She works as a therapist, trainer and supervisor for Ketamine- and MDMA- assisted therapy.

Veronika earned her MA degree in Clinical Psychology from the Charles University in Prague, and her MA degree in Integral Counseling from California Institute of Integral Studies.  She is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, Organic Intelligence Expert, Realization Process Teacher and EMDR Certified Therapist, Approved Consultant and training facilitator.  Since 2016 she has worked as a sub-investigator and co-therapist on Phase 2 and Phase 3 MAPS-sponsored clinical trials for MDMA-assisted therapy for treatment of PTSD.

She also serves as a MAPS supervisor and is a trainer in training. She and her colleagues at Polaris Insight Center developed and are offering a comprehensive 10-module training and supervision in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy. Veronika is not only committed to ethical care and training of the future generation of psychedelic therapists, but as well to ethical and conscious psychedelic business practice and fair training and treatment opportunities. 

The potential of using Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy in trauma treatment and Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy in a group setting

Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) has recently emerged as one of the most innovative treatments for depression (particularly treatment resistant depression (TRD), anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder as well as a host of other psychological conditions. Integrating pharmacological, psychological, and archetypal/transpersonal elements, KAP represents a new synthesis (or hybrid model) of psychotherapy. Empirical results, particularly during the past decade, demonstrate that ketamine and KAP may be able to assist clinical populations whose symptoms and psychological issues have not been responsive to treatment by other means.  The practice of KAP, including diverse dosing strategies, allows clinicians to craft intervention strategies at both the psycholytic (trance, self-reflective) and psychedelic (transformational/transpersonal) levels of experience.

This presentation will focus on the potential use and efficacy of KAP in the treatment of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. The opportunities and challenges of this approach will be highlighted and discuss the different treatment strategies based on a type of trauma and personal and treatment history of the patients. In trauma focused therapy with KAP we are facilitating the emergence of new experiences and perspectives-- relational, somatic, existential, and spiritual -- while supporting the individual’s processing and integration of past memories. Additional goals involve reparation and regulation of the nervous system, development of self-compassion, and the replacement of flight-fight-freeze responses with inquiry, curiosity and cognitive-emotional flexibility. The supportive and reparative relationship with the therapist is viewed as essential to the efficacy of treatment. I will also discuss the differences and advantages of working as an individual therapist or as a co-therapy team.

In this presentation the topic of group KAP model will be introduced.  Group KAP provides more accessible form of treatment, as well as offers an opportunity to use the support of the group.  Different types of group KAP will be outlined: one-time groups, booster groups, ongoing groups, and integration groups.  Specifics around preparation, session setting and safety, and integration will be discussed.