were “not well.” It should also be noted that the same evening the Psych Nurse told my L.O. They were going to “Baker Act” the KP, because they were not well. The KP never admitted themselves to an inpatient facility. The Psych Nurse never baker acted the KP. What did happen the following day(s) was the KP and Psych Nurse administered the High Dose Infusions to my loved one. (All of this is documented in text messages) 3 days were spent in a baker act. The psychiatrist at the hospital asked my L.O why they had attempted to take their life. My L.O. told the doctor. They were in a romantic relationship with KP and the KP had been mentally and emotionally abusing them and they were having issues in their relationship because the KP was still actively involved with their abusive spouse. The psychiatrist at the hospital interviewed the KP and the KP lied and stated that they were not in a relationship with the patient. And that my L.O. was confused “it was the anniversary of the breakup of their previous relationship” , and they were having a hard time with it. (This is documented in my L.O.’s health records). It can be proven that the KP was in a relationship with my L.O. and the text messages sent to them before and after the suicide attempt show how “IN LOVE and didn’t want to lose them”. KP was also going to visit my L.O. during visiting hours and cuddling with them in the day room of the facility. AT THIS POINT YOU MIGHT BE THINKING WAIT WHAT? THE KP was in a Relationship with your Loved One, the Patient? HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?? HOW DID THAT START? The Grooming of My Loved One My L.O. was referred to the KP by their Psych Nurse provider, stating that ketamine treatments would be beneficial and that they wanted them to see the KP, to help with their treatment-resistant depression. My L.O. stated that during the first 4 months of treatment, they would wake up and the KP was sitting in the room talking to them after their infusions. The Ketamine provider called it “therapy time”. The Ketamine Provider is only a CRNA and in Statutes this is practicing outside of their scope. The Ketamine provider would text message the patient excessively. In the first month alone the provider sent over 500 text messages to the patient. The 2nd month over 1200 text messages which included inappropriate photographs. The KP provider also would talk about their former drug use, current alcohol and partying ways, and body modifications such as piercings. They would also speak about how often they were hit on while they were out at functions and conferences. The provider once gave my L.O. a ride home and while parked outside of a relatives house, disclosed that they were unhappy in their marriage and told them personal things about how bad things were in their marital home. My L.O. still under the influence of the ketamine infusion sat quietly and did not respond. The provider was constantly texting my L.O. and crossed many boundaries at this point, many of the text messages were personal and selfies, and some were inappropriate and sexual of nature. The KP provider even suggested that my L.O to give food poisoning to their new romantic partner; to go through their wallet to confirm their identity and age. One evening after providing a ketamine infusion to my L.O. (after 4 months of text messages and “therapy time” after ketamine treatments ) the KP confessed they had fallen in love with them, and they hated their abusive spouse and would leave them if my L.O. felt the same way. Because they felt that my L.O. had feelings for them. ** Remember For 4 months the KP had been sitting in on every infusion and been slowly grooming and manipulating my L.O.** My L.O. stated they were attracted to the KP. The KP took this as their cue and then undressed my L.O. and proceeded to have sex with them. From here on out the KP laid stakes on my L.O. and this marked the beginning of the relationship between the KP and my L.O.(the patient) The KP mandated the patient break up with their romantic partner, even though the KP was married and had not initiated a divorce. The KP then confessed to the Psych Nurse that they had engaged in sex with the patient and were now in a relationship. The Psych Nurse then reached out to a divorce attorney and assisted in obtaining legal counsel so that the KP could file for divorce and be with my L.O. The Psych Nurse even went as far to blind CC my Loved on the email sent to the divorce attorney. The Psych Nurse then purchased a burner phone so that my L.O. (patient ) and the KP could talk and not be discovered by the KP’s spouse. The KP also mandated that the patient download and use “WhatsApp” to have conversations, to hide from their spouse, and send photos of their genitals, since they could set the messages to disappear after 24 hours. The Psych Nurse did not report the KP for having sexual relations with a patient. The Psych Nurse encourages the relationship. It is believed that the psych nurse also instructed my L.O.’s licensed mental health counselor to not report the relationship. After the relationship was established the KP began even more sick and diabolical actions of imprinting themselves on my L.O. The KP provided free infusions to my L.O. and would engage in intercourse as my L.O. was coming to after an infusion. It is believed that this is part of the reason my L.O. is “trauma bonded” to the KP. The KP would unhook the IV from the pump and engage in sex, while my loved one was still in the recliner. The KP also mandated that my L.O. refrain from taking certain prescription medications to make the sex better for them so they could engage in hours of sex. During the first month (30 days) of the relationship with the KP, my L.O. attempted to break things off due to experiencing mental abuse from KP. The KP would have mental breakdowns and claim they were going to kill themself if they broke up. The KP was still living with their spouse but would often rent hotel rooms so they could have sex. But the majority of sex happened right inside of the clinic on the floor or in the patient chairs, until the KP moved out of their marital home, 45 days after the first sexual encounter with the patient. During the 2nd month of the relationship, it became very apparent the KP was abusive, my L.O. attempted to get out of the relationship because they began to feel that it was detrimental to their health; the gaslighting, manipulation, verbal psychological, and mental abuse were too much for them. The KP again threatened to commit suicide if they broke up. The KP promised to be better and get better “help” and would go get a therapist. The KP then started counseling from my L.Os mental health counselor and began to see the Psych Nurse who was treating my loved one. KP claimed that they could not find anyone else in the very large city they reside in. I believe this was to cover up the relationship, as this relationship was highly illegal and against State statutes to have sex with your mental health patient. The Psych Nurse and the LMHC both covered up this relationship and failed to report it to the Department of Health or State Nursing Board. The Psych Nurse and the LMHC both profited off the patient by billing the insurance company for psycho-therapy sessions from both the KP and my loved one. The Psych Nurse also encouraged the relationship, so it is believed that they did not want to say anything because they did not report the relationship from when they learned about it two months prior. The KP also had the LMHC treat their children as patients as they were having a difficult time dealing with the impending divorce and break up of their family. The KP had begun bringing my L.O. in as a “parental figure” and stated to my L.O. that the children loved them, and they needed them in their lives. They ask about them all the time. My L.O. does not have children of their own and it made them feel as if they finally had the family they always dreamed of. This was again another manipulation tactic of the K.P. Over the course of the entire relationship, every time my L.O. tried or attempted to terminate the intimate personal relationship the KP would have a “mental meltdown” and state they were going to kill themselves. They often made dramatic outbursts and comments of “someone needs to take care of my patients” or would physically hurt themselves in front of my L.O. and children by hitting themselves or laying on the floor and crying clutching bottles of alcohol. The K.P. would also state they would sell the ketamine clinic as it was not worth their life. In the third month of the relationship, the KP tried to smooth things over by taking my L.O. on an all-expenses paid trip to Saint Augustine. While in the shower the KP shoved their finger up the anus of my L.O. My L.O. told them to stop and they didn’t want that and asked “Why would you do that, we have both talked about butt sex and we both said we never wanted that? KP stated said… because “it happened to me and I felt you were safe, I needed to do it to you so I could see if I could get over being anally violated”. The KP sexually assaulted my L.O. to “get over” something they had experienced in the past by another partner. I'm not sure how that works… I’ve been raped before and I have never had to rape someone else to get over it. My L.O. finally broke off the relationship with the KP. But the KP again tried one last attempt to keep the relationship and rope my L.O. back into it, by claiming they were going to kill themselves. The KP even sent “Goodbye” texts to their shared Psychiatric Nurse. The KP didn’t do any harm to themselves. They were just crying wolf like the many times before. After a month of gaining clarity and feeling they had gotten to a safe space, my L.O., decided that they needed to contact the Department of Health and report the KP for having sex with their patient(s). They were afraid that the KP might seek another victim and use Ketamine again to gain control over another patient. Currently, it is unclear if this was an isolated event (relationship/sexual encounter) or if it has happened before. But the threat was still there, and it needed to be reported. What is clear though the provider has had an affair with another KP (their former boss). KP is unethical in many ways. KP did confess to my L.O. that they had copied their former boss’s ( Ketamine provider) patient list (the one they had an affair with) to build their business. My L.O. contacted the Department of Health and reported the provider. In retaliation, KP went to the county court and placed a stalking injunction against my L.O.. stating that my L.O. was stalking them and they were afraid of them. This is the same provider who sent 500+ text messages to the patient in the first month 1200+ in the second month sent inappropriate photographs to their patient, and invited them out on outings to spend time outside of the ketamine clinic. The provider even asked them to come to the Walk-a-ton for suicide awareness last year, so they could spend time together. My L.O. declined as they were going to be spending time with their significant other (the one the KP wanted to give food poisoning to). In the 7 months that the provider knew my L.O., the text conversations (mostly from the provider) totaled over 900 PDF pages (all of which are in my possession). Suicide attempt Two In Month, Year, everything became too much for my L.O. They had been spiraling since March because of the PTSD of the KP; manipulation, gaslighting, and psychological, emotional, and mental abuse. The false accusation The provider filed in court and with the police. The KP created a trauma bond and groomed my L.O. to fall in love with them all under the influence of Ketamine. Because the KP wanted to be in a relationship with my L.O. (the patient). It must be noted My L.O. paid for these treatments (the first 4 months). They had been giving hundreds and hundreds of dollars in the hope that their mental health could be healed. My L.O. trusted this KP with their mental health. And it almost cost them their life. I still fear that it will. In July my L.O. drove to the parking lot of the KP’s clinic and in the middle of the night and attempted suicide. I had luckily been at my L.O.’s home and noticed my L.O. had left the house and figured out why they left. I was able to call 911 and assist the sheriff’s office in finding them. I don’t even know physical the address of my own doctor’s office. And I was able to recite every address I knew where my L.O. could be. I don’t even live in the same city as my L.O. I live over 3 hours from them and was just visiting and taking care of them because they were having an exceptionally hard time. I prevented my L.O. from ending their life that day. I worry that in the future I might not be so lucky to prevent it. I know the statistics that the likelihood of them retrying is very high. Especially since this was the 2nd attempt. The KP has now been playing the victim. Stating that the patient is a dangerous person. That they are afraid of the patient their former lover/partner – whom they had groomed into the relationship. The scariest part is this provider is still allowed to practice while the Department of Health investigates all of this. I wanted to add a little about me. I spent 11.5 years running a company that cleans up after suicides and homicides. A crime scene clean-up company. I have taken thousands of phone calls from family members after a suicide. Never in a million years had I ever believed that I would be on the opposite side of that phone call. NEVER. I never thought I’d be saying my L.O. attempted suicide, or my L.O. killed themselves. I am no stranger to suicide and those who have experienced it. It is why I am such a huge advocate for mental health. It’s the reason I dropped my entire life and worked remotely in my L.O.’s city to make sure they were okay, so they weren’t alone as they were trying to deal with the PTSD from what they experienced from their ketamine provider. I was trying to help navigate the darkness. Or sit in the dark so they weren’t alone. Because as someone with depression, I know how dark that dark is. My reason for writing this is because of the Ketamine provider I speak of. Is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The KP has befriended a person on the Board of Directors for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention who is also an Investigator at the Department of Health (in which this event occurred). The KP has donated $1000 to the AFSP for the suicide awareness walk that will be hosted in the city. I find it fascinating they have collected a donation of $1000.00 from this KP for the Suicide awareness walk a ton. Is this HUSH HUSH MONEY ?? Is this cover-up money? Is the donation to get insider information on their case? Or to have the case altered in their favor? I am so sick to my stomach. At the thought of this or that the provider is allowed to be a sponsor.(granted they don't know the story.... well actually I have sent an email to their public relations department this morning) The audacity that the KP even has to make the community feel like they care about Suicide Awareness when they are the ones that caused someone to attempt suicide multiple times because they wanted to be in a relationship with their PATIENT. A mental HEALTH PATIENT. People do not seek Ketamine treatments because they are well. The Ketamine provider learned everything about my Loved One while they were under the influence of ketamine, they made my loved one feel they were a safe provider and then they sucked my loved one into an adulterous relationship, left their spouse, broke up their family and abused my loved one; psychologically, emotionally, mentally, and verbally. So much so that my loved ones tried to kill themselves. On the second attempt my loved one tried to kill themselves in the parking lot of the ketamine clinic in hopes it would bring media attention. I have been so angry that this Ketamine Provider is making a mockery of SUICIDE AWARENESS when they are such a sick and vile hazard to the community. I also find it disgusting that the KP uses SUICIDAL THREATS to keep control of people in their lives, as a crutch to manipulate people and keep them in their life. We have been very private about this situation as it is embarrassing to know our loved one was sexually assaulted by a practitioner. It has been a lot to digest to know that someone suffering from mental illness (depression and PTSD) has been sexually taken advantage of and all 3 of the people (ketamine provider, Psych Nurse & LMHC) were supposed to be helping our loved one…. Were the ones that almost cost us their life. And we would all be grieving for the rest of ours. I felt like I needed to speak out. I am at a loss as to why the Department of Health is moving so slowly. I feel like I need to contact a new station or something and this needs to go public Nationwide so that people are aware of this predatory behavior. My Loved One is not well. This has exacerbated their PTSD/CTPSD and we are getting them help but its been a very long road and they are tired. So very tired. This has been a setback on so many levels. The story gets worse....there are even more evil things that have happened but this is all I care to share for now. I feel like we have been living in a Netflix Docuseries for the last year. My mental health has taken a toll. But I can tell you that my Ketamine Provider in my city has been nothing but wonderful and my experience with Ketmaine saved my life. My heart hurts that my loved ones' Ketamine provider and ketamine almost cost them their life.

    Dear reader, this story contains language of self-harm that some may find triggering or discomforting.

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  • Message of Hope
    From a survivor
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    It is not your fault!

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  • We all have the ability to be allies and support the survivors in our lives.

    Story
    From a survivor
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    #888

    In year I divorced my husband of 11 years and escaped a marriage of coercive control and domestic violence. I had never been hit, I was a psychologist specializing and trauma and I didn't know I was being abused until the trauma built to the point of a mental breakdown. My life was in shambles, I had signed a divorce decree that gave myself and my children no protection, I had been shunned by the church that I had been an elder at due to a smear campaign intended to shame, isolate and harm. I found myself engaging in behaviors that were brand new to me as a women that had been raised in and continued to live in conservative evangelical christian spaces. In the wake of the divorce I began to explore my sexuality, tried drinking and began experimenting with THC. I had a lot of fear around these behaviors but couldn't seem to stop myself. Was I a liberated modern woman or did I have PTSD with all its myriad socially stigmatized behavioral symptoms. Living in the bible belt and being shunned as a scarlet letter wearing Hester Prynne caused significant emotional pain, however it was the time that my children were with my abuser that caused the most severe mental and physical symptoms. Within weeks of the divorce being signed the first agency investigation happened. I was terrified, powerless and had no social or family support, working full time and trying to keep my young children cared for a fed was more than my traumatized nervous system could manage and yet I pushed through. The weeks without my children were chaotic and filled with dating and trying to create a new life with relationships, yet I found I had very little ability to ascertain who was safe and who was not. I was raped the summer of the divorce by a tattoo artist who I had been working with for years and believed was my friend. This created more PTSD symptoms which heightened my overall state of fear and panic. I had matched with a man on a dating app named Name and had been talking to him for a few weeks prior to the rape. He had spent two years at a buddhist monastery studying the Tao. I relished the ability to have deep existential conversations as I had been deconstructing my religious faith which in and of itself was traumatic. I no longer knew what to believe in, who to trust, what was real. I had dedicated my life to Christianity and the church had hurt me so deeply. I began a frantic attempt to learn about world religions, ancient wisdom traditions, spirituality, esoteric philosophy and a handful of conspiracy theories along the way. Name and I talked about life, its meaning, Alan Watts, the contemplative life, mysticism and so many things that gave me life. Having very few people in my life led me to go deep quickly, even with strangers on the internet, and he was unphased when I shared my rape with him. Name often spoke in quips, riddles and parables- something I chalked up to his spiritual maturity. He was a man of the world and of wisdom and I was a little disgraced church girl learning about the big wide world. We discussed meeting for a date that finally happened just a week after my assault. I picked him up from a house he rented with his friends. He worked at a local hospital in medical technology with two bachelors degrees, one in biology and one in chemistry. He said his first love was chemistry and he thought of himself as a chemist. Alas the economy was not great and he found this contracting job working the technological components of surgeries, running and updating the computing systems. He was bright and his face looked older than his age. We went to restaurant and I cried, heart on my sleeve about my divorce and fear for my children, the pain of PTSD and the shame I carried being removed from the Church. In response he vulnerably shared that he was gay and closeted, and having worked with many patients who have lived this double life I felt immense compassion for him. At the end of the meal he asked if I wanted to go back to my place to smoke marijuana and I felt safe with my new friend to say yes. I drove us back to my place where he prepared a bowl, sprinkling something on top that he said would "enhance" the chemical properties of the cannabinoids. As a novice THC user and having never taken other drugs before I felt that the chemist would know what he was talking about and I looked forward to the warm high that took me out of my head while also numbing my panicked body. I had never smoked out of a pipe and so Name instructed me to take three big inhales, hold them as long as I could and then releasing them. On the third inhale the room began to crumble into fractals or bright colorful flowers and terror overcame me. I felt my soul get ripped out of my body, the fear and pain were immense and I had no understanding of what was happening. I felt that I had died. I was plunged into darkness, I saw the creation of the world, I was God creating the planet for humans to enjoy and then watched humanity tear it apart, I wept. I knew that I was dead and yet my children's names and faces called to me, I couldn't leave them. I came to conciousnes on my bed racked with fear, I screamed at him to get out, I never wanted to see him again. Who could I tell of what had happened? I was so fearful of losing my children, I was afraid that if I called the police or asked for help I would be blamed and so I survived and stuffed this trauma down with the rest of them and continued to function. When my children were returned to me complaining of suspicious injuries with inconsistent stories. I had a meeting with an early child interventionist who was working with my youngest as the children had been displaying behavioral problems subsequent to the divorce. During this meeting I expressed my fears and was shocked when she informed me that she had a duty to report. I had been in this role as a professional and to have the tables turned felt like a profound retraumatization. I was referred to the family abuse center and given the moniker "victim of domestic violence." Waking up to the fact that I was a survivor of domestic violence was its own kind of trauma and facing the weekend alone with three small children filled me with fear. I reached out to the people who had been community for me before the smear campaign: "I'm in crisis, I need help! can you be with the children and I this weekend?" No one would come alond side us. In that moment of desperation I reached out to Name and another man I had dated briefly and asked them to come jump at the trampoline park with me and my children that weekend. That was how he made his way back into my life. Over the months I knew him there was a second agency investigation in which a friend of mine after hearing about the drugging called in to the organization. I complied with drug tests and cooperated with the investigators who told me I had to chose between Name and my children. The obvious answer was my children and Name was never again around them. That is when his behavior took a dark turn. Unbeknownst to me everything Name had told me about himself, including the spelling of his name, was a lie. He drugged me a handful of times during the months before his death, I would be drinking tea he brought me as we swiped on "cute guys" together on our respective dating profiles and suddenly be shot into another world begging him to comfort me. He inserted something into my rectum at night while we slept leaving me seeing rainbows. I'm not sure what I was given however he did disclose that the first night we met he had given me DMT. I had never heard of psychedelics outside of the brief overview of the hippie movement in history class and had no frame of reference to understand what had happened. He began to brainwash me into believing I had, in fact, died that night. We had long talks in which I wept as he explained that my children had been returned to my house and found my dead body. There had been a funeral. My children were angry at me because my ex had told them I killed myself because I didn't love them. Name then comforted me in my brokenness of being such a selfish mother to do that to my children. He taught me that "life" since the night with DMT was "just a dream" a version of purgatory, my consciousness spinning in space and making up a story. He also told me that my soul had been a "dark angel" and that I was a satanic force, this broke me and I remember pleading and begging with him that I so desperately wanted to "be good" and "be of the light." Perhaps what it most shocking is that I continued to work and parent during this time. These two jobs were grounding for me and took me out of my head, it was in the times where my children were gone that I felt I was slipping into insanity and yet I couldn't speak about this to anyone because I might loose my children, and plus I was dead afterall. Name and I eventually developed a sexual relationship, he was at this point my spiritual teacher, giving me journaling prompts and opening me up to new experiences. He said "friends can have sex" and so even though he was gay we slept together on occasion. One night he hit my so hard in the head after I kissed a man at a bar that my ears rang for days. Shortly thereafter he violently raped me. I fought physically, screamed and exhausted all of my energy until my body gave up and he finished the act of brutality. The feeling I had after was not that unlike the DMT experience, it felt like I had died. "You raped me!" I said, the sides of my mouth so downturned it felt as though my face was a Dali painting melting to the floor. He informed me that it was BDSM and I didn't know what I was talking about, I believed him. Name ended up in the hospital a day after I discovered that my liquor cabinet had been emptied, I remember screaming at him "you're an alcoholic?!" I had never worked with or been around an addict before and the lies and manipulation were something I had no frame of reference for. He went to rehab for a week and returned saying he'd just fallen off the wagon. He got sick right after the new year and the days before my children returned I took care of him. His body seemed to be going out and I knew that he had chronic health problems. He told me he thought he was going to die, and then said he had the flu and winked at me. I wrapped him up by the fire and sang to him. The day after my children returned I hadn't heard from Name which was unusual however I received a call from agency asking me to come in. I took my children to the office downtown where they tried to separate me from them, my youngest wouldn't comply. I sat there as they explained the reason that I had been called in- Name was dead. I let out a scream, what had happened? He has been sick, but it was just the flu. When I attended his funeral I was introduced as his fiance. I was in shock as truth after truth came about about the man I had loved and who had also almost killed me. I came to learn that he had been an almost life long addict who had come to my town for inpatient rehab. His mother shared with me that after one rehab he had been in she had found a journal in which he had invented a whole story about being and army veteran which was not true. I discovered that He hadn't worked at the hospital but rather, when he moved to a sober living group home had gotten part time employment at office max... which just so happened to make the name badges for the hospital in town, he had made himself a name badge to perpetuate his deceit. In shock, I gave the eulogy for this man who I had known for 5 months, someone I clearly had not known at all. The combination of sexual, physical and spiritual abuse I have suffered due to this man is something that I have no words to describe. Recovery has been incredibly challenging and lonely. I wish I could say that the traumas stopped with him, however they didn't. What happened to me 6 years ago is being used to further abuse me in the legal system and in custody trial. Finding the Shine support group was life changing for me. I have a greater understanding of what happened, why it happened and how to move forward without the weight of shame and victim blaming that I carried for so many years. I hope that in sharing my story others may heal too.

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  • “It’s always okay to reach out for help”

    Message of Hope
    From a survivor
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    As my doctor said to me, "You did nothing wrong."

    Dear reader, this message contains language of self-harm that some may find triggering or discomforting.

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  • “Healing is different for everyone, but for me it is listening to myself...I make sure to take some time out of each week to put me first and practice self-care.”

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    From a survivor
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    Formation

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    #924

    This story was compiled from an interview with a survivor on Date: I was in an intimate relationship with my abuser for several years. When we first met, he was taking several trips to Mexico to “train to become a shaman” Our relationship was passionate, but was deeply unsafe and escalated over the years. When we first started dating, he was on felony probation for domestic abuse with his ex-wife, but continuously denied any wrongdoing. He constantly created a narrative that he was a victim and that she was trying to hurt him. He was very active about promoting himself on social media, telling people how amazing he was as a “shaman” and how he’s a great family man and loved his son and being a father. Behind closed doors he was verbally and emotionally abusive towards me and constantly was berating me. Looking back, I now can identify this as narcissistic abuse. Following an intense ayahuasca ceremony last spring, he was in a very dysregulated and ungrounded state and was lacking integration. He became aggressive and verbally coercive towards me and I was becoming unstable as a result of him emotionally abusing me. I had a history of self-harm behavior in my past and he was verbally encouraging me to engage in self-harm behavior and telling me that I was strong enough to follow through. I was afraid to speak up and reach out for help because he was highly regarded in our community and didn’t think anyone would believe me if I told them what he was saying or how he was acting towards me behind closed doors. . We had an upcoming ceremony planned to co-facilitate and I was very concerned about his mental state and ability to hold space and serve medicine. On the day of my assault, we were co-facilitating for a couple in a medicine ceremony. During the ceremony, the woman looks at me and tells me that she wishes for a sacred union that is spiritually connected like the one we (my abuser and I) had. I felt terrible since I was suffering so much on the inside and that I was hiding the abuse. Once the ceremony finished and the couple left, I felt a calling to do personal work with the medicine. I asked my partner to hold space for me because I was struggling with fear and feeling like I was walking on eggshells. I verbalized my intention to him and stated that I wanted clarity and strength to find a path forward. He listened and agreed that he was able to serve me with this intention. He left to prepare the medicine and I trusted him to dose me correctly. He served me twice and the second dose was much stronger than I anticipated. After the second dose, I completely white-d out. I have no memory of the experience. As I was coming back into awareness, I was naked, on my back, and he was sexually assaulting me while I was unconscious. I come to slightly and begin to open my eyes. I feel our prayer necklaces intertwined and hitting my chest. I push him off me and move away from him. He approaches me and begs to continue stating “I was so close… I just need to finish.” I didn’t know what to do as he harassed me or if he would become violent or aggressive. I was frozen, so I just gave in. I felt so violated and I completely disassociated. I didn’t have the capacity to cry. I was in utter disbelief that he could violate me in such a way in such a sacred space. After we packed up, we had a mile walk back to our car and we walked in silence. The whole time I was trying to figure out how it was my fault. I was in disbelief, how could he not understand that I was asking him to protect me. He noticed that I was being quiet and kept asking what was wrong… as if he didn’t even realize that he raped me, while I was unconscious, in a sacred ceremony. Afterwards, it took me a few weeks to plan how I was going to leave. He had recently gotten permission to have his son visit from out of state and he was gone for a few days to get his son and fly back to our home. Once he returned, I confronted him about the sexual assault and asked him why he violated and raped me in ceremony. He laughed at me and told me it was his right to have sex with me whenever he wanted and that I belonged to him. I knew that I had to get away from him as soon as possible. At the time, we were staying at my father’s house with my son age and his son age. I called my father the following day, he came over and told my abuser that he could no longer live at the house. We notified his felony probation officer that he was no longer living with you and we were kicking him out of his house. We offered to let his son stay with us for a few days because he was reporting that he was mental unstable and stressed out. That weekend, my father and I took the boys on a trip and while we were out of town, my abuser had broken into my home and video-called me while he was lying naked on my bed. In the following weeks, my abuser stalked me. I found hand written notes in the bushes around my home, leaving me messages that he is doing black magic to stay connected to me and engaging in masturbation to her picture every day. “I’m working a lot of magic on you. I’m creating a strong energetic bond from my heart to your heart… I work sex magic while watching our pictures and video and when I cum I can feel our connection get stronger” I went into hiding and had to move from several aribnbs and temporary rentals to hide from him for four months while I was fearing for my life and safety. He has admitted to raping me in ceremony in a handwritten letter left at my house. When he couldn’t find me, he began posting naked pictures of me on social media without my consent and began sending private pictures of me to others. When I came forward with my story of abuse, the community backlash I experienced of people defending him and telling me that I was trying to destroy his life. He began working in the medicine space to try to psychically/spiritually attack me. I had people telling me that he was using voodoo dolls to try to attack me and coercing groups of people to engage in dark magic against me. I was in such fear that I was unable to go to the grocery store, unable to leave my house, I had night terrors for months. I have taken steps to file an injunction against him on cyber stalking claims. It was reviewed by a judge and I was granted a multi-year restraining order against her attacker in Month, Year. I have been working on healing myself after months of abuse, violence and stalking. I’ve begun to get the strength to tell my story. I’m grateful for the continued support that I am able to give to create trauma-informed safe containers. I am focused and doing the work and helping to protect others. He is currently serving 7 years probation for domestic violence/strangulation against his ex-wife. He is currently still serving medicine and claiming to be a healer and shaman. I hope that people will do background checks on facilitators before they choose to work with them.

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  • Message of Healing
    From a survivor
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    Healing, to me, is a deeply personal and multifaceted process that goes beyond just physical recovery. It involves a reconnection with oneself—emotionally, mentally, and spiritually—after experiencing some form of hurt, trauma, or disruption. It’s about returning to a place of balance and alignment, where you can feel whole again, but not necessarily the same as before. Healing doesn’t mean erasing pain or forgetting the past. It means learning to live with it, accept it, and, over time, transform it into something that no longer holds you back. Healing involves self-compassion and the willingness to face parts of yourself that you may have avoided or ignored. It’s about being able to process and integrate your emotions, thoughts, and experiences, and to let go of negative patterns that no longer serve you. This process requires vulnerability, and often a sense of trust in the support system around you—whether that’s through therapy, relationships, or other forms of guidance. Healing also involves a deep sense of forgiveness, both for yourself and others. It’s recognizing that people, including yourself, make mistakes, and learning how to move forward with grace, instead of being trapped in resentment or guilt. It’s also deeply connected to growth. Healing doesn’t mean you go back to a prior state, but rather that you emerge stronger, wiser, and more compassionate. It’s a continual unfolding of self-awareness, self-care, and resilience. At its core, healing is about reclaiming agency over your life and learning how to navigate the world with a renewed sense of peace, even amidst its challenges. It’s not an end point but a journey—one that can ebb and flow, where you continue to discover new layers of yourself along the way.

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  • Story
    From a survivor
    🇺🇸

    SLIDING SCALE KETAMINE THERAPY TRAP

    I am a survivor of what I believe to be therapist abuse, emotional manipulation, and grooming behaviors from LCSW, which I experienced while undergoing Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy. I came to the center in my city, full of hope that I would get to access this kind of therapy as a lifelong, low-income person who has experienced immense trauma starting at the age of two. I had heard of the benefits and life-changing experiences that others had experienced with this type of therapy and was hoping for the same. Without access to the sliding scale cost model that the center was offering LGBT+ and BIPOC, I would have never been able to afford a therapy like this. I was hopeful to be able to access this therapy and would check in regularly about my place on the waitlist. FOR THE READER'S INFORMATION: COMMON REACTIONS TO SEXUAL MISCONDUCT BY A THERAPIST If a therapist has engaged in any sexual behavior or contact with you, you may experience some or all of the following feelings or reactions: Intimidated or threatened. Guilt and responsibility—even though it is the therapist’s responsibility to keep sexual behavior out of therapy. Mixed feelings about the therapist—e.g., protectiveness, anger, love, betrayal. Isolation and emptiness. Distrust of others’ feelings or intentions or your feelings. Fearful that no one will believe you. Feeling victimized or violated. Experiencing traumatic symptoms, e.g., anxiety, nightmares, obsessive thoughts, depression, or suicidal or homicidal thoughts. Before Intake, Admin told me I would have a psychological evaluation with a psychiatrist. INTAKE I arrived for my psychological intake, where LCSW accessed me. I was surprised to learn he was not a psychiatrist. I had seen LCSW in the main lobby as he hurried towards the elevator as I was reading the board to find the suite Location was in. I joined LCSW in the elevator, and he asked what floor I was going to. I said,” 4, the same as you, were probably going to the same place”. I made that assumption on how LCSW looked, as I assumed the guy with long died hair probably had something to do with psychedelics. We both ended up at the the center, where he instructed me on how to use the call button and told me to expect the admin to grab me from the waiting room soon. This appointment seemed pretty standard, so he asked me some basic questions and reviewed some basics of KAP therapy. I remember discussing my yoga practice and studies in herbalism, and he asked me what inspired that path. I told him my honest answer was a bit embarrassing as I was 15 and was first introduced to yoga in a small town in State when reading about it in Seventeen magazine and had read an interview with a yogi. I also said that I thought the yogi was attractive, which probably caught my attention. LCSW responded to this by saying. “Likely.” I found his response to be a bit demeaning. He didn’t understand the complexity of being raised in isolation in a place that lacked a diversity of culture and could only connect to the outside world through old magazines that my friends would hand down to me at school. At the end of this appointment. He told me that I would get a list of therapists and that I would get to pick from that list. I later received an email from LCSW: “Great news, I will be your therapist.” This felt uncomfortable to me for a few reasons: the inconsistency in the information I was told about choosing my therapist made me nervous, and I usually avoid working with male/male-bodied therapists due to significant traumas I have experienced from being raped, objectified, and brutally attacked by men. I chose to trust the process and hoped that this might be an opportunity to experience healing and safety with a male-bodied person who would hopefully be safe with me. LCSW told me we had to reschedule the first preparation appointment due to an emergency. As I tried to walk away unbothered by the random emergency, he stopped me and apologized multiple times, and I thought it strange that he would spend so much time apologizing to me if there was an emergency. PREP 1 My preparation appointments with LCSW were bizarre. My first couple of appointments discussed the possibility of therapeutic touch, what therapeutic touch is, and informed consent. I found it odd how much time was spent on these subjects; this was discussed at length during all three preparation appointments. I had done a lot of somatic healing bodywork with a physical therapist, and these conversations were not new to me. Still, I was uncomfortable with the amount of time and number of times this was brought up during preparation. PREP 2 LCSW discussed therapeutic touch again at great length. He claimed to be trained in somatics. LCSW said to me, “ I am your therapist for only a short amount of time, so we can do ANYTHING you want.” LCSW said to me, “ I know I am your therapist, but I want you to have as much power as you want.” LCSW asked me how I felt about therapeutic touch. I let LCSW know I was uncomfortable with touch in any capacity and would prefer to be given physical distance as much as possible. I told LCSW that I, historically, would avoid touch in any capacity throughout my life and gave examples of how I place pillows between myself and my friends when I sit on couches next to them. LCSW asked me if I was comfortable with him suggesting to me that I could touch myself. I felt uncomfortable with how he worded this but didn’t react. For example, he said some patients have tremors uncontrollably and can be instructed to place their hands on their arms. I told him I did not want him to make these suggestions. LCSW asked me what the thought of being touched felt in my body. He asked if this felt squirmy, and I said yes. During my preparation appointments, LCSW acted like he was some kind of drug dealer and made it seem like he would be involved in how many mg of Ketamine would be prescribed to me from the pharmacy. He asked me during each session how many milligrams I would want. He said I got to choose up to 600mg per session. I asked if I was prescribed 600mg each session and if I would have to take all of it during the session if I decided not to. He said I could do this. I asked for the max prescription, and he told me I could be prescribed 250mg. This was another example of him offering me a choice (like choosing my therapist) and then taking that choice away. He then asked me again how much I wanted to be prescribed in the following session. I remember this session was in person. I told him I wanted to be prescribed the high end of what is normal, and he said he would go with that. I was made aware that the dosage is prescribed by the prescribing doctor, Prescribing Doctor, and there is a standard dosage that most patients are prescribed with a max dosage of 400mg. LCSW disclosed his gender identity to me and asked me if I had a preference in how he would present himself during our sessions because sometimes he wears dresses and glitter. I asked if he was asking about my comfort with my gender expression. He assured me that was not what he was asking about and, instead, wanted to know if I would be more comfortable with one of his gender expressions over another, and I let him know that I didn’t think it mattered. I found this conversation beyond strange and uncomfortable. I’ve been in therapy since I was 18, and I have never had a therapist behave in the ways I convey with LCSW and found him to be strange, unpredictable, over-sharing, and unsafe. Before my final in-person preparation appointment, LCSW informed me that he had moved his office to a different location in the center because it was larger. PREP 3 LCSW quickly allowed me access from the waiting room on this day. Almost immediately after I pressed the button on the wall, I could hear his footsteps coming down the hallway, and this made me uncomfortable as most therapists or doctors that I have worked with allow for 1-5 minutes to pass before greeting me in the waiting room. I felt LCSW was unusually excited or rushed about my arrival. LCSW had warned me in the previous preparation appointment that he had moved offices because the new office was larger. I was highly uncomfortable with the move when I saw his office. I froze in the doorway. He moved his office to the center's most private and secluded area. The new office seemed smaller. A reclined chair in his old office was available for the KAP therapy, which felt safe. The chair was not in his new office, and my options for where to lay down during my KAP therapy were a couch that I was much too tall for or a mattress on the ground. I felt unsafe laying on a mattress with LCSW in the room, but I thought I had no choice. I had experienced so much seductive and inappropriate behavior with him that discovering I would not have a reclined chair and would be isolated in the building was devastating news to me. The fact that his new office did not have room for the antigravity chair in his old office was an example of how this move was not due to the office being larger than he claimed. I had brought gifts for LCSW for the Winter Solstice. I had gifted him a piece of mushroom art made with layers of paper and a mushroom hairpin that my coworker made. These items were kept on a shelf in his office for all of my following sessions. I wasn’t aware that therapists are not supposed to accept gifts from their clients. LCSW was overly excited about the gifts. During our in-person preparation session, LCSW would ask me questions unrelated to my therapy. Do you like guacamole? Do you enjoy Role-Play Board Games? When I asked why he asked me these questions, he answered, “I’m trying to understand your resources.” After initially reporting him to my doctor, I discovered his dating profile while listing his display name, “Guacamole,” and his interests, “Role-play Board Games.” Now, I wonder if he was spending my sessions with me trying to gauge our compatibility for dating. LCSW would be extremely flirtatious with me. He would have his long hair up in a bun, pull it out slowly, groom it with his fingers, and display it in front of his shoulders, all while batting his eyes at me. Both times he did this, I went into shutdown. I would avoid eye contact, look at the floor, hunch, and move my body in the opposite direction, showing my physical discomfort. I would be talking about something both times he did this, and each time, I lost my words and stopped talking as a part of the shutdown state of my nervous system. This flirting with his hair happened on PREP 3 and KAP 1. One session was a preparation appointment, and the second time was before I was administered ketamine for my KAP session. I asked LCSW if people clench their jaw while on Ketamine as I often have a lot of jaw tension and use a nightguard at night. He shared with me that his other clients who are “guarded” usually feel more relaxed on Ketamine and that often the jaw relaxes, but he let me know I could bring my guard if I wanted. I remember not liking that LCSW had indirectly called me guarded, but he was not wrong about that assessment. I had learned to be guarded to protect myself from people, especially harmful people like LCSW, who were unpredictable and unregulated. As I think back to this interaction, I wish I had been able to remain guarded around LCSW, which was not possible for me while on a psychedelic. LCSW asked me during an in-person preparation appointment if I had been hypnotized and if it worked. LCSW would use Neurological Language Processing on me to try and seduce me and make me think about sex during two of my sessions, PREP 3 & KAP 1. When he gave directions for taking the ketamine medication, he would speak at a regular pace until he got to the part of the directions that directed me that I could spit or swallow the ketamine. Specifically, the words “spit and swallow” were slowed down to an unusually slow pace, and he would stare into my eyes with intensity when he said those words slowly. He would slow that part of the directions down to a slow pace, all while making intense eye contact that made me highly uncomfortable. He did this during my last preparation appointment and also during my first appointment with the ketamine. During these experiences, with the sexual and seductive nature of the emphasis of these words, while giving me directions, I would go into shutdown. I would look away and disengage with LCSW during these interactions. I was feeling highly unsafe, overwhelmed, confused, and afraid. KAP 1 During my first KAP appointment, LCSW welcomed me from the waiting room, pressed the switch on the wall, and looked around the room as usual. He would typically follow me down the hallway to his office, which made me uncomfortable as I have been stalked coming home at night off the bus countless times. In any capacity, I will avoid having any persons behind me as I feel safer when I can see people and when I have enough physical distance to run or defend myself if I can see signs of aggression in a person. I was surprised that LCSW would walk closely behind a person with PTSD, and I felt he had minimal experience working with people with PTSD and didn’t understand trauma-informed care. Most trauma-informed professionals I work with would check in with me regularly about what I was comfortable with. Before working with LCSW, I’d never had a doctor or staff walk so closely behind me. For example, I have had Doctors ask me if I am more comfortable sitting in a chair that faces the door instead of having the door behind me, and LCSW never checked in with me about any of these things. I was violently attacked for asking a 300lb man to try and be quiet so that I could sleep. I struggled to ask for what I needed to feel safe and comfortable from men after this experience, and I did not feel safe asking LCSW not to walk behind me or continue invading my personal space. While being let into the center, I stood behind him with as much physical distance as possible and waited for him to finish so I could follow him down the hall. He instructed me to walk down the hallway to his office and followed me closely. I entered LCSW’s dark office with the blinds closed. I felt uncomfortable immediately but was trying to manage my fear and stress the best I could as I was so dedicated to healing with Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy and was looking to this therapy as my last hope after having tried everything with a slow, painful progress that had many setbacks as I struggled to avoid people like LCSW in my life who prioritize their desires over my well-being. We were in the center alone during all my appointments except the intake. There were no other therapists or admin. My KAP appointments were scheduled at the end of the day in the winter, so it was often already dark outside. I have since learned that being so isolated and having appointments late in the day are red flags. I was moving and brought in a book from my personal library to give to LCSW. On Book Name. LCSW responded to this by saying, “That’s really sweet.” This book lived on his bookshelf in following appointments. LCSW let me know I could set up my altar items at the end of his table and that he was going to the restroom and would be right back. I would like to mention that LCSW often seemed very different after visiting the bathroom. I suspected he was struggling with drug abuse and addiction, as when he went more than a few hours without a restroom break, he would look awful with sunken eyes with dark circles under them. He would get sweaty and look generally ill, and the only time I have seen anything like this was when I was around a family member who was experiencing opioid addiction. I was recovering from my KAP session when he looked ill to me, so it might have something to do with the medication or lighting. When LCSW returned from the bathroom, he walked right behind me while I was on my knees setting up my altar. I began physically shaking when he walked behind me because I feared him. I was visibly shaking, and LCSW started blowing air forcibly out of his nose multiple times, loudly. He was standing right behind me as I was visibly shaking and without tissue or covering his face. He blew out of his nostrils very forcefully multiple times until I froze. Then, I slowly turned my head in his direction and asked him, “Do you have allergies?” He said, “No, I have_____.” I can’t remember the condition he stated he had, but I remember it included something nasal-related to his nose. After asking this question to him, he immediately stopped with the weird, aggressive nose forceful exhalation. I never saw him do any weird breathing at any other time. I believe he did this to distract me from my body shaking and to gain sympathy from me as a form of emotional manipulation. My body was showing me how unsafe I felt, and I believe that LCSW wanted to distract me or was threatened by this. He then asked me to share the items for my altar with him. LCSW, told me he had to read my blood pressure. I was wearing a thick sweater and tried to pull the sleeve up high enough to be able to wrap the band around my arm. I could not pull the arm up high enough and asked LCSW if he could just put the band over my sweater. He said no and asked if that was okay. I sighed with disappointment and removed my sweater. Underneath my sweater, I wore a crop top/tank top shirt with no bra because I was instructed to dress comfortably. I was not comfortable with being so exposed around LCSW after experiencing so much harmful sexual behavior from him. Still, I was so desperate to receive this Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy treatment that I was trying my best to cope with the harm I was experiencing. LCSW helped to wrap the band for the blood pressure reader around my arm. He did this very slowly. When he went to press the velcro together on the band, he used the tips of his two fingers, pointer & middle finger, and slowly pushed the velcro together with his two fingertips like this. This was taking forever and was very inappropriate and sexually charged. At this point, I got angry with LCSW. I audibly sighed with anger and frustration, and LCSW recognized this. He stopped petting my arm and took a step back. He told me to uncross my legs. He stood on the other side of the room and stared at the wall as the automatic blood pressure reader read my blood pressure. The machine went off with three beeps, and LCSW was still staring at the wall, completely disassociated. LCSW administered the Ketamine to me and did the creepy “spit or swallow” thing after this. He then helped me get onto the mattress and tucked me in, touching my body while tucking me in around my arms and legs. I remember having a difficult time relaxing or feeling comfortable during this appointment. I did not want to wear my eyemask or the noise-canceling headphones because I didn’t feel safe with LCSW and wanted to be aware of my surroundings as much as possible. I remember looking down at my body multiple times to make sure he wasn’t touching me. After about an hour into the session, I let LCSW know I had to use the restroom. LCSW helped me and told me we would have to walk slowly to the bathroom as I lacked balance. Someone from one of the other offices was walking behind us. I got into the bathroom and used one of the stalls. I sat there after finishing, not wanting to come out because I was so afraid of being around LCSW. The person who walked behind us to the bathrooms was also in the restroom in one of the other stalls. As she went to leave, she probably noticed that I was sitting in a stall and not doing anything. She asked me if I was okay, and I said yes. As we walked back, I exited the bathroom and noticed that LCSW was holding my hand, which I found very confusing. LCSW helped me back onto the mattress, tucked me into my blankets again, and touched my body on my arms and legs again. LCSW violated my informed consent by holding my hand and touching me while tucking me into my blanket while I was on Ketamine. I had clearly stated to LCSW that I did not want him to touch me in any way. I had a little loss of coordination but generally was fine walking on my own, and I did not need LCSW to hold my hand to “help” me. I was in an open and loving state of mind while on the medication, and this experience is when things got confusing for me. I knew I felt Uncomfortable with the unusual attention he was giving me and with the seductive and flirtatious behaviors he exhibited before taking ketamine with him. This was the first time those feelings confused me, and a part of me liked how it felt to have this attention while under a psychedelic. These feelings caused me internal distress. After returning to the room, I tried to relax into my experience. I experienced a body sensation that reminded me of my body sensation when I had an out-of-body experience where you tense up right before leaving your body. I heard LCSW say, “There you go.” This freaked me out and took me out of my experience. I remember fidgeting my body after this. His comment felt like it was sexual to me. LCSW checked his laptop during my first KAP appointment and often texted someone through iMessage. As soon as the music ended, LCSW said my name “Name.” This jolted me out of my relaxed state. He told me he needed to use the restroom, and I asked him to bring me some water. When he returned, I had moved to the couch, and he responded to this move by saying, Woah. We chatted about my experience, as I didn’t feel like talking while on the medication. He then checked in with me and told me it was 515pm. Fifteen minutes later than when our appointment was supposed to end. I had arranged transportation and was shocked by how late our appointment had gone. I scrambled to get my things together to get to my ride in time. LCSW told me that I should plan to have my transportation picked up 15 minutes after our sessions, but this should have been communicated to me beforehand. I have since learned that therapists extending your appointment time past when it is supposed to end is a red flag. INTEGRATION 1 This was my first integration appointment. LCSW asked me how I was doing, and I said, “Fine.” He asked me to use a different adjective, and I told him I was feeling a lot. During this appointment, I went through my backpack, looked for my journal, and pulled out my headphones in their case in front of LCSW. He responded to seeing these headphones with an angry sigh. I shared some of the things I journaled about, and he seemed impressed by what I had written. I shared with LCSW about an oracle deck I had used the night after the first KAP session. I shared a card I pulled the night after my first KAP appointment while asking, “How can LCSW help me.” I read the description of the card I had pulled: “angel’s trumpet.” He got down on his knees and moved towards me with a coffee table in between us. He told me the reading resonated with him. I asked him how so, and he talked about his cornerstone of death work as the card description discussed how this card was related to hospice workers, which LCSW shared with me he had done before his current job. I resonated more with aspects of the reading that mentioned a seductive nature as I felt he had been sexually inappropriate with me, but I did not share that with him. He asked to see the cards' box and got loud and excited about my deck. “THERE’S A MAGIKAL BOTANICAL ORACLE DECK!” I often found LCSW’s energy to be unpredictable. He would, at times, use his therapist's voice and then have these excited or angry outbursts. He asked me if he could take a photo of the deck, and I said that was fine. After this first integration appointment, I felt a lot of shame and anxiety around having the headphones that I perceived LCSW had gotten angry about. He might be mad at me for seeking sliding scale services while having expensive headphones. I got these noise-canceling headphones as a self-care item for myself when I thought I would be undergoing KAP therapy while living with my ex, who would slam doors and move around the house angrily. I got these headphones to help me eliminate that noise and feel a sense of safety for integration. I felt so much anxiety and shame around my perception of LCSW being angry with me that I impulsively made a $500 donation to the center that I requested my employer match. My company later agreed to match my donation. I could not afford this donation, but I wanted to feel like LCSW was not angry with me for using the sliding scale services. the center later refunded my donation after reporting the harm. I requested this reimbursement, which I was grateful for as this was not a donation I was in any financial situation to make, and it was made on credit. I had made sure this donation was made privately and chose not to share my name as a donor with the center as I didn’t want LCSW to mention this to me because I didn’t want to talk about this uncomfortable situation with him. LCSW's phone was going off with a bell sound at the end of the session, and he apologized multiple times for this and said it shouldn’t be going off while he was messing with his phone. INTEGRATION 2 The second ketamine appointment was canceled because LCSW had gotten sick. He had canceled an earlier preparation appointment because he had COVID, and I remember thinking he gets sick a lot. He wanted to keep our integration appointment and schedule it virtually, so we met via Google Meet. In his email coordinating this with me, he stated he would still “love” to have a virtual appointment. I didn’t like his use of the word love. He started the virtual appointment by overly complimenting my hair and telling me it looked good multiple times, making me uncomfortable. I remember I gave a cold and short “thanks.” He told me I had transformer hair and asked if I had recently changed my hair. I told him no, I was just wearing my hair up. I thought to myself that he was weird to make such a big deal about my hair and that I had worn my hair up around him before. In the background of his call was his bed in his bedroom, which I thought was strange and inappropriate. REACHING OUT FOR HELP On the evening a few days following integration 2, I asked my friend and mentor, a Naturopath Doctor, for advice. We scheduled an on-call, and I shared my concerns about this therapist. I wasn’t sure if I should approach LCSW with my fears about his behavior. She was extremely upset about the information I was sharing about my experience. She shared her knowledge about ethics as a provider and told me that this behavior was highly inappropriate and that she was worried about me. I remember her yelling out, “Don’t mess with my girl, fucker.” She asked me if I thought he was a predator. We came up with a plan that I would write out my concerns about LCSW’s behavior and share them with him during my next appointment. I did write this all out in my journal that evening. With Doctor's wisdom, I began to see that while experiencing this inappropriate behavior from LCSW before and during the altered state I was in using Ketamine, I had developed an addiction to the dysfunctional emotional state I would enter into when I experienced this abuse. I had been starving myself after my first KAP appointment, feeling high off the inappropriate attention, and having confusing feelings after experiencing the boundary crossing while on a psychedelic. I felt like the experience with LCSW was confusing my feelings surrounding love and solidifying my prior experiences that love is abuse. I was abusing myself, thinking I was loving myself. I wanted to look good, and since the abuse I experienced during my last preparation appointment at the end of Month, I had dropped four pant sizes. I was rapidly losing weight, which was noticed by my other care providers, who mentioned the change in weight to me. Since writing this in my journal and approaching my second KAP appointment, I have become very nervous about approaching LCSW with my concerns. I did not want to have this confrontation with him. I decided the night before that I was not going to read this to him unless there was another boundary crossing or sexually inappropriate interaction. KAP 2 Toward the beginning of my second KAP appointment, I asked LCSW about a stuffed animal bat he had on his bookshelf. He went into a very long-winded description of this bat. While looking at the bat in my opposite direction, he said that the wings were the PRIDE flag and the ears were the polyamorous flag. After sharing the polyamorous flag ears, he looked his right shoulder in my direction. I was staring at the wall across from me. I was worried about his intentions behind basically telling me that he is polyamorous. KAP 2 and integration 3. During these appointments, LCSW was more professional. He left his hair in a bun. He didn’t emphasize “spit or swallow.” He was normal when reading my blood pressure. I was so grateful that he had finally changed his behavior and respected these boundaries. I felt like he finally recognized how these behaviors affected me. I just had to manage my conflicting feelings around a part of me that felt like I had become addicted to this inappropriate attention. I was compassionate towards myself about that as I knew it made sense why I felt this way, that my experience was confusing, and that the psychedelic experience opened me up to feeling loving and caring to the therapist who I was feeling so unsafe with prior. I knew I could get help with this from my regular therapist and planned to discuss this during our next session. LCSW asked if I wanted the eye shade and headphones this time. I said I wanted to try them because hearing the lady in the room who shared a wall with LCSW, who worked with a different organization, and hearing him talk during my session last time was distracting. He said, “Yeah, I’m sorry about that.” LCSW was still sick during this appointment and was wearing a mask. I was annoyed that he was coughing during my experience, and I found that distracting even with the headphones. At the end of this session, I gave LCSW a gift of a mullein tincture that I had ethically wildcrafted from the wilderness, extracted, and offered him a chance to try it. He asked me how to take it, and I shared the standard dosage of three dropper fulls three times a day and let him know to discontinue use if he had any side effects and when he no longer has symptoms of illness. Again, at the end of our appointment, we ended 15 minutes late. INTEGRATION 3 During our last session, I asked LCSW if he had tried the mullein tincture. He told me that he had taken it home, was using the standard tincture dosage, and was enjoying it. LCSW asked how it felt to have him respect my boundaries. He asked me this because he chose to be professional during one of our sessions. I told him I wasn’t sure if that was possible, but I was grateful for how he showed up yesterday. I had processed some of the imagery or hallucinations I experienced in KAP 2, including my cat, who had passed OE. I shared with LCSW how I chose OE because she was the only kitten in the litter who seemed to want me to hold her. He responded to this story by saying, “You picked each other.” I found his wording and response odd and worried that he was hoping that I would pick him in response to him picking himself as my therapist and picking me for a patient to be inappropriate with. I shared with LCSW that I was surprised that I did not feel a dissociative effect with Ketamine. I shared that I could feel my body more than I ever had before, and I was curious about this because I had spent most of my life dissociated from my body due to trauma. I gave examples of how other drugs would work oppositely for me than the general public. He responded to this by calling me an anomaly. I found this odd as I always thought that these effects were due to me being neurodivergent. For many people with ADHD, coffee can make them sleepy. I was uncomfortable with LCSW making comments like I was unique or one of a kind, and I didn’t think that was a healthy mindset I was seeking for myself. LCSW asked me to share something coming up that I wasn’t sure I felt safe talking about with LCSW. I told LCSW I was uncomfortable talking about this with him because he is a male-bodied person and because we had a weird dynamic. He nodded and said yes, I am a male-bodied person. I worded this like that because LCSW shared with me that he identifies as non-binary, so I did not want to refer to him as a man out of respect. I told LCSW about how I would wake up to my ex-boyfriend on top of me many times and how, eventually, I developed an injury from this repeated trauma that made it so I was unable to have sex without experiencing a lot of pain. LCSW had an angry outburst at this news and told me that I was raped and that it wasn’t consensual, and Name was loud and angry. This made me highly uncomfortable, and I shut down. LCSW asked me for the name of the man who did this to me. I gave him the name, and then I started to defend the person who did this to me because I don’t think LCSW took the time to understand the layers of this trauma, how much I loved the person who did this to me, and what factors were involved (alcohol) that made this person do things they wouldn’t normally do. LCSW started to calm down after this, as his anger triggered me. LCSW said he believed good people do bad things. LCSW asked me what gym I go to during this meeting. After reporting LCSW, I saw one of the therapists that worked for him at my gym, during a queer event, and I felt highly anxious that he was having people watch me. I have been going to this gym for seven years and have never seen this therapist before. At the end of the appointment, I offered LCSW a cottonwood bud oil extract that I had ethically wildcrafted from the wilderness and processed and extracted. I let him know, and it was labeled for external use only. I told him it was nice on this skin but that it should be tested on a small piece of skin first. He was grateful for this gift from me. He did not inform me that accepting patient gifts was inappropriate and did not uphold professional boundaries. I was not aware of these boundaries and ethics around gift-giving until after initially reporting sexual misconduct. I have text evidence about my ride from KAP 2. These texts were oddly missing from my text history, so my friend sent me screenshots of the messages she had on her phone. REACHING OUT FOR HELP & SUPPORT My friend who I first told about that harm I was experiencing followed up with the morning after KAP 2. After my integration appointment, I spoke with a friend at the sauna at my gym who went to school to become an LCSW and shared my experience with her. She told me that he had violated the code of ethics and that I was highly vulnerable. She then shared with me that her psilocybin guide had slept with her during their work together and that she had stopped her treatment with him. She asked me if I thought this was the first time he had done something like this. I had a panic attack in the locker room of my gym after talking to my friend. A week after KAP 2, I then shared my experience with my regular therapist, who also asked if I thought I was the first person he behaved this way with. She also informed that he had clear ethical codes. I had a panic attack during this session. The questions about LCSW being a predator remained in my mind. I knew his behavior as a therapist was inappropriate, and I wondered if the sometimes subtle nature of the experience and strange experience with his directions of “spit and swallow” could be accidental, especially when he repeated these behaviors even after I went into a shutdown state during my first experience with this behavior. I spent most of the night researching this kind of abuse. I am good at hyper-fixating and spending many hours researching a subject, quickly learning everything I can about it. I found many articles about grooming behaviors from therapists and emotional manipulation/therapy abuse that I felt uncomfortable with and how much I relate to them. These articles discuss the alleviation of symptoms of depression for victims due to the addictive nature of this inappropriate attention. I was pissed. I wanted to heal my brain, and I could not allow that to be based on a temporary response to the inappropriate attention I was receiving. I then read about how therapists sometimes adjust their behavior, becoming more professional after the patient shows some attachment or addiction to this behavior. The theory is that the patient will then approach the therapist and make the situation feel like a victim desires to have inappropriate interactions. I could not allow a situation like this when I had been so dedicated to healing for so many years of my life. I was highly agitated after learning more about this kind of abuse. I knew at this point that I was being deeply harmed and abused to an extent I couldn’t be fully aware of without the support of the people I spoke to about it and the knowledge of how this abuse affects victims. I planned to give myself time to process this new information before taking action. A week and one day after KAP 2, I had panic attacks in the waiting room of my doctor's office because I was struggling with the experience I had with LCSW and the knowledge I gained about the abuse I was experiencing. The doctor asked me about my experience with KAP, as I had listed Ketamine on my medications. It took me about an hour to tell her about my experience, but eventually, I was able to get it out of me between the tears and panic attacks. I did not want to report this to the doctor. I knew she would have to report him. I knew I would have to stop my therapy, and I did not want to give up this opportunity for KAP therapy. At the time, I also did not want to get LCSW in trouble, and a part of me felt incredibly guilty for telling this doctor about my experience. She was so amazing through this process. She spent about 2 hours with me, supporting me by sharing my experience. I had chosen this doctor for her indication of being trauma-informed; she had been patient, helpful, and understanding. She told me that I didn’t do anything wrong as I expressed my shame about how my feelings were confused once I had used a psychedelic with LCSW. She helped me come up with a safety plan. I knew I was in a very fragile state and thought it would be wise to have someone hold onto my ketamine. She reached out to my doctors with my permission. She was able to get ahold of Prescribing Doctor, the prescribing doctor. On the day of my initial report to my doctor, I spoke to Prescribing Doctor on the phone, who works with Name. Prescribing Doctor is the prescribing doctor and is a part of the leadership team at the center. I was uncomfortable during this phone call with Prescribing Doctor; her tone was delighted and cheery. She told me she was in the middle of the forest in Locationwith joy and excitement. Her cheerful tone seemed highly inappropriate, given the circumstances, as I had just spent the day having panic attacks due to being groomed by her coworker. Later. I met with Prescribing Doctor in person. I asked Prescribing Doctor what was next after I reported the sexual misconduct. I shared with Prescribing Doctor how LCSW would disrespect my boundaries and continue to do so after I shut down in his office. Prescribing Doctor responded to this by saying, “he missed it.” I shrugged my shoulders in response. She reacted to my shrugging my shoulders by getting wide-eyed. Her reaction made me feel crazy and like she did not believe me. Prescribing Doctor then offered me a facilitated dialog with LCSW LCSW and offered that LCSW could bring the items I left in his office to my home, but I did not want that. I confirmed I did not feel comfortable having LCSW come to my house. It was an incredibly inappropriate thing even to suggest. Prescribing Doctor's notes do not include that the offering and idea of a facilitated dialog was her idea as a response to me asking what is next after reporting the sexual misconduct. She ignores my requests for this detail to be added to my record. The notes make it seem like it was my idea, which is not the case. I had no idea what a facilitated dialog even was before her offering it to me. Prescribing Doctor agreed to hold onto my medication and I could have it back whenever I felt ready. She later refused this unless I signed an NDA/release of all claims and when I shared my story more widely I was retaliated against and she claims she did this because I shared my experience of SI. I later was made aware that I wouldn't be able to take my life with ketamine and that it is safe for this reason, and I would likely just take a long nap. I also had not had any thoughts about using Ketamine to hurt myself. I was later offered the facilitated dialog again with the Location team as part of a social justice framework. Cofounder and Psychiatrist informed me they could not provide it due to their insurance. That news was devastating, and I drove to a bridge to jump off it the next day but wasn’t brave enough to do so. I felt like the center had no idea how to handle my experience and report and was in a position to respond to it with care, and having something else offered to me by them and then taken away was traumatic. I think I held on to hope that I would get some kind of justice in the way that they had offered it to me, and having it taken away after experiencing something that broke me on a mental, physical, and spiritual level was not something I was in any position to handle. I was told multiple times over the course of reporting sexual misconduct by LCSW that the center and Prescribing Doctor had reported the sexual misconduct I experienced. It was only after some probing that I was made aware that any details regarding my experience had to come from me directly to the board and I felt that them not disclosing this to me without probing was a manipulation tactic to make me believe that the reporting was taken care of. I felt like the center was unwilling to uphold their signing of this document because they did not believe me. They allowed LCSW to continue to work in a leadership position. I have reported LCSW to the LCSW report and am sending this document to the LCSW Social Work Board in State. I have received support from SHINE and joined their peer support group for survivors of psychedelic harm. I am still seeking a regular therapist and am no longer working with my prior regular therapist due to her eating lunch during the last two therapy appointments. I have become hypervigilant for any signs of unprofessionalism from my care team after this sexual misconduct I experienced from LCSW. This experience with LCSW and the leadership team at the center of my city, has devastated my well-being. I came close to jumping off a bridge the day after getting the news about no longer being offered the Facilitated dialog. I have lost my trust in all people and my care team. I stepped away from therapy as I no longer feel safe in these dynamics. I fired all of my doctors and therapists. I started smoking cigarettes to try and help cope with the stress. Most days, I hope to die and don’t wish to continue living. I have angry outbursts where I would act on urges and exhibit behaviors that are abnormal for me. I lost all will to live, and most days, I don’t have the energy to care for myself. I would be amazed if I didn’t end up taking my own life in the next two years. The few people who care for me don’t know how to help me and comment on how hopeless I seem. Some of the people closest to me have stopped answering my calls or texts because they don’t know how to help me, and I have been in crisis for many days since Jan. 26th. I am trying many new psychiatric medications that are not helping me. The center and LCSW entirely abandoned me. I was not allowed to speak to LCSW. I had to wait many weeks between emails from the center. I was denied being matched with another therapist to help me understand the changes I was experiencing after two KAP sessions and experienced such sinister abuse and trauma from LCSW. My regular therapist, tried calling Prescribing Doctor so she could get information on how to support me better, but she has yet to get a callback. I asked the center for LCSW resignation.

    Dear reader, this story contains language of self-harm that some may find triggering or discomforting.

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