Gretchen Mead, LCSW

Gretchen Mead, LCSW, is a clinical social worker in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, whose psychotherapy practice includes ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) and psychedelic integration. She sees adults in person and by telehealth, individually and in groups.

Approach

Mead earned her MSW at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2003 and spent more than 20 years in community mental health. She completed Naropa University’s psychedelic-assisted therapy certificate in its second cohort, which covered MAPS training in MDMA therapy, KAP and psilocybin work, and she holds certificates in ecotherapy and Sivananda yoga teaching. Her sessions draw on DBT, Internal Family Systems, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, motivational interviewing, yoga and ecopsychology, and she also helps clients cut down on screen time.

Who it is for

She specialises in depression, anxiety and life transitions, and also lists borderline personality disorder and OCD. People who have taken psychedelics outside a legal setting can come to her for integration, which she frames as harm reduction. She describes her practice as sex-positive and kink friendly.

Practical details

Individual sessions cost $140, and a free 15-minute consultation is available by email. Ketamine sessions take place in person and usually last about 3 hours.

Care and safety

Before KAP she carries out a psychosocial assessment of about an hour and, where ketamine seems suitable, refers the client to a prescribing partner for a medical assessment. Preparation and integration each take 2 to 10 therapy sessions, depending on need.