Sarah Murray, LCSW

Sarah Murray is a licensed clinical social worker in Denver, Colorado, and the founder of Heart Wild Therapy and Wellness Coaching, a group practice offering ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, EMDR and talk therapy, in person and online across Colorado.

Approach

She has worked in mental health for over ten years, mostly with people who have lived through serious trauma, in residential, hospital and school settings. She uses emotional, somatic, cognitive and spiritual methods in a two-way relationship. She studied psychology at Wheaton College in Massachusetts and social work at Simmons College. In the practice’s ketamine work, a partner psychiatrist prescribes, the ketamine is a lozenge held in the mouth for ten minutes, and the therapist takes notes while the effects last, usually one to two hours.

Who it is for

She works with anxiety, depression and trauma, and specialises in women’s emotional concerns around pregnancy, miscarriage and the postpartum period. The practice sees anyone aged 15 and over in Colorado, and she welcomes clients whose identities differ from her own.

Practical details

A ketamine course takes at least four sessions: two or more preparation hours, a dosing session of two to three hours and an integration session, with dosing every two to six weeks. Dosing happens at the Denver office, online with a chaperone present, or sometimes at home. The first hour can be billed to insurance and later hours cost $150 or more; the prescriber’s assessment starts at $250, and the medicine, typically $50 to $100, is not covered. The practice takes Kaiser, Cigna, Aetna, Medicaid and United, and offers a free 15-minute consultation.

Care and safety

Vital signs are checked before each dose. The practice names high blood pressure, ongoing addiction and conditions with persistent psychosis or mania as the main contraindications, and clients need a ride home. Ketamine is legal in Colorado with a prescription.