Clare McBee, LCSW
Psychedelic Psychotherapist
Jamaica Plain MA
You have probably noticed the increasing buzz around psychedelic therapy, and the potential healing that can come from this modality. My interest in KAP stems from my existing experience as a trauma therapist who provides “bottom-up” reprocessing interventions (like EMDR, IFS, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy). I view psychedelic-assisted treatment as another tool for helping individuals be with the sources of their distress in ways that can be transformative. KAP (like any psychedelic-assisted treatment) induces a nonordinary state of consciousness, which can provide us opportunities to work with wounded parts of ourselves, to support the development of new neural connections, and connect with more adaptive perspectives about ourselves and our suffering.
My membership with Journey Clinical makes it possible to provide KAP in my private practice. As your psychotherapist, together we will evaluate whether KAP could be a beneficial treatment for you and discuss any questions/concerns you have. If you decide to move forward with KAP, I will refer you to the Journey Clinical medical team for evaluation and a prescription. Journey Clinical handles the medical aspects of evaluating your medical appropriateness for KAP, determining the proper dosing, and prescribing the ketamine to you.
We meet for preparation sessions to explore your intentions and goals with KAP and to form a safe working alliance. On the day of your KAP session, you bring your prescription to my office and self-administer your dose. Following your KAP session, we also have integration sessions to support you in the most important aspect of psychedelic-assisted treatment—the meaning-making and behavioral changes that can be possible in the days and weeks following a medicine session. In collaboration with you, myself, and the Journey Clinical medical team, it may be recommended to have more than one KAP session, spaced out over time. Your decision to engage in KAP, or in more than one KAP session is always your choice.
Over the course of my career as a clinical social worker, I have focused my work on providing LGBTQI-affirming psychotherapy to individuals who have experienced trauma, in its many interpersonal and systemic forms. As a white cis queer therapist, I continue to educate myself on the privileges and power dynamics inherent in my own social position in relation to my clients, and I openly work from an anti-oppression framework.
In 2016, I joined The Meeting Point Collaborative, a community of social-justice minded mental health and body work providers located in Jamaica Plain, MA. The Meeting Point is where my private practice office is located. Prior to going into private practice, I worked in community-based mental health settings that primarily served individuals living with HIV/AIDS, LGBTQI+ folks, and people experiencing addiction or homelessness: Partners in Health/PACT Project, Chicago House & Social Service Agency, Howard Brown Health Center, and Victory Programs/Living and Recovering Community.