Psychodynamic Approaches To Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy: Dr. Erika Czerwinski

05/01/25 • 46 min

Dr. Erika Czerwinski, PsyD, is the Founder, Director, and Facilitator of Eleos, which integrates ketamine-assisted psychotherapy and nature-based mindfulness to facilitate self-discovery. With over 20 years of clinical experience working with individuals, couples, and groups, Dr. Czerwinski holds certifications in psychedelic-assisted therapies from MAPS, the Integrative Psychiatric Institute, and the Living Medicine Institute. Since 2019, she has facilitated ketamine-assisted psychotherapy for physicians, young adults, and those healing from trauma.

In this episode...

As the psychotherapy space enters a psychedelic renaissance, navigating the complex relational dynamics that emerge in altered states remains a top concern. How can therapists maintain ethical boundaries while being authentic and responsive during such vulnerable moments? What role do clinical frameworks like attachment theory and transference play when working with powerful medicines like ketamine?

According to clinical psychologist Dr. Erika Czerwinski, relational attunement, psychoanalytic listening, and ceremony-based approaches can ground and enrich ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. Distinguishing dosages helps clinicians tailor interventions based on client needs and internal states. When clients begin regaining verbal awareness during ketamine sessions, gentle, well-timed reflections can surface unconscious material, validate emerging emotional experiences, and help anchor insights for integration. By attuning to transference patterns and unconscious processes, interpretations can deepen relational safety and accelerate healing.

In this episode of Living Medicine, Dr. Sandy Newes interviews Erika Czerwinski, PsyD, Founder, Director, and Facilitator of Eleos, about integrating relational depth into psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Dr. Czerwinski talks about working with clients experiencing personality disorders, the difference between psychedelic and psycholytic therapy sessions, and how ketamine compares to similar psychedelics in clinical usage.

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Ketamine for Multiple Personality/DID: The Client Experience

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Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is often misunderstood, stigmatized, or misdiagnosed, especially in high-functioning individuals who mask symptoms through adult-like coping strategies. Many live for decades without a clear diagnosis, struggling silently with memory gaps, emotional volatility, and identity confusion. How can modern therapeutic practices like psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy identify and support people navigating this complex condition?

Today’s guest struggled for years with DID that remained hidden behind a facade of accomplishments until various life stressors made symptoms unavoidable. Through intensive trauma therapy and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, they identified distinct parts within themself, recognized their trauma origins, and began the integration process. The guest emphasizes that psychedelics allow access to vivid trauma memories, the role of the therapist in creating safety and attunement during complex trauma work, and how gaining agency over their identities transformed their condition from a burden into a strength.

Join Dr. Signi Goldman in today’s episode of Living Medicine as she recounts an interview with an anonymous client about resolving DID through psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. The guest talks about identifying and healing distinct internal identities, their early experience with DID symptoms, and how somatic touch can facilitate identity reconciliation.

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Changing the Narrative: Why the MAPS Protocol Is Real Psychotherapy

Rick Doblin, PhD, is the Founder and President of MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies), a nonprofit organization advancing research into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics. He studied under Dr. Stanislav Grof and was among the first to be certified as a Holotropic Breathwork practitioner. Rick aims to develop legal contexts for the beneficial uses of psychedelics and marijuana.

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The path to healing trauma and advancing mental health care through psychedelic therapies is often blocked by regulatory barriers, cultural stigma, and skepticism. While MDMA-assisted psychotherapy shows immense promise, therapists wonder how these treatments can be made widely accessible and trusted, especially across different cultures, age groups, and medical systems. What does it take to shift public perception and institutional acceptance?

Psychedelic researcher and therapy pioneer Rick Doblin combines rigorous clinical research, international therapist training, and grassroots cultural change to reduce the stigma surrounding psychedelic therapies. He has initiated humanitarian projects in high-trauma, low-resource regions like Ukraine and Rwanda and facilitated the FDA approval process through pilot studies and collaborative research. Rick emphasizes the importance of therapist training — including firsthand MDMA experience — and encourages public storytelling to destigmatize psychedelics and build broader support.

In today’s episode of Living Medicine, Dr. Sandy Newes welcomes Rick Doblin, PhD, Founder and President of MAPS, to discuss his pioneering research into MDMA and other psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies. Rick talks about group and family psychedelic therapy models, the relationship between mysticism and therapeutic outcomes during psychedelic sessions, and how to support natural emotions during vulnerable states.