Brooke Kettering, LMFT

Psychotherapist
San Diego CA
I always do my best to meet my clients where they are. That said, I practice a client-led approach in order to honor defenses as we gradually dismantle them together. I typically meet clients weekly or 2 times/month. For ketamine work, I like to meet with clients for preparation several times before a first dosing session, followed by dosing session, followed by an integration session within 1-2 days. For EMDR, I like to meet with client 4 times prior to beginning reprocessing in order to develop trust and build rapport.
I began my exploration into psyche at a young age. As the child of psychologists and as a result of suffering from my own mental health struggles, I experimented with psychedelics as a teenager. I became very aware of how medicinal they could be (my mood and obsessive tendencies seemed to improve after these experiences) from an early age, but felt I had to hide this exploration from my parents and authorities. I studied psychology as an undergrad, and dove into cognitive neuroscience. After undergrad, I was figuring out what direction to take in life, and ended up going down the clinical route, largely from having gone through a series of life experiences (Dad having cancer, loved ones dying, including losing a friend to suicide). I feel my work is a vocation, not just a job or career, and feel very blessed to do the work that I do as a therapist. I believe the therapeutic relationship with each client effects me and encourages me to grow just as my clients are growing and learning. I specialize in working with trauma, anxiety, grief, and OCD. In addition to being trained in depth psychology, CBT, DBT, yoga, and mindfulness, I work with a surf therapy organization called Groundswell Community Project. My objective is to empower people to find answers within themselves through whatever means work best for that individual. I received certification for Psychedelic Assisted Therapy from Naropa University in 2022, and went on to do PRATI's ketamine specific training in August 2022. I offer ketamine assisted psychotherapy, as well as integration and preparation work. I have been a yoga instructor for 12 years, and continue to teach 2 weekly classes, as I believe movement and breathwork are incredible tools for establishing and maintaining psychological and physical wellness.