Sattva Medicine

Sattva Medicine is the Miami practice of Dr. David Mathai, a board-certified psychiatrist and psychotherapist who offers ketamine-assisted psychotherapy alongside depth-oriented therapy and psychiatric care. He sees clients in person in Aventura and Miami Beach and by telehealth across Florida and Texas.

Approach

Mathai trained as a doctor and psychiatrist at Baylor College of Medicine, including its Menninger department, then held a postdoctoral fellowship in psychedelic research at Johns Hopkins, working as study physician and session therapist on psilocybin and ketamine trials. He is a clinical assistant professor at Baylor, led the development of the first US interdisciplinary guidelines for intravenous ketamine with ASKP3, and has written more than 35 publications. Ketamine is never offered on its own: each medicine session sits within ongoing psychotherapy that draws on psychodynamic, CBT and ACT approaches.

Who it is for

He works with adults facing depression, anxiety and trauma, grief, guilt and shame, difficult transitions and existential or psycho-spiritual questions. He also offers psychedelic consultation by telehealth for people who have taken psychedelics or are thinking about it, covering education, harm reduction and integration, and helps people taper psychiatric medications such as antidepressants safely.

Practical details

Fees are fixed per session, given on request and sometimes adjusted for financial need. He does not bill insurance directly but helps with out-of-network reimbursement, and payment is by card or Zelle on the day. Cancellations need 24 hours’ notice, and work starts with an initial phone consultation.

Care and safety

Ketamine treatment comes with medical screening, preparation ahead of every session and integration after it. Mathai lists rare risks of ketamine and other psychedelic therapies, among them addiction, mania, psychosis and suicidality, and notes that psychological support is thought to reduce them.