

454: Dr. Jennifer Tippett on Trauma Therapy, Never Wasting Triggers, and Psychedelic Research
I’m here with Dr. Jennifer Tippett, a licensed clinical psychologist in the Denver Metro area. Dr. Tippett has been working with patients with mental illness and substance misuse for a decade. She’s the director of the Substance Use Disorder specialty at the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Professional Psychology, where she teaches the sequence of graduate-level courses about the neurobiology of trauma, addiction, and behavioral addictions. She also has a small private practice where she provides psychedelic integration and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy.
I wanted to have her on because these things have been helpful to me in my own life, and because we’re likely going to see the clinical legalization of substances in the United States in the next couple of years. I think education around this topic ahead of time is vitally important, as it can be easily misunderstood or even misused.
Episode Highlights With Dr. Jennifer Tippett
- The astounding research on certain therapies for PTSD and severe trauma
- How these therapies can have a lasting effect without continued use
- The downsides of SSRIs and what to be aware of
- How trauma lives in the body and how this gives us a window to address it
- The role of somatic therapies in trauma processing
- How ACE (adverse childhood experiences) play a role in the trauma response
- Clinical research on ketamine and how it is being used in patients with depression
- The vital importance of integration for processing any type of trauma or trauma therapy
- Why couples are each other’s perfect triggers and how to reframe couple disagreements
- Complementary and alternative therapies that work with these types of therapy
- The surprising roots of the stigma around psychedelics
- Important safety and risk information
- Problems and barriers with access to these therapies for people who need them most
- What the future holds for clinical use of psychedelics and ketamines
- And more!
Resources We Mention
More From Wellness Mama
- 513: Tanner Wallace on Childhood Trauma, Attachment Wounds, and How to Heal
- 504: Paul Austin of Third Wave on Understanding and Using Psychedelics for Transformation
- 491: Peter Crone on Freedom From the Prisons of the Subconscious Mind
- 483: Mark Wolynn on Why It Didn’t Start With You, Inherited Trauma & How We Heal
- 470: Amy Emerson of MAPS on the Future of Psychedelic Assisted Therapy & Research
- 447: Kambo Frog Medicine for Detox, Healing, and Trauma Release With Todd Shipman
- 445: Understanding Consciousness, Ego & How to Reduce Suffering With Polymath Dr. Ted Achacoso