Better Sex 255: Psychedelic Sex Therapy with Dr. Steven Radowitz
In this episode of the Better Sex Podcast, host Jessa Zimmerman is joined by Dr. Steven Radowitz, a primary care doctor and ketamine clinic practitioner. They delve into the use of psychedelic drugs, particularly ketamine, in therapy and how it can positively impact mental health and relationships. Dr. Radowitz discusses how psychedelics help treat mental health conditions, the science behind ketamine's effectiveness, and the potential for its future use. He also explains the importance of integration and proper settings for these treatments, and how they can lead to profound personal and relational growth.
00:00 Welcome to Better Sex
00:42 Introducing Psychedelic Therapy
00:58 Meet Dr. Steven Radowitz
01:11 The Power of Psychedelics in Mental Health
04:46 Ketamine: The Legal Psychedelic
05:13 How Ketamine Works
07:38 Applications of Ketamine Therapy
10:32 The Future of Mental Health Treatment
18:32 Ketamine and Relationships
21:20 The Psychedelic Experience
26:16 Accessing Ketamine Therapy
31:19 Other Psychedelics on the Horizon
34:29 Conclusion and Contact Information
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Bio:
Starting his career in New York during the peak of the opioid and AIDS crises, Dr. Steven Radowitz has a wealth of experience seeing the effects trauma and addiction can have on our physical health. Dr. Radowitz joined Nushama, at the intersection of science and spirituality, to oversee and develop treatment modalities. He believes psychedelic medicine’s framework of neuroscience, mystical experience, and integration therapy is the future of mental wellness, and current solutions often fall short, treating symptoms without addressing underlying issues.
Known for his compassion, yet unafraid to be controversial, Dr. Radowitz sees the source of disease as a “dis-ease” that results from a misalignment of mind, body and spirit. He has a passion for preventive medicine, getting to the root of a health problem before it manifests. In contrast to traditional medicine, he views psychedelics as powerful tools to help us become aware of the origin of imbalance and guide us toward wholeness, health, and wellbeing, healing from within. He and the Nushama team have administered more than 10,000 ketamine journeys for mood disorders and are known to be best-in-class and most experienced globally.
In addition to Nushama’s ketamine-assisted therapy protocol for mood disorders, he leads Ketamine for the Reduction of Alcohol Relapse (KARE), an innovative, highly efficacious protocol that clinical studies have shown to be 86% effective. Nushama’s team is the first to bring this revolutionary treatment to New York City, using the power of psychedelics to transform addictive behaviors. Prior, Dr. Radowitz worked at St. Vincent’s NYC Midtown medical center, where he was medical director of the inpatient alcohol and opiate detox and treatment unit. With a history of being part of the solution, he has been a DEA-licensed provider for buprenorphine maintenance treatment for opiate dependence for over a decade.
He most recently co-authored the largest IV ketamine for PTSD study to date — available as a preprint and pending peer review. The landmark findings make the case for a psychedelic therapy paradigm as 75% of participants gained clinically meaningful improvements and 61% showed remission of symptoms.
Coming from a sheltered Montreal community, Dr. Radowitz was not raised with a spiritual background but felt something was missing. Upon moving to New York, he explored the city’s culture and nightlife on a journey to expand his consciousness—the study of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, transcendental meditation, and various forms of yoga resonated deeply. After seeing significant improvement in some of his patients who chose to explore psychedelics for different medical and psychiatric conditions, he witnessed their profound transformation, serendipitously meeting Co-Founder Jay Godfrey and Richard Meloff, who invited him to join Nushama.
Dr. Radowitz has been practicing internal medicine since 1998. He currently mentors master’s students attending the Columbia School of Social Work interning at Nushama for their field practicum, and prior, he supervised Columbia medical students and residents. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Anatomy and Cell Biology from McGill University and his medical degree at The Chicago Medical School with an internal medicine residency at Rush University Medical Center. Before Nushama, Dr. Radowitz also ran the primary care program at a number of top-tier investment banks for more than 10 years and held a private practice specializing in general medicine, HIV care, and preventive medicine. Overall, he saw the connection between chronic stress and health and wanted to make a difference, leading to his career transition to psychedelic medicine.
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More info and resources:
Secret Podcast for the Higher Desire Partner: https://www.intimacywithease.com/hdppodcast
Secret Podcast for the Lower Desire Partner: https://www.intimacywithease.com/ldppodcast
How Big a Problem is Your Sex Life? Quiz – https://www.sexlifequiz.com
The Course – https://www.intimacywithease.com
The Book – https://www.sexwithoutstress.com
Podcast Website – https://www.intimacywithease.com
Access the Free webinar: Intimacy Made Easy: 3 Secrets to Bridging Libido Differences: https://intimacywithease.com/masterclass