WHAT IS KAP? | Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy, TELOS

Meet Our Provider Ian Pocock

Hi there! My name is Ian (he/they) and I offer mindfulness-based psychotherapy for individuals seeking a safe place to share and learn about themselves. Whether you are going through major life changes, feeling stuck in old patterns, finding yourself through gender or sexual identity, or trying to integrate experiences outside the bounds of consensus reality, it helps to have a guide who can help you find the footing along your path. My practice is feminist, sex-positive, and LGBTQ+ affirming.

I see the process of healing as a transformation in three stages: (1) learning the skills to sit and be present with life, exactly the way life is. (2) identifying and doing the things that promote our most closely held values. (3) being, in each new moment, more like our authentic self. Sitting, doing, being. I practice mindfulness-based therapy, drawing on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and inner-directed therapeutic approaches. I also offer integration therapy for clients who have been through profound experiences in non-ordinary states of consciousness, whether through meditation, spiritual seeking, or psychedelic substance use. In my practice I enjoy working with clients experiencing depression, anxiety, adjustment disorder, seasonal affective disorder, problematic substance use, and life transitions. I love supporting my clients as they work with themes of toxic masculinity, social justice, anti-colonialism, and internalized oppression.

I am a passionate advocate for individuals on a journey of self-empowerment. My path as a therapist began in research and clinical practice with individuals with substance use disorders and severe mental illness at the Seattle VA Medical Center, where I completed my clinical internship and post-graduate training in the Center for Excellence in Substance Abuse Treatment and Education fellowship program. I received my Master’s Degree in 2015 from University of Washington School of Social Work and I have been a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker since 2019. I am a certified Tai Chi Fundamentals® Adapted Program instructor, and a graduate of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies MDMA Therapy Training Program. I have also worked as both a sitter and a shift-lead for the Zendo Project – a volunteer-operated psychedelic harm reduction program that helps to transform difficult psychedelic experiences into opportunities for learning and growth.

I have found the best parts of myself in expressions of joy and service to others. I love to dance, play and enjoy music, and make upcycled art with found objects. I try to let my unique light shine in a way that helps others to feel safe doing the same.

Meet our Medical Team

Rafael Gonzalez-Vizoso, MD

Dr. Gonzalez-Vizoso started his education at Brooklyn College where he earned his BA in chemistry while fulfilling his pre-med requirements, graduating Cum Laude. He completed his medical school education at Harvard Medical School where he also did a year of research in Tropical Medicine.

His internship was done at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, a Tufts University Medical School affiliated program, and his residency in Emergency Medicine at Boston Medical Center, a Boston University Medical School affiliated program.

He has been board certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine since 1996. He has been practicing Emergency Medicine in multiple settings -anywhere from Level 2 Trauma Centers in urban settings to small to medium rural hospitals- since his graduation from residency in 1994. He is currently the Medical Director for Emergency Services at a critical care access rural hospital in Eastern Washington. He is also the Chairman of the Board of Lightshine, a non profit organization dealing with the care of orphans -specifically in the setting of attachment disorder-, and has traveled extensively on behalf of this organization through Central and South America.

After arriving in Seattle in 1996, he taught Introduction to Clinical Medicine at the University of Washington Medical School as a clinical instructor for 5 years. He also engaged in outcomes research as the medical director of Health Research Associates, Inc. where he co-authored papers, wrote grants and lead studies for 10 years. For the past 18 months, he has been interested in Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy and has undergone all the appropriate training with The Ketamine Training Center, headed by Dr. Phil Wolfson, a leading authority on ketamine assisted psychotherapy (KAP) and has become certified in this treatment modality.

Dr. Gonzalez-Vizoso’s interest in KAP was sparked by the dearth of options available for mental health patients in crisis as well as people with addiction disorders. This induced him to delve into the latest research in the use of psychedelics for mental illnesses. He has used ketamine as an anesthetic in the emergency medicine setting as aid for painful procedures and rapid sequence intubation for over 25 years and is very familiar with the use and safety profile of ketamine. During his training for KAP, Dr. Gonzalez-Vizoso experienced firsthand the amazing effects of ketamine. In association with veteran, ketamine trained psychotherapists, he has become increasingly active in the field of applying psychedelics in the setting of mental illnesses and hopes to continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Besides his interests in medicine, Dr. Gonzalez-Vizoso holds two black belts in two different styles of martial arts, is an avid free diver and spearfisherman as well as an avid cyclist. He is an amateur historian and has serious spiritual and religious pursuits. He also writes poetry but is too afraid to show it to anyone yet.

If you are interested in future trainings or participating in KAT when alternative options become available you can send inquiries to scott.ross@salishseacounseling.com