Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
Austin Concierge Therapy and Texas Direct Medical Care are working together now to provide ketamine assisted therapy to our clients. Ketamine was previously approved by the FDA as an anesthetic to treat soldiers on the battlefields in Vietnam in 1970. Over the years, ketamine has become routinely used as a sedative in emergency rooms worldwide, and has more recently been found to aid in helping alleviate suicidality when combined with psychotherapy.
The shift to using ketamine in psychedelic assisted therapy began in 1999, following a study done by the Yale School of Medicine. This landmark study showed unequivocally ketamine’s ability to shift one’s mood towards more positive thinking following its administration. A number of subsequent studies followed that confirmed ketamine’s tremendous ability to treat depression, suicidality, and PTSD. Ketamine has also been shown to improve addiction, chronic pain, OCD, and bipolar.
If you are in the Austin area and interested in psychedelic-assisted therapy (currently using ketamine) sign-up below to schedule a free consult with Marc Geronimo.
What Makes Us Different?
The previous biomedical model has not paid much attention to set and setting, but new research is showing that the psychedelic model of ketamine administration helps to maximize ketamine’s therapeutic effects by combining ketamine with therapy and integration using the Johns Hopkins model. In other words, Austin Concierge Therapy and Texas Direct Medical Care are working to combine these models to create a safe environment monitored by a medical doctor trained in emergency medicine and managed and facilitated by a mental health professional with advanced psychedelic-assisted therapy training and years of experience.
We do NOT offer MDMA or psilocybin, because they are NOT yet legal in the state of Texas, except in clinical trials. While our therapists have gained experience with these substances in the states and countries where they are legal, we will continue to wait until these substances are approved by the state of Texas, before offering them here. As soon as they are legalized, we plan to add those as options to our practice.
We DO offer integration following any kind of psychedelic journeying, which is integral to getting positive results. Marc Geronimo and Sara Sloan have done multiple continuing education and professional trainings in psychedelic assisted therapy and integration working with MDMA, psilocybin, ayahuasca, and ketamine with the leading experts in the field including Gabor Mate, MD, Ronald D. Siegel, Bessel A. van der Kolk, MD, Phil Wolfson, MD, Richard C. Schwartz, Janis Phelps, PhD, and Gita Vaid, MD.
Meet the Team
ATX Psychedelic Therapy is owned by therapy partners, Marc Geronimo and Sara Sloan. All ketamine medical services are provided by Dr. Clifford Porter at the Texas Direct Medical Care Urgent Care Clinic.
Dr. Clifford Porter, MD, PhD
- Experience as an ER doctor and a gifted troubleshooter.
- Known to devour medical journals like most people binge watch Netflix!
- Founder of Texas Direct Medical Care
- Guest Lecturer and Professor at Yale University.
- U.S. Army Colonel with Medical Combat Experience and a Bronze Star.
Marc Geronimo, MAC, MBA
- Years of experience integrating psychedelic-assisted therapy experiences.
- Expert facilitator of the complete process, from initial discovery of past trauma and intention setting all the way to the 30-day post experience understanding of the daily improvements in life experience.
- Extensive first hand experience with over 50 personal psychedelic experiences in a therapeutic setting.
- Trauma expert and former U.S. Marine.
Sara Sloan, LMFT, PhD
- Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.
- Certified Sex Therapist by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT)
- Extensive experience integrating psychedelic-assisted therapy with clients.
- First hand experience with dozens of her own therapeutic psychedelic experiences processing deep developmental trauma.
- Former award winning Columbia University professor.
“Thank you, Marc. I never knew that I needed a guide until I met you. Thank you for helping people become who they really are and healing the planet one person at a time.
And please, thank Sara while you’re at it.”
Courtney M.
Business Executive