Ketamine, Psychedelics & Trauma Healing with Kristy Crabtree
In one of the most eye-opening episodes of the Let’s Get Naked Podcast, Anne Karber sits down with Kristy Crabtree to explore the intersection of science, spirituality, and healing through the lens of psychedelic therapy. Together, they navigate a topic often shrouded in stigma and misunderstanding — the transformative potential of psychedelics in trauma recovery and spiritual awakening.
The conversation is not about escapism or trend-chasing. It’s about what happens when we use these substances with intention — to heal, to reconnect, and to awaken the parts of ourselves that trauma has silenced.
The Science of Healing: How Ketamine Works
Kristy begins by breaking down the neuroscience behind ketamine therapy, one of the most studied and increasingly accepted psychedelic-assisted treatments for mental health.
She explains how ketamine disrupts the default mode network (DMN) — the part of the brain responsible for our self-narrative and repetitive thought loops. In conditions like PTSD or depression, this network becomes overactive, trapping people in cycles of pain, shame, and rumination.
Ketamine “resets” the system, allowing the brain to form new pathways and perspectives. It also boosts brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) — a protein that supports neuroplasticity and emotional healing. For veterans, first responders, and men of service struggling with PTSD, this can be life-changing.
As Kristy explains, “Ketamine opens the door, but integration keeps you walking through it.”
Beyond Ketamine: Psilocybin, Ayahuasca, and MDMA
The conversation expands beyond ketamine to explore other psychedelics like psilocybin, ayahuasca, and MDMA, each with its own role in the healing journey.
Psilocybin (magic mushrooms) facilitates deep emotional processing and mystical experiences that can reconnect people with meaning and purpose.
Ayahuasca, a sacred Amazonian brew, is described as a teacher — one that reveals truths, clears energetic blockages, and fosters humility and surrender.
MDMA, used in trauma therapy, enhances empathy and connection, making it easier to revisit painful memories without being overwhelmed.
Anne and Kristy discuss both the healing potential and the risks of misuse, emphasizing the importance of safety, guidance, and integration. These substances are powerful tools — but without intention, they can become distractions instead of doorways.
From Science to Spirit: The Mystical Experience
Where the conversation becomes truly unique is in its merging of science with spirituality. Both Anne and Kristy share deeply personal stories from ceremony-style sessions — moments of profound clarity and divine connection.
They touch on Christ consciousness, kundalini energy, and soul alignment, framing psychedelics not as escapes from reality but as catalysts for reconnection with it. These mystical states, they explain, are not about leaving the body but coming home to it — awake, aware, and whole.
Radical Responsibility and Human Connection
Anne and Kristy also challenge the idea that psychedelics alone can “fix” us. Real healing, they agree, requires radical responsibility — the courage to face our patterns, to integrate insights, and to live differently once the visions fade.
They highlight the urgency of human connection in this work. Healing doesn’t happen in isolation; it happens in community, in accountability, and in choosing honesty over avoidance. Psychedelics can open the door to awareness, but connection is what keeps us grounded in transformation.
Questioning the Systems That Keep Us in the Dark
The episode closes on a powerful note: questioning the systems — cultural, medical, and institutional — that discourage open dialogue around consciousness, mental health, and self-healing.
Anne and Kristy call for curiosity over fear and awareness over suppression, reminding listeners that the true revolution begins with individuals who dare to wake up.
Because awakening isn’t about escaping the world — it’s about engaging with it, more consciously, more compassionately, and more courageously than before.
