Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy in San Marino
Therapy-centered ketamine-assisted psychotherapy preparation, support, and integration in collaboration with qualified medical prescribers.
In-person in San Marino, minutes from Pasadena, South Pasadena, and the San Gabriel Valley. Serving all of California via telehealth.
Ketamine is not a magic pill…
But ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, or KAP, can be a powerful treatment option for some clients, especially those dealing with persistent depression, treatment-resistant depression, trauma, anxiety, or long-standing patterns that have not shifted enough through traditional therapy alone.
But the medicine experience itself is not the whole treatment.
In my approach, the real value of KAP often comes from the full therapeutic arc: preparation before the experience, support during the experience when appropriate, and integration afterward.
KAP is also not the right fit for every client. In addition to following all medical guidance from the prescribing clinician, I require clients to work with me in traditional talk therapy for a period of time before beginning KAP. This gives us time to establish a therapeutic alliance, clarify goals, assess fit, and create a safer and more effective therapeutic frame for the work.
I understand that this is not what every client is looking for. Some people want ketamine treatment quickly, or prefer a model focused primarily on the medicine experience itself. That is not the way I practice.
My preference is therapy-centered KAP: careful preparation, appropriate collaboration with the prescribing clinician, support during the experience when clinically appropriate, and integration afterward so the work can connect back to everyday life.
If you are interested in working with me, or would like to discuss how I provide KAP, I invite you to schedule a free 20-minute consultation. If you would like to learn more, please continue reading this page.
When a Young Adult Feels Stuck
Failure to launch is not an official diagnosis, but difficulty moving into independent adult life is an increasingly common challenge for young adults and their families.
Sometimes the young adult looks depressed, anxious, avoidant, ashamed, angry, shut down, or overwhelmed. Sometimes they are smart, capable, funny, sensitive, and deeply stuck at the same time.
They may want more independence, but feel terrified of failure.
They may resent feeling controlled, while also relying heavily on parents for money, housing, structure, or emotional support.
They may feel embarrassed by their dependence, but unable to imagine a realistic way out of it.
The result is often similar: life gets smaller, independence gets delayed, and everyone feels increasingly stuck.
A Systems-Based Shift
Failure to Launch almost always exists inside of a larger system.
That does not mean parents caused it. It does not mean the young adult is lazy or broken. It means the pattern is usually maintained by a combination of internal struggles and external dynamics.
Anxiety, depression, shame, avoidance, low confidence, executive-function challenges, family conflict, unclear expectations, parent accommodation, sleep disruption, gaming, substance use, and fear of failure can all become elements of a self-sustaining feedback loop.
Over time, the family can get trapped between rescuing, fighting, pleading, threatening, giving up, and starting the same conversation again and again. With each repetition, hope is reduced, and unhelpful patterns are solidified.
Therapy can help by identifying the cycle, understanding what keeps it stuck, and creating meaningful shifts to chart a new path forward.
The goal is not blame, shame, or a miracle cure.
The goal is trying something different.
We May Be a Good Fit If You’re a Young Adult Dealing With…
Avoidance of school, work, or adult responsibilities
Feeling stuck at home or dependent on your parents
Anxiety, depression, shame, or low motivation
Fear of failure or fear of growing up
Low confidence or feeling behind your peers
Gaming, scrolling, substances, pornography, or other forms of compulsive coping
Sleep schedule problems or lack of daily structure
Conflict with parents or family members
Feeling embarrassed by your dependence but unsure how to change it
Wanting independence but not knowing where to start
We May Be a Good Fit If You’re a Parent Experiencing…
A young adult who seems stuck, avoidant, overwhelmed, or unable to move forward
Repeated arguments about school, work, money, chores, motivation, sleep, or independence
Not knowing whether you are helping, enabling, rescuing, or abandoning
Feeling afraid that if you stop helping, everything will fall apart
Feeling frustrated that nothing seems to work
A young adult who refuses therapy or says they do not need help
A family system organized around avoidance, reassurance, conflict, or crisis management
Competing parenting approaches about how to support your adult child
A need for clearer expectations, boundaries, and next steps
Therapy That Gets to the Point
My approach is practical, direct, compassionate, and collaborative.
Depending on the situation, the work may involve individual therapy with the young adult, parent consultation, family sessions, or some combination of these.
The goal is not to lecture a young adult into “just growing up.” That usually does not work.
The goal is also not to ask parents to keep doing the same thing forever while hoping that motivation magically appears.
Instead, we look at the actual pattern.
What is being avoided?
What is being accommodated?
What expectations are clear, unclear, too rigid, or not being followed through?
What emotional, behavioral, or family dynamics keep pulling everyone back into the same loop?
Then we work on changing the structure around the problem so the young adult can begin taking meaningful steps toward independence, connection, and the life they want to build.
Clinically, my work is informed by my family systems therapy training in SPACE for FTL, an extension of Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions developed by Dr. Eli Lebowitz at the Yale Child Study Center.
I also understand from personal experience that the transition into independent adulthood is not always simple or linear.
But whether I am working with the young adult, the parents, or the entire family system, our work will be guided by a compassionate, evidence-based, and collaborative approach to therapy.
Fees and Location
I offer in-person therapy at my office in San Marino, minutes from Pasadena, South Pasadena, San Gabriel, and surrounding communities.
I also offer online therapy throughout California.
My standard fee is $250 per 50-minute session. Longer parent or family sessions may be recommended depending on the situation, and will be billed at my standard pro-rated fee.
I am a private-pay, out-of-network therapist and can provide superbills when appropriate. Not every insurance plan accepts superbills, and I cannot guarantee reimbursement, but I’m happy to provide more information about questions to ask your insurance carrier.
Schedule Your Free Consultation Call
If you’re interested in working with me, or want to learn more, the first step is to schedule a free 20-minute phone consultation.
We’ll talk briefly about what is going on, what you are looking for, and whether this feels like a good fit.
There is no charge for this call, and you do not need to be completely sure about therapy before reaching out.
Sometimes the consultation confirms that working together makes sense. Sometimes it helps clarify that another provider or type of support would be a better fit.
Either way, it is a simple place to start. And a powerful sign that you’re ready to make meaningful change in your life.