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Katabasis - A Ketamine Therapy Journey
Katabasis
Stories are how we make sense of life.
The ancient Greeks had a word for the journey of descending into the unknown with intention — and returning changed by what they found there:
ka · TA · ba · sis.
It was a deliberate choice to go deeper when nothing on the surface was working anymore.
3½ years ago I had a nervous breakdown; CPTSD had been building for years, and when it broke the surface, 4 of my 6 kids chose to estrange themselves from me. Now our 30-year marriage is looking like it’s ending in divorce.
I have not found clarity or peace in my grief and suffering.
So I’m doing what the ancients did. I’m going in with intention.
This podcast documents my ketamine-assisted therapy experience at the Within Center at AWKN Ranch in Austin — a first-person account of going deeper when nothing else has worked.
I invite you to join me on the journey.
This is ka · TA · ba · sis.
#Katabasis #KarriKennedy #KetamineRetreat #HealingOutLoud #CPTSD #TraumaRecovery #FamilyEstrangement #DivorceAndHealing #WomensWellness #MentalHealthMatters #PsychedelicTherapy #WithinRetreat #RawAndReal #MyStory #HopeAfterPain
Episodes
25 episodes
Katabasis- Episode 24
It’s been a month since my last episode, and life has moved fast. I’m giving you an update on where I’m at with the divorce, the mediation, and the reality of starting over after 31 years of marriage. I talk about the clarity I’ve gained, a ...
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Katabasis - -Episode 23
4am and I can’t sleep. This one is about coming home, the silence in my own house, and finally saying out loud that I’m done giving and giving with nothing coming back. I talk about the fight that wasn’t a fight, the text I sent with a deadl...
Katabasis- Episode 22
Two hours in the backyard, a hawk that wouldn’t budge, and a lot of quiet realizations. I’m noticing real shifts since coming home — less anxious, less quick to chase people down for reassurance, more okay with just sitting still. I talk abo...
Katabasis- Episode 21
This one gets into codependency, the story I’ve been telling myself about why I chose my husband, and the hard math of what happens if he can’t meet me where I am. I talk about faith, control, forgiveness, and what it actually mea...
Closing Ceremony - Episode 20
It’s my last day here, and my closing ceremony turned into one of the most meaningful goodbyes of my life. I sit with the people who walked this journey with me as they reflect back what they saw in me, and I share the lessons I’m carrying h...
Reframing What I Want - Episode 19
It’s my last day, and I’m sitting with everything this stay has stirred up. I talk through the biggest lessons I’m taking home: choosing to look for the good instead of dwelling on what’s wrong, learning to say what I want instead of what I ...
Vision of My Family as Souls - Episode 18
On my fifth ketamine session, I set an intention for clarity, direction, and peace. What I got instead was a vision I’m still sitting with. My family appeared to me not as the people I know day to day, but as souls and spirits, my husband as...
Getting Ready to go Home - Episode 17
Two days before I leave the retreat, I catch you up on everything — cold plunges that felt like a thousand needles, an afternoon at Barton Springs, and a long talk with one of the guys who runs the place. I’m honest about where I’m really at...
My Nervous System - Episode 16
I wake up mid-retreat and my body feels different — truly rested for maybe the first time in years. I break down my sleep numbers and why I think I’ve undervalued sleep my whole life. Then I go somewhere unexpected: an old memory, my nervous...
The Healing You Can’t See - Episode 15
Some of the biggest shifts aren’t dramatic—they’re quiet.Today changed the way I think about community, healing, and what recovery actually looks like. I talk about a ketamine session that felt surprisingly uneventful, an unforgettable s...
Sound Bath - talking at end - Episode 14
I just walked out of a sound bath and I’m still buzzing. Music, scented mist, an awesome waterfall sound. In this episode I’m processing it in real time, and asking the question that wouldn’t leave me alone: why don’t more people get access ...
Choosing Wisely
A quiet weekend becomes an unexpected turning point. I talk about extending my stay, preparing for another ketamine session, living in community, and the realization that compassion doesn’t require self-abandonment. This episode explores hope, ...
Chasing Clarity - Session 2 - Episode 12
Higher dose, extra time, best massage of my life — and still no answers. Direction, clarity, and peace were my intentions going in. #Katabasis #KarriKennedy #KetamineTherapy #KetamineJourney #HealingJourney #IntegrationJou...
A Hard Nut to Crack - Episode 11
Today was a slow one — lingering headaches, a nothing day, stuffed peppers that hit different, and a whole lot of waiting. But tomorrow is Session 3 with Heather, plus a massage, and I’m ready.Hashtags: #KarriKennedy #Katabasis...
Synchronicity - Episode 10
As a thunderstorm rolls in, I reflect on grief, healing, meaning, and the unexpected connections that seem to appear when life slows down.From difficult conversations about suffering to questions about acceptance, control, and personal g...
The Descent Begins - Episode 9
Today I experienced the journey for myself.Guided by meditation, music, and ketamine, I moved through colors, textures, sensations, and images that were difficult to put into words. Time seemed to stretch, ordinary moments felt different...
Learning to Slow Down - Episode 8
53 hours into this journey, I’m finding that the hardest part is the waiting.After several conversations, time in nature, and reflection on what comes next, I’m beginning to realize how uncomfortable I am with simply slowing down. Withou...
An Unexpected Lesson - Episode 7
The first treatment didn’t go the way I expected.Instead of the breakthrough I had hoped for, I found myself frustrated, disappointed, and wondering what I had done wrong. As the day unfolded, conversations, reflection, and a few unexpec...
Disappointment- Episode 6
My first ketamine-assisted therapy session didn’t go as planned. Instead of a profound journey, I faced disappointment and frustration that I was doing it wrong. A raw, real-time account of an unexpected beginning.#Katabasis #PurposefulD...
Preparing for Ketamine - Episode 5
It’s 5:20am, the morning of my ketamine treatment, and I’ve got 2 hours and 40 minutes to go. In this episode I’m getting real about the quiet — and why it’s messing with me way more than the treatment itself. When you’ve ...
Sound Bath - Episode 4
Day 4 brought something I wasn’t prepared for: a sound bath led by the woman who runs frequency healing at AWKN Ranch. 7 singing bowls tuned to the chakras, a symphonic gong, and breath work focused on gratitude. I didn’t know what to expect...
Getting to the Retreat - Episode 3
I pulled into Austin, hit up Jack’s Kitchen right across the road — fried pork chop, fried green tomatoes, a sangria — go, trust me. Then I made my way up a winding back road through the most beautiful trees to Within Center at AWKN Ranch.<...
The Drive to Austin - Episode 2
I’m hitting the road for Within Center and In this episode, I reflect on young love, my early Austin days, a marriage that’s seems to have run its course, and what I’m really hoping to find on the other side of this retreat. I talk about the th...
How I Got Here - Getting Ready - Episode 1
In this first episode, I’m opening up about why I’m heading to Within, a ketamine retreat center in Austin. After 3.5 years of pain from CPTSD, family estrangement, and facing the end of a 30-year marriage, I’m ready to try something different....