My name is Ellen, and I’m happy to tell you a bit about myself. I did not come to understand the power of psychedelics until mid-life, but what a ride it’s been since then! After responding “yes” to a calling to work in the helping profession and pursuing degrees in psychology and social work, I spent a couple of decades working in the child welfare field which taught me many lessons that I apply to my work today, including that systems can at times cause more harm than help and that traumatic experiences do not define us.

But let me back up for a moment… At 19 years old, I went on a Vision Quest in the boundary waters of Canada, a life-changing event that allowed me to learn more about indigenous people and rites of passage and set in motion a lifelong quest for purpose and meaning. Shortly after this experience, I relocated from suburban Chicago to Southern California to further my education, explore a different state and play college volleyball. After 9 years living in Southern California, I spent a year volunteering in the Marshall Islands where I taught at a local high school before returning to the U.S. and moving to Colorado.

I am a mom of three children and a “Nana” to two grandchildren who all bring great joy to my life. Besides spending time with family, I enjoy traveling, playing volleyball, walking in nature, listening to music or a podcast, exploring my genealogy (my paternal grandparents were first generation immigrants, one from Ireland and one from Scotland), and learning new self-care techniques (the most recent one I’m exploring is QiGong). I’ve also taken a recent interest in reading about Human Design which I find fascinating!

Working with plant medicines has been a gift, one which I feel such deep gratitude to be able to share with others. I believe these medicines help heal and align body, mind, spirit and soul in a way that is far different and usually deeper than traditional modes of therapy. A fundamental belief that drives me in working with psychedelics is our inherent human capacity to change and to heal, regardless of how, where or why we feel stuck in life. We can feel stuck because things have happened to us or around us that we had no control over and that have caused us pain. Sometimes the pain is so great that we feel driven to do just about anything to try to find relief, and sometimes the pain or discomfort is because we just feel like there is something more out there to explore and help us grow as human beings… and then there is a whole spectrum in between those two ends. For myself, I have been at many points on this spectrum at various times in my life and psychedelics, in particular psilocybin, have helped me push beyond my comfort zone into growth and healing in unexpected ways, and these personal experiences are what drove me to become a trained facilitator. My approach to psilocybin sessions is to provide a safe, nurturing, supportive space in which your own inner healer emerges and guides the work that needs to unfold, and whatever unfolds will be welcomed in a non-judgmental way so that you can enter into a deeper relationship with your authentic self.