Maria (Mari) Hernandez, LCSW

Maria (Mari) Hernandez is a licensed clinical social worker in Ventura, California, who runs Vida Consulting Services. She offers psychotherapy with IFS, EMDR and somatic methods, ketamine- and cannabis-assisted therapy, and coaching for psychedelic preparation and integration, mostly online.

Approach

She took her MSW at UCLA in 1997, was licensed in California in 2009 (LCSW 25957) and in Pennsylvania in 2024, and is certified in Internal Family Systems and EMDR. She also uses CBT, mindfulness, a psychodynamic approach, psychedelic somatic therapy, breathwork and sound healing. After more than ten years of weekly talk therapy she moved towards intensives, somatic work and psychedelic-assisted therapy, which she considers faster and more cost-effective. She is bilingual and fluent in Spanish.

Who it is for

Psychotherapy is open to residents of California, Pennsylvania and New Mexico, for anxiety, ADHD, stress, grief and loss, and life changes. She says she has worked with clients of every ethnicity and income level, and helps people unsure about non-traditional approaches decide whether they fit. Coaching covers psychedelic preparation and integration, career transitions, conscious parenting and end-of-life planning.

Practical details

Psychotherapy costs $150 an hour and coaching $120 to $130 a session. The in-person psychedelic preparation and integration package costs $1,400 to $2,800, plus travel. Insurance is accepted in California only and does not cover ketamine work, and sliding-scale fees and payment plans exist. In-person intensives and coaching take place in Ventura, Philadelphia and Albuquerque. A free consultation call of 15 to 20 minutes comes first.

Care and safety

Cannabis- and ketamine-assisted therapy both require a medical intake and assessment before treatment. Psilocybin-assisted therapy appears on her list as pending legalisation in New Mexico.