Fun, Helpful Conversations about Mental Health and Psychedelics
A weekly podcast about therapeutic ketamine, made by and for patients & our allies
Old Friends on New Medicines
This Substack accompanies a weekly podcast of the same name (available on all platforms). In the podcast, old friends give practical tips for regular people interested in therapeutic ketamine.
We make episodes you can share with your mom when she looks horrified and asks, “Isn’t that a horse tranquilizer??? Isn’t that a club drug???”
We center patients and their loved ones, giving practical tips on topics like:
how (and why) to find a therapist trained in psychedelic assisted psychotherapy
how friends and family can support depressed loved ones
what to expect during a ketamine “trip”
and much more.
We are not trained experts in mental health or psychedelics. We’re a patient who has undergone ketamine treatments for several years, and her dearest friends.
Trying a Treatment that’s New on the Scene? …
It’s confusing out there. Powerful stigmas took hold during the war on drugs. Now, as psychedelic medicines are slowly being legalized, patients and loved ones are stuck sifting through news articles that are often sensationalist, reading Reddit threads that can be scary and confusing, and consulting healthcare providers who are often unsure.
… Let’s Sit Back and Talk about Ketamine!
Here, we like to shoot the shit about all of this, giving anecdotes and perspective. Together, we fight stigma, go on tangents, and crack each other up.
We also like to delve into the more profound insights people can gain from their experiences with ketamine and other psychedelic medicines. What is love? How can we heal? What are the roles of loneliness, community, and accompaniment?
Most importantly, we welcome your input! Tell us about something you’re proud of from the past week. Let us know how your last trip went. Send us ideas about topics to cover and guests to invite on the show.
Welcome to Here. Welcome to Now.
On Substack, you’ll find summaries of our podcast episodes with helpful links as well as articles, curated lists, and more. We’ll cover topics from trip music to what to wear during a ketamine infusion, to why we must center patient voices in all areas of mental health.
Help us keep the lights on by subscribing now.
Co-host Molly Dunn in a selfie after a ketamine infusion. She wears headphones to silence overstimulating street noise and makes a “rock out” sign with her hand. A bandage marks the infusion spot.
She’s obviously thinking, “Let’s not ration our joy!”