Monalisa Nguyen

Monalisa Nguyen is a licensed psilocybin facilitator, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) guide and trauma-informed practitioner based in Irvine, in Orange County, California. Her facilitator licence was issued by DORA in Colorado, and she works with clients locally and remotely.

Approach

Nguyen trained with Paul Austin at the Psychedelic Coaching Institute, with InnerTrek and with Dr. Marie Mbouni, MD, and completed professional training in Gabor Maté’s Compassionate Inquiry, which shapes her somatic style. Further certificates cover harm reduction, breathwork, mental health first aid and somatic integration, and she is studying for a BSN on the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner track. She says her clinical experience includes hundreds of clients in ketamine- and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy within a licensed medical model. A psilocybin session typically lasts 4 to 6 hours with eye shades and music, a KAP session 45 to 90 minutes, and she stays present for both.

Who it is for

Her work is open to people with or without earlier experience of plant medicine or spirituality, and her retreats take beginners as well as people with years of inner work behind them. She works with individuals and groups.

Practical details

Private sessions of 60 to 90 minutes run in person or by video, singly or as three- or six-month programmes; the three-month option means six sessions every two weeks. Retreats last 2 to 5 days for 6 to 12 people, with dates sent to an email waitlist. Rates run from $250 to $500 an hour, with medicine sessions priced separately and a sliding scale possible. A free 30-minute discovery call comes first.

Care and safety

Before any medicine session, clients complete an intake form on their background, medical history and emotional wellbeing. Screening covers contraindications such as certain psychiatric diagnoses and medications, and each psilocybin or ketamine session comes with preparation and integration.