0102 with Megan Hawkins From 'BetterU' Psychedelic Therapy - At Home Ketamine Therapy To Heal Anxiety And Depression

To skip solo intro: @11:03

In this episode, we get to meet Megan Hawkins, one of the Co-Founders of BetterU Psychedelic Therapy. She joins us from her home in Los Angeles, where she and her partner Derek Du Chesne have been recently working on opening the first brick-and-mortar location for BetterU. 
Once an international model, Megan's life took a dramatic turn when she was shot at 19 yrs old. She entered the mental health system, was prescribed a mountain of medications, and like many, was overdiagnosed and overmedicated. Seeking solace from significant trauma, she left modeling for a career in mortgages and real estate, finding success but not fulfillment. Her battle with depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and PTSD persisted until 2021, when she discovered the life-changing potential of ketamine therapy. Now, she's a support and integration coach at Better U Psychedelic Therapy, using her journey to connect with and guide others on their path to recovery.
The team at BetterU works with those suffering from PTSD, Anxiety, and Depression to strategically treat these disorders with a whole treatment plan that surrounds this substance known as ketamine. Ketamine is a psychedelic non-psychedelic that, when paired with the right set, setting, intention, and work - provides a very large percentage of its patients with positive results in their overall mental health.
Perhaps you've never heard of this 'ketamine', or psychedelic therapy even, and you've never taken psilocybin - and you're wondering 'Magic mushrooms to heal my depression?' 'A horse tranquilizer for healing trauma?' 'LSD to relax?' 'Molly for my grandpa's night terrors?' 'Dude, what?' - Well, strap in because this one is for both the newcomers and the seasoned psychonauts. We're here to talk about making a diary entry, taking dissociative drugs, putting on a full blindfold, and laying on your back while headphones dance beautiful music through you - and just how the heck that could possibly heal depression.

I gave Ketamine Therapy a try myself a few months back. I found this company called "BetterU" and went through the whole process of 8 at-home sessions. I loved the way this company set everything up so well that I sent an email to interview one of them. Luckily Megan was available, and she joins us here to share her wisdom and perspective. 

When Megan, at 19, found herself in a nightclub unknowingly sitting behind a well-known gangster, when there was an assassination attempt on that gangster from a shooter on the balcony above. Megan was struck by a stray bullet, and her life began to unfold quite differently from that night. She shares some of her personal journey and lays out how she's landed herself in the orbit of ketamine therapy and psychedelic healing many years later. 

Ketamine isn't just about the dose or the drug, 'Set' and 'Setting' are as important as the substance. BetterU gives you the playbook and structure for the most fruitful set and setting. The setup that's done prior to the trip changes the entire thing. 

I tried to shape this episode as informative to newcomers as a way of introducing Ketamine Therapy to those who haven't experienced ketamine, and emphasizing the difference between the use of Ketamine as a street drug/horse tranquilizer vs. in a therapeutic environment.

We start this episode with info about BetterU and Ketamine. Megan talks about what led to BetterU and we talk about the importance of taking Ketamine and psychedelics seriously, and the value of care and quality. She lays out the process of taking ketamine therapeutically, how long we take the drug, how many sessions per week, she lays out some fantastic analogies and examples that are easy to grasp and I try to add my personal experience as it relates to what Megan is explaining about Ketamine. We covered if you can go to work after a ketamine therapy