Upcoming Events
Meeting the Inner System: A 6-Week Somatic Parts Journey with Ketamine
This multi-week group offers an opportunity to deepen connection to self, cultivate somatic awareness, and develop a more compassionate relationship with our protective parts. Through the support of lower-dose, “psycholytic” Ketamine (lozenge format), participants will engage in guided experiential practices that promote emotional integration, embodiment, and internal coherence.
This group welcomes both those who are newer to parts and somatic work, and those with established practices who wish to explore more deeply in a supported, relational setting. Ongoing engagement with an individual therapist is required for participation.
Dates:
Wednesday, Jan 28th from 7:30-9pm (via Zoom)
Friday Jan 30, Feb 6 & Feb 13 from 1-5pm (at Riverbird Clinic, Portland)
Wednesday, Feb 25th from 7:30-9pm (via Zoom)
Cost:
$990 (+ additional fee for a medical intake if prescription is needed)
Space is limited, $200 deposit required to hold a space once application and intake is completed.
For more information or to apply email: info@riverbirdclinic.com
Imbolc Continuation Group
Expanded states of consciousness can shift our internal patterns and belief systems. The Continuation Group invites us to support each other in deepening our embodiment of these shifts by joining together for one group ketamine & group integration session. This offering is available to individuals who have participated in previous Ketamine-Assisted Therapy at Riverbird Clinic or Bird’s Eye Wellness.
This offering will include one group ketamine session and one group integration session. There will be 4-6 participants and 2 Riverbird staff members facilitating the group. The cost is $655 total for the series. Upon acceptance into the group, we ask for a $300 non-refundable/non-transferable deposit to hold your spot. A participant is asked to commit to the entire 2-day experience.
Group Ketamine Session: Tuesday February 3rd from 11: 30 am - 4:30 pm
Group Integration Session: Wednesday February 4th from 9-11 am
To apply, email info@riverbirdclinic.com
Ancient Practices for Ritual Safety in KAT: Building Skills and Confidence for Navigating the Energetic Realms
Our host, Kaye Lawrence, psychotherapist and shamanic practitioner, will provide a demonstration of how to combine IFS with shamanic techniques to assist a client in finding a compassoinate resource for the ketamine journey.
Key learning points:
• Three foundational shamanic views not prominent in modernity
• The elements of sacred ritual space and how to create it
• Helping your client connect with compassionate resources before their session
• How to stay connected with your client during the session
• Bringing the work to a transformative conclusion through shamanic interventionpossibilities and/or IFS work during or after the session
Hosted by Kaye Lawrence, who has been practicing and teaching shamanism for over two decades and is also a practicing psychotherapist licensed in Maine. Her heart work is teaching and supporting others to transform personal and ancestral burdens into the beauty of their true selves.
When: Friday 2/20 from 12-2 pm
Sign up here!
To learn more about Kaye and her classes, please visit www.windhorsecircle.org
Breathwork & Ketamine Journey: 3-day Immersion
Breathwork & Ketamine Journey 3-Day Immersion: Deepen Your Awareness
Led by Tania Zuckerman, Spiraldance Breathwork & Shauna Sedler and Selma Holden, Riverbird Clinic
Good Medicine Collective, 231 York Street, Portland, ME
Thursday, March 12th, 10:00 am-3:00 pm
Friday, March 13th, 10:00 am-5:00 pm
Saturday, March 14th, 9:00 am-1:00 pm
COST: $998
Explore frontiers in consciousness change and therapeutic healing: Discover your breath, transform, connect deeply and expand community.
Whether you are building on past experiences with expanded states of consciousness, or you are new to Breathwork or ketamine-assisted therapy, this 3-day facilitated personal retreat can support you in exploring access to these two powerful catalysts for transformative change.
Tap into your prana life force to awaken consciousness states. Discover how, through your own breath awareness and conscious breathing practices, we can expand our reality of existence and access primordial energy within us to promote greater connectivity. Learn how Breathwork can support preparation, resourcing and integration when combined with ketamine-assisted therapy for healing. Join others on a journey of personal exploration and self-discovery.
Ketamine is a medicine that has been widely used for analgesic purposes since the 1970’s and its safety profile is well established. In the last two decades, ketamine has been increasingly studied and utilized, at much lower doses, as an off-label treatment for mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, trauma and other ailments.
Day 1: Breathwork Journey
Day 2: Ketamine Journey
Day 3: Integration + Breathwork Journey
Retreat includes additional integration practices (including art/journal exploration) and intentional sharing circles. Bring greater awareness into your body and initiate consciousness change that can support your healing journey. Join us!
Space is limited.
TO REGISTER- please contact Maddy at info@riverbirdclinic.com to receive initial screening paperwork.
Everyone needs to be medically screened through required intake forms as well as a brief Zoom consult with one of Riverbird Clinic clinicians.
Once your intake paperwork is submitted, you will receive a follow-up email to schedule your Zoom consult. After this conversation, you will be notified if a spot is available for you in this offering. Applications accepted on a rolling basis.
Again, we appreciate your interest and hope you’ll be able to join us!
In an effort to expedite your interest, please complete your paperwork as soon as possible.
March 2026 Healers Retreat: 3-day Group KAT for Healers
This 3-day group series is for individuals working in the healing professions/human services field who want to deepen their personal healing work, explore their role as healers, address burnout and compassion fatigue, and foster connection and community. This 3-day format supports a deepening familiarity with the ketamine experience and the unique opportunity to explore this mind state in a group setting.
April Intro to Ketamine for Healers
Intro to Ketamine for Healers is a group offering that supports an introduction to the ketamine experience and the unique opportunity to explore this mind state in a group setting. This particular series is for professionals in the healing arts who want to explore the potency of a group ketamine experience that incorporates ceremony, ritual, and connection with others.
There will be 4-6 participants in each cohort, as well as 2 Riverbird facilitators. The total cost of the group is $655. Upon acceptance into the group, we will ask for a $300 non-refundable/non-transferable deposit to hold your spot.
Courage in the Dark: Exploring tender places of the heart
This spring, with the hope of contacting and being with our shared grief, Riverbird Clinic is offering a multi-week, soul-opening, heart-expanding ketamine-assisted therapy (KAT) cohort to support the softening of our habituated and often unconscious defense strategies, and in turn, being with grief. Having the fortitude to do this sacred work ripens and deepens us, and alchemizes suffering into something beautiful and life-giving. Our grief doesn’t need healing, but rather our healing needs grief.
KAT Group for Mothers
Join us for a ketamine-assisted therapy group for mothers. This group is intended to support mothers of all stages and pathways into motherhood. It is focused on bringing moms together to be held, supported and to access healing in community by tending to the painful and complex parts of motherhood without shame, as a way of helping mothers to more fully experience the joy and richness of this essential role without losing themselves.
Matrescence refers to the transformative experience of becoming a mother. Depending on how you become a mother, this can include profound physical, hormonal and neurobiological shifts, and/or a foundational rocking of ones identity, relationships and sense of self. This can be an immeasurably beautiful time and also an extremely challenging and confusing time. Motherhood is filled with gifts, as well as grief, fear and an ever-present practice of letting go. The impact of matrescence is often inadequately appreciated and supported by American culture. This can lead to feelings of isolation, overwhelm, depression and anxiety.
Dates/Times:
Zoom prep session: April 27th from 7:30-8:30 pm
Group KAT session: April 30th from 11am - 5 pm
Group Integration session: May 1st from 9-11am
Email info@riverbirdclinic.com to apply or for more information.
Beltane Continuation Group
Expanded states of consciousness can shift our internal patterns and belief systems. The Continuation Group invites us to support each other in deepening our embodiment of these shifts by joining together for one group ketamine & group integration session. This offering is available to individuals who have participated in previous Ketamine-Assisted Therapy at Riverbird Clinic or Bird’s Eye Wellness.
This offering will include one group ketamine session and one group integration session. There will be 4-6 participants and 2 Riverbird staff members facilitating the group. The cost is $655 total for the series. Upon acceptance into the group, we ask for a $300 non-refundable/non-transferable deposit to hold your spot. A participant is asked to commit to the entire 2-day experience.
Group Ketamine Session: Tuesday May 5th from 11: 30a - 4:30p
Group Integration Session: Wednesday May 6th from 9-11 am
KAT & Art Retreat for Educators
We are excited to announce a new retreat this summer that is specifically designed for educators! We see the ways that educators continue to hold space for students, their families, and our broader community, especially during this divisive time.
This retreat is an invitation into stillness, remembrance, and renewal—a sacred pause for educators who feel called to reconnect with their inner wisdom and creativity. We invite you to join this 3-day Ketamine-Assisted Therapy & Art Retreat for Educators. Together, we will gather in community to rest, to listen, and to connect.
Ketamine-Assisted Therapy can offer a gentle loosening of the stories and patterns that keep us stuck, allowing access to insight, compassion, and connection—both inward and beyond the self. When paired with art and mindful integration, these experiences can become profound teachers.
This retreat is a space for:
Educators carrying burnout, grief, or soul-deep fatigue
Those feeling disconnected from joy, purpose, or creative flow
Those curious about Ketamine-Assisted Therapy as a doorway to expanded awareness and healing
What you’ll experience:
Ceremonial group Ketamine-Assisted Therapy sessions held with clinical integrity and deep reverence
Intentional preparation and integration circles to help you make meaning of your journey
Guided art as a spiritual practice—no artistic skill required
Spacious time for rest and reflection
Communal gathering space to connect with other educators with shared experiences
Details:
July 16th, 17th, 18th at Good Medicine Collective (231 York St. Portland, ME) **please note that we do not provide overnight accommodation**
Additional Zoom preparation session - exact date/time TBD
Investment: $1250 ($600 deposit) - we do have sliding scale applications available & will be hosting a fundraiser in April specifically designed to support improved access for this group
For more information, please email info@riverbirdclinic.com.
Song Circle - January Gathering
Our voices are ancient instruments of healing that reverberate through body, mind, and spirit. When we gather together to sing, something magical happens. You don’t have to be a “singer” to experience this power.
January Intro to Ketamine for Healers
Intro to Ketamine for Healers is a group offering that supports an introduction to the ketamine experience and the unique opportunity to explore this mind state in a group setting. This particular series is for professionals in the healing arts who want to explore the potency of a group ketamine experience that incorporates ceremony, ritual, and connection with others.
There will be 4-6 participants in each cohort, as well as 2 Riverbird facilitators. The total cost of the group is $655. Upon acceptance into the group, we will ask for a $300 non-refundable/non-transferable deposit to hold your spot.
Group KAT for Mothers: Free Provider Info Session!
Riverbird is excited to be collaborating with Beth Brown, LICSW, PMH-C, RYPT, who specializes in perinatal and postpartum therapy to begin offering group ketamine-assisted therapy for mothers.
If you are a medical or therapy provider who is curious about how this modality may help support your clients who are struggling with matrescence, join us for this free information session with Beth and Shauna Sedler, PMHNP and Riverbird provider.
Open-Mic Poetry Night & Community Screening of Come See Me in the Good Light
Some nights you need to sit in a room with strangers and remember that tenderness is resistance, that your beating heart is a miracle, that we’re all just trying to find language for the ache and the light.
For the grief astronomers among us, for anyone who’s ever needed art to locate themselves in the dark, Riverbird Clinic & Good Medicine Collective present a screening of the Andrea Gibson documentary: Come See Me in the Good Light. We’ll kick off the evening with a community open-mic poetry reading. Your voice matters, whether you share a poem or listen to others read.
Tickets are donation-based, with a suggested sliding scale of $10-$50. 100% of proceeds will go to Riverbird Clinic's scholarship fund and will be set aside specifically to support increased access to KAT for members of the queer community. Sign up here!
When: Sunday Jan 11th from 4 - 6 pm
Where: Good Medicine Collective (upstairs in the studio)
We hope you’ll join us to relish in the powerful words of one of the most important poets of our time, Andrea Gibson.
Flow Sanctuary
Sacred & playful movement, connection, and expression. An inclusive space for all, with a focus on giving back to our local community.
Step into this sacred space for playful movement, where we are invited to reconnect with ourselves and our community. This isn’t just dance—it’s a ritual of connection, expression, and celebration. We honor the joy of being alive, surrendering to the rhythm that frees us, while also embracing the stillness within that brings us back to center.
Winter Solstice Continuation Group - **FULL - WAITLIST ONLY**
Expanded states of consciousness can shift our internal patterns and belief systems. The Continuation Group invites us to support each other in deepening our embodiment of these shifts by joining together for one group ketamine & group integration session. This offering is available to individuals who have participated in previous Ketamine-Assisted Therapy at Riverbird Clinic or Bird’s Eye Wellness.
This offering will include one group ketamine session and one group integration session. There will be 4-6 participants and 2 Riverbird staff members facilitating the group. The cost is $655 total for the series. Upon acceptance into the group, we ask for a $300 non-refundable/non-transferable deposit to hold your spot. A participant is asked to commit to the entire 2-day experience.
Group Ketamine Session: Tuesday December 16th from 11: 30 am - 4:30 pm
Group Integration Session: Wednesday December 17th from 9-11 am
To apply, email info@riverbirdclinic.com
November 2025: 3-day Group KAT for Healers **FULL - WAITLIST ONLY**
This 3-day group series is for individuals working in the healing professions/human services field who want to deepen their personal healing work, explore their role as healers, address burnout and compassion fatigue, and foster connection and community. This 3-day format supports a deepening familiarity with the ketamine experience and the unique opportunity to explore this mind state in a group setting.
This offering will include two group ketamine sessions and two group integration sessions, spaced out over three days. There will be 4-6 participants and 2 Riverbird staff members facilitating the group. The cost is $1250 total for the series. Upon acceptance into the group, we ask for a $600 non-refundable/non-transferable deposit to confirm your spot. A participant is asked to commit to the entire 3-day experience.
Dates/Times:
Wednesday Nov 19 from 7:30 - 8:30 pm: Zoom preparation session
Thursday Nov 20 from 10 am - 4:30 pm: opening circle & group ketamine session #1
Friday Nov 21 from 10 am - 4:30 pm: group integration #1 & group ketamine session #2
Saturday Nov 22 from 8-10: am: group integration #2 & closing circle
*These groups often quickly, so we recommend applying sooner rather than later. We will create a waitlist when we reach capacity. To apply, email info@riverbirdclinic.com. *
Ketamine-Assisted Therapy & Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy Workshop
Lunch & Learn - Ketamine Assisted Therapy & Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy Workshop
Friday, November 7th, 2025
12:00 PM - 1:15 PM
Virtual (Zoom)
Investment $40
*This event was rescheduled from May 2025*
Join Riverbird Clinic in hosting Kathryn Rheem, Ed.D., LMFT, (she/her) for this virtual Lunch & Learn. This training will provide an introduction of this revelatory combination of Ketamine-Assisted Therapy and Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy. This may change your practice and your client’s day-to-day life experience!
At the end of this training, participants will be able to:
Identify the practical applications for using Ketamine Assisted Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy.
Identify relevant ethics associated with Ketamine Assisted Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy.
Identify three possible benefits of Ketamine Assisted therapy for their clients.
Use an understanding of the theory of Emotionally Focused Therapy when determining the appropriateness of Ketamine as an adjunctive intervention.
Breathwork & Ketamine Journey: 3-day Immersion
Breathwork & Ketamine Journey, 3-Day Immersion: Deepen Your Awareness
Led by Tania Zuckerman, Spiraldance Breathwork & Shauna Sedler and Selma Holden, Riverbird Clinic
Good Medicine Collective, 231 York Street, Portland, ME
Day 1: Breathwork Journey - Thursday, October 23rd, 10:00 am-3:00 pm
Day 2: Ketamine Journey - Friday, October 24th, 10:00 am-5:00 pm
Day 3: Integration - Saturday, October 25th, 9:00 am-12:30 pm
Explore frontiers in consciousness change and therapeutic healing: Discover your breath, transform, connect deeply and expand community.
Whether you are building on past experiences with expanded states of consciousness, or you are new to Breathwork or ketamine-assisted therapy, this 3-day facilitated personal retreat can support you in exploring access to these two powerful catalysts for transformative change.
Tap into your prana life force to awaken consciousness states. Discover how, through your own breath awareness and conscious breathing practices, we can expand our reality of existence and access primordial energy within us to promote greater connectivity. Learn how Breathwork can support preparation, resourcing and integration when combined with ketamine-assisted therapy for healing. Join others on a journey of personal exploration and self-discovery.
Retreat includes additional integration practices (including art/journal exploration) and intentional sharing circles. Bring greater awareness into your body and initiate consciousness change that can support your healing journey. Join us!
Investment: $998
Space is limited. Registration requires an intake form and application for submission. For all interest in this event: contact info@riverbirdclinic.com. To learn more visit: Spiraldance Breathwork- www.spiraldancebreathwork.com or Riverbird Clinic- www.riverbirdclinic.com.
Psychedelic Studio
Welcome to the Psychedelic Studio series! This month, join Riverbird clinicians Colin Reid, Matt Stevens and Liz Strawbridge in a conversation about ketamine, an often misunderstood psychedelic. Come be part of this vibrant conversation and this growing community of people interested in exploring the nature of consciousness & healing with a stance of curiosity and wonder.
NOTE: This is a community-building donation-based event. Suggested donation $20 to support nonprofit's mission for building community around consciousness change.
Source: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/psychedelic-studio-tickets-1518474741829?aff=oddtdtcreator
Group KAT for Community Organizers **FULL**
We are living in a tumultuous time. Our collective need for a paradigm shift is palpable; and yet, the rapid changes we are seeing seem to be taking us further away from the truths that we know and the healing that we need: community, connection, and belonging. At Riverbird, we are feeling the call to show up for our community in a way that meets this moment. As such, we are eager to offer legal psychedelic group experiences to those of you on the front line of social change work at a significantly reduced price. Medical and psychological screening will be performed per our usual requirements. This offering is specifically designed for community organizers, advocates, activists, and those working at non-profits.
This group will be facilitated by: Julian Rowand (community organizer, senior director at Maine Initiatives, guest facilitator), Liz Strawbridge MD (owner and co-founder of Good Medicine Collective, a cross-pollinating community for Integrative Health Providers & Change Makers, Riverbird facilitator), Maddy Riker RN (registered nurse who found a passion in community organizing through the Maine Med union campaign, Riverbird facilitator).
When:
Zoom Prep - Mon Sept 16th from 7:30-9 pm
Group Ketamine Session - Thur Sep 18th from 9a-4p
Group Integration session - Fri Sept 19th from 9-11 am
Who:
Grassroots organizers, activists, nonprofit workers, mutual aid leaders — anyone doing the emotional labor of community work.
Investment:
$325 with sliding scale options
To apply:
Email info@riverbirdclinic.com
August Continuation Group
Expanded states of consciousness can shift our internal patterns and belief systems. The Continuation Group invites us to support each other in deepening our embodiment of these shifts by joining together for one group ketamine & group integration session. This offering is available to individuals who have participated in previous Ketamine-Assisted Therapy at Riverbird Clinic.
This offering will include one group ketamine session and one group integration session. There will be 4-6 participants and 2 Riverbird staff members facilitating the group. The cost is $625 total for the series. Upon acceptance into the group, we ask for a $300 non-refundable/non-transferable deposit to hold your spot. A participant is asked to commit to the entire 2-day experience.
Group Ketamine Session: Tuesday August 5th from 11: 30 am - 4:30 pm
Group Integration Session: Wednesday August 6th from 9-11 am
To apply, email info@riverbirdclinic.com
July Intro to Ketamine for Healers **FULL**
Intro to Ketamine for Healers is a group offering that supports an introduction to the ketamine experience and the unique opportunity to explore this mind state in a group setting. This particular series is for professionals in the healing arts who want to explore the potency of a group ketamine experience that incorporates ceremony, ritual, and connection with others.
There will be 4-6 participants in each cohort, as well as 2 Riverbird facilitators. The total cost of the group is $625. Upon acceptance into the group, we will ask for a $300 non-refundable/non-transferable deposit to hold your spot.
Zoom Prep Session: Tuesday July 15th from 7:30-9 pm
Group Ketamine Session: Thursday July 17th from 10:30am - 4 pm
Group Integration Session: Friday July 18th from 9-11 am
Investment: $625
To Apply, email info@riverbirdclinic.com
June 2025 Continuation Group
Expanded states of consciousness can shift our internal patterns and belief systems. The Continuation Group invites us to support each other in deepening our embodiment of these shifts by joining together for one group ketamine & group integration session. This offering is available to individuals who have participated in previous Ketamine-Assisted Therapy at Riverbird Clinic.
This offering will include one group ketamine session and one group integration session. There will be 4-6 participants and 2 Riverbird staff members facilitating the group. The cost is $625 total for the series. Upon acceptance into the group, we ask for a $300 non-refundable/non-transferable deposit to hold your spot. A participant is asked to commit to the entire 2-day experience.
Group Ketamine Session: Thursday June 12th from 11: 30 am - 4:30 pm
Group Integration Session: Friday June 13th from 9-11 am
Intro to Ketamine for Healers *previously known as 2-day Healing for Healers*
Intro to Ketamine for Healers is a group offering that supports an introduction to the ketamine experience and the unique opportunity to explore this mind state in a group setting. This particular series is for professionals in the healing arts who want to explore the potency of a group ketamine experience that incorporates ceremony, ritual, and connection with others.
There will be 4-6 participants in each cohort, as well as 2 Riverbird facilitators. The total cost of the group is $625. Upon acceptance into the group, we will ask for a $300 non-refundable/non-transferable deposit to hold your spot.
Zoom Prep Session: Tuesday May 13th from 7:30-9 pm
Group Ketamine Session: Friday May 16th from 9 am - 4 pm
Group Integration Session: Saturday May 17th from 9-11 am
Investment: $625
* To apply, email info@riverbirdclinic.com . *
May 2025 Continuation Group **FULL**
Expanded states of consciousness can shift our internal patterns and belief systems. The Continuation Group invites us to support each other in deepening our embodiment of these shifts by joining together for one group ketamine & group integration session. This offering is available to individuals who have participated in previous Ketamine-Assisted Therapy at Riverbird Clinic.
This offering will include one group ketamine session and one group integration session. There will be 4-6 participants and 2 Riverbird staff members facilitating the group. The cost is $625 total for the series. Upon acceptance into the group, we ask for a $300 non-refundable/non-transferable deposit to hold your spot. A participant is asked to commit to the entire 2-day experience.
Group Ketamine Session: Thursday May 8th from 11: 30 am - 4:30 pm
Group Integration Session: Friday May 9th from 9-11 am
April 2025: 3-day Healing for Healers **FULL**
This 3-day format for Healing for Healer supports a deepening familiarity with the ketamine experience and the unique opportunity to explore this mind state in a group setting. This particular series is for individuals working in the healing professions/human services field who want to deepen their personal healing work, explore their role as healers, combat burnout and compassion fatigue, and foster connection and community.
This offering will include two group ketamine sessions and two group integration sessions, spaced out over three days. There will be 4-6 participants and 2 Riverbird staff members facilitating the group. The cost is $1200 total for the series. Upon acceptance into the group, we ask for a $600 non-refundable/non-transferable deposit to confirm your spot. A participant is asked to commit to the entire 3-day experience.
Dates/Times:
Thursday April 3 from 10 am - 5 pm: preparation & group ketamine session #1
Friday April 4 from 10 am - 5 pm: group integration #1 & group ketamine session #2
Saturday April 5 from 9-11 am (on Zoom): Virtual group integration #2 & closing
*These groups often quickly, so we recommend applying sooner rather than later. We will create a waitlist when we reach capacity. To apply, email info@riverbirdclinic.com. *
March 2025: 2-day Healing for Healers
This 2-day format for Healing for Healer supports an introductory experience to Ketamine-Assisted Therapy and the unique opportunity to explore this mind state in a group setting. This particular series is for individuals working in the healing professions/human services field who want to deepen their personal healing work, explore their role as healers, address burnout and compassion fatigue, and foster connection and community.
This offering will include one group ketamine session and one group integration session. There will be 4-6 participants and 2 Riverbird staff members facilitating the group. The cost is $625 total for the series. Upon acceptance into the group, we ask for a $300 non-refundable deposit to confirm your spot. A participant is asked to commit to the entire 2-day experience.
Dates/Times:
The week of March 28 - exact date/time TBD: Zoom Prep Session
Friday March 28 from 9 am - 5 pm: group ketamine session
Saturday March 29 from 9-11 am: group integration session & closing circle
*These groups often quickly, so we recommend applying sooner rather than later. We will create a waitlist when we reach capacity. To apply, email info@riverbirdclinic.com. *
KAT for the Grieving Soul
Many of us have a hard time knowing how to be with or even access our grief. The mere thought of a grief space can be rattling. Our modern day society marches to a mechanized rhythm with little, if any, reflective space. By way of coping, we compartmentalize and carry on. The simple act of feeling can elude us. We’re numb, distracted, heartbroken, angry, isolated, and confused. None of this is our fault. We aren’t meant to grieve alone, and yet that’s often what unfolds.
This spring, with the hope of contacting and being with our shared grief, Riverbird Clinic is offering a multi-week, soul-opening, heart-expanding ketamine-assisted therapy (KAT) cohort to support the softening of our habituated and often unconscious defense strategies. Having the fortitude to do this sacred work ripens and deepens us, and alchemizes suffering into something beautiful and life-giving. Our grief doesn’t need healing, but rather our healing needs grief.
Led by Riverbird Clinic clinicians David Wright PMHNP and Liz Strawbridge MD, along with interfaith minister Ashely Jansen, we will use our time to slow down and find courage in being with our tender places, together. It is our wish that you may know and remember we are not alone on this path of healing.
Dates/Times:
Week 1
Monday March 24 from 7-8:30 pm: Zoom Prep Info Session
Wednesday March 26 from 3:30-5:30 pm: Grief practice
Week 2
Tuesday April 1 from 11 am - 4 pm: Group Ketamine Session #1
Wednesday April 2 from 9-11 am: Group Integration Session #1
Week 3
Wednesday April 9 from 9-11 am: Continued Grief practice/Integration
Week 4
Tuesday April 15 from 11 am - 4 pm: Group Ketamine Session #2
Wednesday April 16 from 9-11 am: Group Integration Session #2
Week 5
Wednesday April 23 from 9-11 am: Continued Grief practice/Integration (this takes place during school vacation week, so will be an optional group gathering)
Week 6
Tuesday April 29 from 11 am - 4 pm: Group Ketamine Session #3
Wednesday April 30 from 9-11 am: Group Integration Session #3
Week 7
Wednesday May 7 from 9-11 am: Continued Grief practice/Integration
Week 8
Off
Week 9
Wednesday May 21 from 9-11 am: Closing Integration
*Cost of group: $3,250; potential sliding scale spots available via application which must be submitted by 2/23/25*
To apply, please email info@riverbirdclinic.com
All applicants are required to submit intake paperwork, which will be reviewed once received. If it seems like this group may be appropriate for you, we will schedule an Initial Consult appointment with you ($375, which is included in the $3,250 listed above). Thereafter, we require a $500 non-refundable deposit to secure your place in the group. The remaining amount is due 3/23/25, and is non-refundable. Participants pay one lump sum, regardless of whether they cannot attend all sessions (or may be out due to illness).
*Potential sliding scale spots available via application, which must be submitted by 2/23/25.
**For group participants, additional individual support (e.g. 60-minute session) is available outside of the listed group gatherings for an additional fee.
**This group is not intended to diagnose or completely address major depressive disorder or other mental health illnesses. However, grief is often accompanied by aspects of suffering, which may include aspects of depression, and as such, we anticipate working with these parts. If you are interested in a depression-specific focused mental health group, please reach out to info@riverbirdclinic.com to request information about our Longitudinal KAT Group.