This blog post features a few key takeaways from Dr. Megan’s Wellness Your Way podcast interview with Dr. Will Van Derveer, MD about treatment-resistant depression and PTSD. Find the full episode here and be sure to subscribe to Wellness Your Way so you don’t miss future episodes!
Guest Bio: Dr. Will Van Derveer, MD
Will Van Derveer, MD is co-founder of Integrative Psychiatry Institute (IPI), along with friend and colleague Keith Kurlander, MA. He co-created IPI as an expression of what he stands for. First, that anyone can heal, and second that we medical providers must embrace our own healing journeys in order to fully command our potency as healers.
Dr. Van Derveer spent the last 20 years innovating and testing a comprehensive approach to addressing psychiatric challenges which transcends the conventional model he learned in medical school at Vanderbilt University and residency at University of Colorado, while deeply engaging his own healing path.
He founded the Integrative Psychiatric Healing Center in in 2001 in Boulder, CO, where he currently practices. Dr. Van Derveer regards unresolved emotional trauma as the most significant root cause of psychiatric symptoms in integrative psychiatry practice, along with gut issues, hormone imbalances, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and other functional medicine challenges. He is trained in Somatic Experiencing, EMDR, Internal Family Systems, and other psychotherapy techniques. His current clinical passion is psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, which he mentors interested doctors in providing. An avid meditator, he has been a meditation instructor since 2004.
Top Insights from Dr. Will Van Derveer’s Interview
1. What if your depression isn’t a medication deficiency—but something deeper?
Dr. Van Derveer explains why many antidepressants only help a small percentage of people and why root causes like trauma or environmental toxins might hold the answers instead.
2. Psychedelic therapy is showing results where traditional treatment fails.
Learn how psychedelic-assisted sessions are helping people with treatment-resistant depression and PTSD experience lasting change.
3. Healing begins with psychological flexibility—not just a diagnosis.
Discover why the ability to adapt mentally and emotionally may be more important than any clinical label.
4. Gluten could be sabotaging your mental health.
You’ll hear a compelling story of how cutting wheat resolved a man’s chronic anxiety—and why gut health matters more than you think.
5. One study showed 83% of PTSD sufferers no longer met the criteria—after just three sessions.
Dr. Van Derveer shares results from groundbreaking MDMA-assisted therapy research that could reshape mental health care.
6. “Maintenance ketamine” may not be the answer.
Find out why repeated ketamine use might offer quick relief—but fall short of long-term healing without integrative support.
7. The right guide makes all the difference in psychedelic therapy.
This episode explains why trained professionals are essential—and how to avoid unsafe, unregulated experiences.
8. A silent walk might do more for your mind than your phone ever could.
Dr. Van Derveer shares simple daily practices, like silent walking with a loved one, to build calm and clarity.
9. Not all psychedelic experiences are created equal.
You’ll learn how the setting, mindset, and therapist support make therapeutic use fundamentally different from recreational use.
10. This therapy isn’t for everyone—and that’s okay.
The episode ends with a grounded conversation on who may benefit from psychedelic therapy, and who may need another path entirely.
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Want to hear the full episode, including the #1 ingredient to avoid for mental health, who may benefit from psychedelic therapy, how trauma, toxins, and lifestyle can impact your mind, and so much more?
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