Schedule An Appointment
For New & Existing Clients
For when the old tools stop working.
Therapy and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy for adults in grief, trauma, burnout and big transitions. By video in Louisiana, Missouri, Florida and Michigan. In person KAP sessions in New Orleans at Althea NOLA.
Who I work with
Most people who reach out have already done real work on themselves. They’ve read the books, been to therapy, tried what they know how to try. Now something isn’t landing. Not a crisis, exactly. More like a quiet unraveling that doesn’t match the life they’ve built.
I work with people in those transitions: between who you've been and who you're becoming, between the story that made sense and the one that doesn't yet.
My work is slow, relational, and honest. I'd rather understand what's actually happening than quickly move past it.
Michael VanderWaal, LCSW, LMSW
I’m a psychotherapist based in New Orleans. I’ve been doing this work for over 8 years and offering ketamine-assisted psychotherapy since 2021.
Outside of sessions, I serve as Director of People at NOLA AI, co-founded Althea NOLA, and founded Beyond Retreats and Caring Practitioners Circle.
What I Offer
Here’s what working together can look like.
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Trauma informed psychotherapy for individuals navigating emotional distress, identity questions, and life transitions. My work is relational, depth oriented, and tailored to your needs, blending traditional talk therapy with experiential and somatic approaches.
Common areas of focus include:
Anxiety and social anxiety
Depression
Trauma and PTSD
Burnout and compassion fatigue
Stress and work related challenges
Self esteem and identity exploration
ADD and ADHD
Substance use
Grief and loss
Career counseling and life transitions
College mental health
Spirituality and religion
LGBTQIA plus affirming care
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KAP combines ketamine treatment with structured therapeutic support before and after medicine sessions. This work includes preparation, ketamine sessions, and integration, with careful attention to safety, pacing, and long term change.
KAP can help reduce symptoms of depression, trauma, anxiety, and emotional rigidity while creating space for new perspectives and deeper emotional processing. The therapy component is central to the work, helping translate the experience into meaningful and lasting shifts.
KAP is offered via telehealth in LA, MO, FL and MI, where clinically appropriate.
This approach can be especially supportive for:
Treatment resistant depression
Trauma recovery
Spiritual emergence
Existential concerns
Breaking long standing emotional patterns
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Psychedelic integration therapy supports people in making sense of past or recent psychedelic experiences, whether those occurred in clinical, retreat, ceremonial, or personal contexts. This work does not involve the administration of medicine, but focuses on understanding, grounding, and integrating insights into everyday life.
Integration can be helpful for processing difficult or confusing experiences, navigating spiritual emergence, working with insights or emotional material that surfaced, and aligning experiences with values, relationships, and daily functioning.
This service is available via telehealth across multiple states and can be offered as standalone work or alongside other forms of therapy.
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I design and facilitate therapeutic retreats and intensives that offer extended time and space for deeper work. These experiences blend psychotherapy, psychedelic integration, nature based practices, and community support to foster meaningful reflection, healing, and renewal.
This includes:
Multi day retreats
Small group intensives
Psychedelic integration retreats
Workshops and experiential groups
I am the founder of Beyond Retreats, a nature based retreat company offering therapeutic experiences across the country.
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Walk and talk therapy takes place outdoors, side by side, rather than seated in an office. Movement and nature can support grounding, openness, and emotional regulation, and many people find this format less intimidating and more natural.
Ask about availability.
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Trauma focused hypnotherapy and experiential approaches support access to unconscious patterns, inner resources, and emotional processing beyond cognitive insight alone. This work is gentle, collaborative, and grounded in consent and safety.
Often integrated with:
Parts work and Internal Family Systems
Breathwork
Nervous system regulation
Mind body awareness
Habit change and emotional resilience
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I provide clinical supervision for Michigan licensed clinicians, with a focus on trauma informed care, psychedelic integration, and depth oriented practice. Consultation is also available for therapists, organizations, and practitioners seeking support around complex cases or program development.
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Beyond therapy, I engage in education, community building, and creative projects that support healing at both the individual and collective level. This includes teaching, speaking, training, and consulting work, as well as my role as Founder of Caring Practitioners Circle.

