Non Ordinary Therapy

05/06/2026

Tomorrow we’ll be presenting together at the Iowa Mental Health Counselors Association Conference!

For years, we’ve taught, facilitated, and explored this work alongside one another, but often from parallel paths and different perspectives. That has allowed each of us to bring something unique and complementary to the conversation around healing, awareness, and meaningful change.

Our paths have now aligned in a clinical way and we are excited to enter into this new dynamic with Kerby flare.

Looking forward to the conversations ahead!

04/16/2026

We don’t repeat patterns because we want to. We repeat them because they’re wired.

Our brains love predictability.

The same thoughts, the same reactions, the same relational dynamics...over and over.

Not because we want to stay stuck.
But because those pathways are familiar. And familiar feels safe.

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to take a different route.

To pause.
To respond differently.
To experience something new instead of repeating what’s automatic.

In a supported setting, ketamine can help open that window.

But the shift doesn’t come from the medicine alone.

It comes from what we do with that window - how we integrate, how we relate, how we practice something different.

This is part of what we explore in Reconnect, a one-day couples workshop focused on relational patterns and intentional change. Registration closes soon so be sure to complete your application today!

www.amberkerby.com/reconnect

04/14/2026

What can I hold right now?

It turns out that a lot of relational work comes down to capacity:

⏸️ Can I stay with my own experience when I’m activated?

▶️ And can I stay open to yours at the same time?

The real work is focused on expanding that capacity over time.

Communication skills, self-awareness, nervous system work, and intentional time to reconnect.

What can you hold right now?

04/13/2026

Psychedelic therapy isn’t something to figure out in isolation.

Case consultation is where the nuance actually gets worked through.

We host a free monthly space for clinicians to do just that.

Next meeting is Monday, April 20th at 7 pm. Link in Bio or shoot me a message!

04/07/2026

Connection is not just an emotional experience.

It’s a biological one.

This means that when we feel close to our partner, it’s not just something we think or feel. It’s actually something our nervous system experiences.

And when we feel disconnected?

That’s not just a communication issue.

It’s often a biological response to the dance of two nervous systems looking for safety.

Relational work is incomplete if we just focus on skills.

A full picture also includes real experience in softening protective patterns to create enough safety for connection to actually land.

03/31/2026

There’s a version of our relationship today where we can belly laugh together.

That didn’t happen by accident.

We have spent intentional time over the years building stability in our relationship. This took us into hard conversations, repair, and learning how to create space for connection.

Ultimately, we wanted a relationship that could hold the life unfolding before us.

That work shapes how I think about relational growth, especially in altered-state work.

I find myself constantly returning to this principle:

Stability before expansion.

A solid foundation allows depth without destabilization.

Our upcoming couples workshop (Reconnect) is intentionally designed around that principle.

We have space for two additional couples to join us. If you’re looking for a way to expand your relationship, you can find more information at www.amberkerby.com/reconnect (link in bio).

03/26/2026

Who worries when they hear “group” 🙋‍♀️

One of the questions we’ve received about Reconnect is why the workshop takes place in a shared setting.

The short answer is this:

The group format isn’t about group therapy. It’s about shared preparation and facilitated integration.

A few things are important to understand about how the day is structured.

First, the ketamine-assisted session itself is not an active group therapy process. Although it happens in a shared container, each participant is having their own inward, reflective experience.

Second, sharing during integration is always optional. Every couple has full agency to decide what they share, how much they share, and what they keep private. Boundaries are respected throughout the day, both individually and as a couple.

The shared format can offer support during preparation and integration.

Many couples discover that the challenges they carry are not unique to them. Hearing other couples describe similar dynamics (and sometimes very different ones) can reduce shame and isolation in a powerful way.

Don’t worry - couples will have structured opportunities for private conversation and reflection throughout the day.

The intention of shared space is not exposure.

It’s connection, perspective, and the recognition that relationships are complex for all of us.

And sometimes the most relieving realization for couples is simply this: we’re not the only ones navigating these dynamics.

03/24/2026

Such a fun conversation with Richard Aguila, a fellow marriage and family therapist, about Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy!

Let me know what you think:

📌 Guest: Amber Kerby, LMFT — Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Specialist📍 Location: Des Moines, Iowa (serving clients in person and training clinicians nati...

03/24/2026

Not all dissociation is the same.

In trauma, dissociation protects the system from something too overwhelming to process.

In ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, a similar shift in consciousness can create psychological distance in a way that actually supports therapeutic work.

When the experience is intentional, supported, and integrated, that altered perspective can help people access insight, emotional processing, and new relational patterns.

03/20/2026

Is Iowa joining the psychedelic therapy movement?

House File 978 just cleared a Senate Health & Human Services subcommittee, moving Iowa one step closer to creating a state-regulated psilocybin therapy program.

If passed, the bill would allow regulated production and administration of psilocybin for therapeutic use — primarily focused on PTSD treatment.

A few notable updates from the Senate discussion:

• The state would cap the program at 5,000 patients

• Participants must be 21 or older

• Instead of creating a new oversight board, lawmakers are proposing to expand the existing Medical Cannabidiol Advisory Board to regulate the program, adding psilocybin experts.

What happens next:

The bill now moves to the full Senate for debate and vote. If the Senate makes changes, it would return to the House before heading to the Governor.

Whether you support psychedelic medicine or are simply watching the field evolve, it’s clear that state-level conversations about therapeutic psychedelics are accelerating across the country.

As someone working with psychedelic-assisted therapy and education, I’m continuing to follow these developments closely.

More updates to come.

03/19/2026

I’ve spent years studying marriage therapy — and 18 years inside a marriage.

Turns out all those textbooks don’t make you immune to the work of being married.

The good news is that both my education and lived experience have shaped how I understand relational work.

I don’t claim to have all the answers about partnership. But after years of clinical work with couples and nearly two decades of marriage myself, I’m not naïve to the complexity of relational life either.

Relational work continues to be both fascinating and challenging both personally and professionally. Lately, I’ve been leaning more deeply into how altered states may support couples in softening protective patterns and reconnecting with one another.

That combination of clinical training and lived relational experience helped shape Reconnect, a couples workshop we are facilitating together.

And like the couples I work with, we’re still doing the work ourselves.