PRATI alum Dr. Suraiya ‘Simi’ Rahman, MD, is the co-founder and Medical Director at Pala Medicine in Pasadena, CA. Dr. Rahman is a board-certified physician with over 15 years of experience and an expert in the safe, clinical use of ketamine. She works to provide adults with equitable access to safe, legal, and effective psychedelic-based treatment options. She is an integral part of the PRATI community, and we are proud to be able to share her insights here in this spotlight interview!
As Suraiya says, “In joining this field you commit to being a lifelong learner as this is such a new field with so much more we don’t know compared to how little we do know. It can be exciting as well as daunting at the same time. Pace yourself, bring your entire self to this healing journey, as it will not only heal you, but heal your families and communities as well.”
In this journey, we are continually learning from each other, and from you Suraiya. Thank you for the work that you do!
Tell us a little about your therapeutic practice and your vision for the world.
In building the practice we chose the name Pala for a few reasons: it refers to the Pala mudra (hand shape) for protection in the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. To us, it is symbolic of the principle of safety embedded in the ethical practice of psychedelic medicine. It also contains a little early Western psychedelic history easter egg: Pala is the name given to a psychedelically aware civilization in the novel by Aldous Huxley called Island. Only upon further research did we find that my ancestors hail from the region of South Asia where a Pala empire existed starting in 750 CE. It’s truly gratifying how psychedelic medicine has brought me back full circle to my ancestral Indigenous roots, my philosophical heroes as well as my spiritual traditions.
When realizing the vision for a psychedelic medicine clinic, my husband and psychedelic facilitator Rob Matthews and I sought to bring together the art and science of this work into the design. As an urban planner and designer, Rob took the clinic space and (affordably) created an environment where people feel instantly enclosed in calm and spaciousness. As a pediatrician with years of experience delivering ketamine for medical indications I recognized that my skill set was valuable in this emerging field of medicine. Together we pay close attention to the experiential nature of this practice starting from the point of first contact, to website design, to client communication. We are gratified to see that our patients recognize through the process that they are on a different kind of healing journey.
My vision for the world is one in which rapid antidepressants like ketamine are available and covered by insurance for patients experiencing acute suicidality; that psilocybin is legal and available to those at the end of life and with treatment resistant conditions like eating disorders and long standing depression; that the empathogen MDMA is allowed to heal the traumatized populations that are only growing in numbers everyday.
What do you appreciate most about using KAP/PAT as a modality with your clients?
IV/IM Ketamine therapy in a psychedelic model of care works rapidly for treatment resistant mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, PTSD, Disordered Eating, OCD. I have seen nothing like it. Patients are transformed. I see this repeatedly in my practice, and I am in awe of the changes my patients undergo on a regular basis.
What advice would you offer to a provider interested in starting to practice KAP/PAT?
I’ve come to realize that the experts in this field are comfortable at the intersection of many disciplines and bodies of knowledge. In joining this field you commit to being a lifelong learner as this is such a new field with so much more we don’t know compared to how little we do know. It can be exciting as well as daunting at the same time. Pace yourself, bring your entire self to this healing journey, as it will not only heal you, but heal your families and communities as well.
Is there anything else you would like to share with our community?
We have come to realize that maintaining balance is important in this field, especially as the field evolves. Building our own resilience, through inner work as well as relational work has been essential, while the accountability and support of the psychedelic community has been grounding.
Our community is amazingly rich and deep. I love to meet people in this field as they happen to be some of the most well-adjusted, exciting, and authentic individuals I’ve had the distinct pleasure of meeting. So much richness!
I would like to share my deep gratitude to this community for existing. To the people at PRATI for being such a beautiful community of authentic souls.
Thank you PRATI! #PRATIlikestoparty
XO
