Psynergy Centre Health & Wellness

Psynergy Centre Health & Wellness is a multidisciplinary mental health clinic in downtown Medicine Hat, Alberta, offering ketamine-assisted psychotherapy alongside talk therapy, trauma care and complementary practices. The building backs onto green space by the South Saskatchewan River.

Approach

Founder and director Ana Schlosser, a registered provisional psychologist with more than 25 years in mental health, led the development of the centre’s licensed psychedelic drug treatment service. She trained with MAPS in MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD. The team includes registered psychologists, social workers and counsellors, a psychiatrist who sees patients by physician referral, and a registered nurse in the ketamine programme. Complementary options run from breathwork, reiki and sound baths to Indigenous healing practices.

Who it is for

The centre lists trauma, complex PTSD, operational stress and moral injury among its specialities, with services for first responders, front-line workers and serving and veteran military. Depending on the clinician, it works with children, teens, adults, couples, families and groups. It also offers consultation to therapists and doctors in Alberta who want to refer patients for ketamine treatment.

Practical details

Many clinicians also work online. Fees have ranged from $75 to $220, and one provisional psychologist lists $235 a session. Several practitioners bill insurers such as Alberta Blue Cross directly, and a sliding scale or reduced and waived fees on compassionate grounds can be agreed case by case.

Care and safety

Ketamine treatment starts with a referral from the patient’s family doctor or psychiatrist. A psychiatric nurse or psychologist then screens for contraindications such as psychotic symptoms and checks that the patient is stable, and the psychiatrist acting as medical director approves each case. Psychological preparation comes before the medicine and integration, in a group or one to one, after it. The centre describes its part as short term: when the programme ends, patients go back to their own providers.