Dr. Sandra Newes (Sandy) is a Licensed Psychologist with over 25 years of clinical experience. She is the Co-founder of the Living Medicine Institute, offering training and resources to therapists and medical professionals. A full-time KAP provider since 2019, she has facilitated more than 600 ketamine-assisted psychotherapy sessions. Her approach integrates evidence-based psychotherapy with trauma-informed, somatic, and experiential practices, bringing warmth, curiosity, and extensive clinical expertise to her work.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- [2:15] Why preparation is an essential part of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy
- [5:30] How trust, consent, and client choice shape treatment
- [10:00] The importance of grounding and personal agency during treatment
- [15:30] Why a client’s interpretation matters more than the therapist’s
- [22:12] What a client’s behavior during psychedelic sessions can reveal
- [24:42] Dr. Sandy Newes explains how distress and well-being can coexist
- [33:09] How Dr. Newes uses developmental history to guide therapy
- [42:19] Dr. Newes’ tips for turning psychedelic experiences into meaningful life changes
In this episode…
A psychedelic medicine session may be powerful, but it’s only one part of the therapeutic process. Building trust, learning to feel safe in the body, and making sense of the experience are crucial before and after the medicine itself. What helps turn a psychedelic experience into meaningful, lasting change?
Dr. Sandy Newes, a doctoral-level clinician specializing in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, explains that meaningful change begins during preparation, not just during a ketamine session. She emphasizes the importance of building trust, establishing informed consent, and teaching body awareness and grounding skills that help clients navigate difficult emotions. Dr. Newes also encourages therapists to let clients discover their own meaning rather than impose interpretations, while using integration to translate insights into everyday life. By focusing on both emotional experiences and practical skills, clinicians can help clients develop greater self-awareness, resilience, and lasting behavioral change.
In this episode of Living Medicine, Chad Franzen of Rise25 talks with Dr. Sandy Newes, Co-founder of Living Medicine Institute, about the core principles of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Dr. Newes explains why preparation is treatment, how body awareness supports healing, and why integration matters more than insight alone. She also explores the observer mind and the importance of balancing distress with well-being.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Quotable Moments:
- “Every single aspect of the preparation is also the treatment.”
- “Not only do we not have the answers, but we don’t have to have the answers.”
- “We can be going through some difficult things, and we can also find a place of neutrality or well-being at the same time.”
- “I’m looking for relational patterns because those things lay down the templates for our sense of self.”
- “Insight is great, but what are you going to do with it?”
Action Steps:
- Treat preparation as part of treatment: Building trust, establishing consent, and understanding clients’ histories creates a foundation for safe and effective psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.
- Teach grounding skills before they’re needed: Helping clients develop body awareness and self-regulation skills prepares them to navigate difficult emotions during treatment.
- Let clients discover their own meaning: Using curiosity and reflective questions instead of imposing interpretations helps clients develop deeper self-awareness and personal insights.
- Balance distress with moments of well-being: Encouraging clients to recognize positive and neutral sensations alongside discomfort helps build emotional resilience and a greater sense of safety.
- Turn insights into meaningful action: Helping clients integrate therapeutic experiences into everyday life supports lasting behavioral change and personal growth.
Sponsor for this episode…
This episode is brought to you by the Living Medicine Institute.
LMI is a training, resource, and membership program educating providers about the legal and safe use of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.
To learn more or participate, visit https://livingmedicineinstitute.com.
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