How does healing begin when traditional mental health tools fall short? In this episode, April Pride continues her conversation with Jennifer Whetzel—branding expert, researcher, and founder of the Women in Cannabis Study. Together, they unpack the role of at-home ketamine therapy in treating major depression and PTSD. Jennifer shares the rituals, risks, and realities of being a woman navigating both the cannabis and psychedelic space—and how creative integration practices like selfies, sparkle gardens, and AI storytelling transformed her healing. If you’re curious about how ketamine can help resolve trauma, or wondering whether microdosing is enough, this episode invites you into the lived experience of someone who’s done the work—twice a week, for years.
🔵 Key Takeaways
Ketamine therapy for women can offer immediate relief from depressive episodes and PTSD—especially when combined with integration.
Women in cannabis often enter the industry for healing, but face burnout, sexism, and untreated mental health challenges.
Jennifer’s DIY integration rituals—like selfies and sparkle gardens—help prolong ketamine’s effects and create joy in daily life.
Misconceptions around long-term ketamine use can create shame, but some women need ongoing protocols to maintain stability.
New research and community stories are crucial to overcoming stigma and helping more women access safe, science-backed psychedelic care.
🔵 Timestamps
[03:00] Jennifer on the Women in Cannabis Study
[04:15] Why women feel successful—on their own terms
[06:16] Sexism in cannabis and going solo
[07:14] The fear of reaching out—and what changed that
[08:45] New research collaboration: women + psychedelics
[09:06] What holds women back from psychedelic healing
[10:17] Misogyny, mental health, and what hasn’t improved
[11:19] Why ketamine isn’t a one-size-fits-all
[13:01] PTSD vs depression: how ketamine works differently
[14:34] How long each ketamine session takes at home
[15:49] Integration practices: selfies, AI stories, sparkle gardens
[18:58] Winter sparkle and ADHD-friendly joy
[19:53] Why setting expectations around healing matters
[20:07] What Jennifer learned from her first session
🔵 Featured Guest
Jennifer Whetzel
🔵 Additional Resources
🎙️SetSet Podcast: Ep. 98 “At-Home Ketamine Therapy for Trauma”
🎙️SetSet Podcast: Ep. 50 “Ketamine Therapy and Psychedelic Psychiatry”
🎙️SetSet Podcast: Ep. 51 “Trust and Ketamine Therapy: Letting Go to Heal”
🎙️SetSet Podcast: Ep. 54 “Ketamine Therapy for Depression”
🎙️SetSet Podcast: Ep. 55 “Ketamine-Assisted Therapy: Brain Effects Explained”
🎙️SetSet Podcast: Ep. 56 “At-Home Ketamine Therapy”
Substack: “Can Ketamine Help Save New Moms?”
What are your biggest questions about ketamine or at-home psychedelic protocols? Have you created any rituals that help you integrate after a session? 👇 Let’s talk about it in the comments after the transcript below.
🔵 Transcript
[00:03] April Pride:
Hey, this is April, and this show, Set Set Show, discusses cannabis, psychedelics, and altered states of consciousness generally. It's intended for audiences 21 and over. Also, I am not a medical expert. If you are looking to engage with [psychedelic therapy for depression], please consult your physician before doing so. Welcome back. I'm April Pride, your host for Set Set Show, a resource for everyone curious to explore how to safely use cannabis and [psilocybin for mental health] for their clinically proven therapeutic potential and beyond. If you like what you hear on this show, please rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts. It really does help more people find our show. If you haven't listened to part one, please go back and learn about Jennifer Whetzel's life experience that led her to seek [ketamine therapy for women] for depression and unresolved trauma. Jennifer is founder of Lady Jane Branding and Clio Cannabis award-winning creator of the Women in Cannabis study. In part two, she sheds light on how [at-home ketamine treatment] can offer a safe and supportive environment for processing deep emotions and accessing self-compassion. And for our Seattle listeners, are you curious about how psychedelics are revolutionizing mental health care? Join me for the next Psychedelic Salon live here in Seattle on Monday, March 3rd at Town Hall Seattle. This month's topic, [psychedelic therapy for depression]. We focus on the transformative potential of [ketamine mental health protocol] for mental health. We'll dive into the latest clinical findings on how psychedelics like [psilocybin for mental health] and [ketamine therapy for women] are being used to treat depression, including major depressive disorder, treatment resistant depression, postpartum depression, and PMDD. Local experts will share groundbreaking research and discuss the therapeutic mechanisms behind these treatments, giving you a deeper understanding of how they're reshaping the mental health landscape. Whether you're looking for new ways to manage mental health or simply curious about these novel therapies, this salon offers valuable insights into the science and promise of [healing trauma with psychedelics]. Seats are limited, so visit downhallseattle.org to reserve yours today. I look forward to seeing those of you who are in Seattle on Monday, March 3rd at Town Hall Seattle, where we explore the future of mental health together. And again, tickets are limited. I've linked to in the show notes of this episode. Psychedelic Salon is hosted by me at Town Hall Seattle on the first Monday of each month. Sign up for Setsets newsletter for information on each month's topic and featured guests. Now, let's dive into the transformative potential of [ketamine therapy for women] and what it means to take healing into our own hands right from home.
[03:00] Jennifer Whetzel:
I keep calling it a survey. It's being private by something else. The Women in Cannabis Study.
[03:04] April Pride:
What did you learn? I mean, you told us some things, but you've actually shared a lot of the results with me and they're much more vast than what you shared in the beginning of this conversation. Yeah. So is there anything that sticks out to you that you think would be of interest to other women who maybe don't work in cannabis, but just have an interest in the plants?
[03:25] Jennifer Whetzel:
So I would say that a very large percentage of women who work in cannabis do so because of their passion for the plant. Yes. Our personal connection in some way, whether it's, it's not always themselves using cannabis for something. Sometimes it's a family member or a friend, but it's that passion that brings them in. I have a hypothesis from the data that a lot of women who work in cannabis have undiagnosed mental health issues and quite weren't there because it's a much more empathetic space to be. And then what's the percentage that are undiagnosed? I didn't specifically ask if they had a diagnosis. Based on the results of the questions I asked, like, why do you use it for medical reasons and for recreational reasons? The numbers of people who are, it definitely shows that they have migrated to cannabis.
[04:14] April Pride:
Because it's really hard to learn.
[04:17] Jennifer Whetzel:
That's right. What I learned is that women experience sexism and misogyny and harassment and abuse in this industry, just like any others. And it's gotten worse. Yep. But the thing that I love the most is I asked a question about success. Do you consider yourself successful? It was like 86% of women said yes. And when I asked the question of how do you define success for yourself? And this is where I wish that I had surveyed men and asked them the same question because I would have liked to compare the answers. Yeah. Because women talk about, and this is my favorite answer, and everybody around me eats too. That was the answer. I'm successful. I bring everybody along with me and we're all successful. And that was a theme. It was, I need enough. I don't need everything. And it's not how most men do business. It's a lot of women just want to, they want to do their thing and they want to have enough to get by and be happy. And they want to have people like their values seem different. That was the greatest part of that study because honestly, I asked women to tell their stories and the trauma that I read and I held for years was a lot. It was difficult for me to finish because of all the stories that made me sad because they were consistent and it was a lot. So I was glad that there was a light at the end of the survey where even though it sucks for a lot of women, they still feel that they've achieved their goals. And honestly, I would say that my experience in the cannabis industry has started three different businesses. None of them were successful financially, but if you measured it in any other way, they were wildly successful. I won an award. I created a community in my local state. Market I became an internationally recognized brand all those things are amazing didn't make me um which is okay.
[06:16] April Pride:
There was so much promise in the beginning as cannabis was taking hold and the more promise the more money that came in from sources that were not women helping sources helping entrepreneurs who are not women and then as the opportunity just got bigger got harder and harder for women to really Yep. Playing table stakes.
[06:42] Jennifer Whetzel:
I think that a lot of women went into cannabis and just hung their own shingle. And we're just, and that is hard. I wish that new women coming in would have sought out people doing the thing they want to do and joined them and said, let me help you. That's what I was going to say. I want to work in this industry. I want to support someone who's doing something amazing. And that's you. Because I have the skills to help. And I learned in cannabis that I don't want to be a solo author. And to succeed, we need people.
[07:12] April Pride:
We need people working together.
[07:14] Jennifer Whetzel:
Yes, we need people working together. [ketamine therapy for women] was very strong in giving me the messages to contact you because I was afraid. No, you're not scary. And that's the thing with most fears is that they're scary until they happen. We'll share something scary for you. That my greatest nightmare in life has been my teeth falling out. Yeah. And here's the thing.
[07:35] April Pride:
When did that happen?
[07:37] Jennifer Whetzel:
I broke my jaw and knocked out all of my teeth when I was 15 years old. And I got the first tooth out a year ago and the second tooth out about six months ago. Okay. It took decades for the consequences of that fall to arrive. And I've been having nightmares about losing my teeth throughout.
[07:55] April Pride:
Did you have pain during that time too?
[07:58] Jennifer Whetzel:
There was no pain. It was more of, oh my God, I'm going to have no teeth and that's terrible and people will judge me in a vein. Now I don't care anymore. I take my teeth out and sugar people because I don't feel like there needs to be shame about this. It happens to a lot of people. Exactly.
[08:15] April Pride:
Yeah. You're not the only person. Right. And as we know, the more you just show who you are, the more people show you that they're the same. And then you don't feel so alone. Yeah. That's what I found. That was one of the biggest teachings in cannabis for me is you had so many women going. Even though it was just the act of I consume cannabis, nobody was doing that when I was growing up. There were a lot of people who chose not to or chose not to share and chose not to do it because of judgment.
[08:45] Jennifer Whetzel:
I'm finally old enough to not care anymore.
[08:48] April Pride:
So we are going to work on a study together because there's a lot of curiosity around [psilocybin for mental health], [ketamine therapy for women], and [women and psychedelics] in general. And I wanted to ask you, I didn't tell you I was going to ask you this, but what's your hope for that study? We know what you accomplished with the first study. What do you want to build on?
[09:06] Jennifer Whetzel:
There's not a lot of focus on women, obviously, when it comes to [psychedelic therapy for depression] and even setting an integration part. Is that we can learn what is holding women back from seeking treatment that could help them. Because I feel like this could open doors and allow people to start talking about this, about psychedelics, about [ketamine therapy for women], about [psilocybin for mental health], because there's a lot of people who are afraid, terrified of substances because we've all been taught to be. And if we can figure out what people are afraid of, and then tell our stories, share our stories. I think it's going to be a powerful way to move the needle towards improving mental health. The Women in Cannabis study was all about advocacy and equity. And I don't know if we moved the needle. We took a snapshot of what was happening and it just got worse.
[10:07] April Pride:
What makes you say you said that earlier what why do you say it's gotten worse what are you seeing or what have you heard what data is there?
[10:17] Jennifer Whetzel:
I'm more anecdotal in terms of bad actors and bad situations for women got it yeah I don't think misogyny has gotten any better, fortunately. It's just coming to light a little bit more. This focus is more about mental health than anything else. I know so many people who are struggling. So many people. Not everything works for everyone. If we can provide enough information to get people to seek out a potential treatment that could help them, I would feel like the survey and the results and what we build because of it could really be powerful to help support other people. Like I said, I think that what you're doing in terms of teaching people how to do the work, the setting, the integration, that is the work, is critical because otherwise the drugs don't work as well.
[11:19] April Pride:
You go to your doctor, you're given a prescription for, let's say, an SSRI. There's three-week buildup. And then after three weeks, the initial maybe symptoms of feeling sleepy, all that, wear off. And then you move into life with this SSRI. And there's no therapy that's prescribed along with it. And for all but 30% of the people that are prescribed, they see the results that they're looking for. But whereas with this is not this meaning any sort of [ketamine mental health protocol], the intention is not for you to stay on this medicine for the rest of your life on a daily basis. It is something that you may choose to participate in on a weekly basis, whether that's through [microdosing for PTSD], [ketamine therapy for women], whatever the case may be. And we should also remove stigma around that need because I hear people talking about, we should do your six ketamine treatments. And then the companies are just trying to sell you a booster pack because that's what they're in the business of selling you more medicine. That is totally true. Yes, they are in the business of that. And maybe they're selling it to people who don't necessarily need it. They're not offering [psychedelic integration practices], which could sustain, could make the time between treatments longer, right?
[12:35] Jennifer Whetzel:
But some people are just going to need to take [ketamine therapy for women] on a regular basis forever and I am one of those. I'm one of those people right and I don't believe that's true of everyone I think it's depending on where you are in your healing journey a few treatments might be great I also have bipolar 2 which some would say is not compatible with ketamine but it is for me.
[13:01] April Pride:
With a therapist and your doctor is aware of what you're doing.
[13:04] Jennifer Whetzel:
Yes, my doctor prescribed this dose. He's fully on board with my treatment schedule, which is twice a week. And I can tell you that [ketamine therapy for women] resolved a major depressive episode overnight. Yes. For me once. I use it for PTSD and that works a little bit differently than it does for depression. For PTSD, the integration work and that lasts. That will last me. I can unblock something and then it's unblocked forever, maybe. But it's different with the depression. The depression could happen at any time. The killer episode was triggered by pain. I had a pain flare. It was bad. I was in bed for two weeks and the episode began and I went to see my doctor. He said, I don't mean it will help you. And I did. And I told him when I'm depressed, my face feels like it weighs 100 pounds and I can't smile on it or whatever. And laughing is just knocking. I found myself laughing and smiling with zero effort. And I was like, oh my God, it's gone. It was gone. That could happen anytime. And so now I'm on twice a week treatment to prevent that. Because they have found that [ketamine therapy for women] can help prevent those episodes as well. So I think that's for me. That's just my schedule. And that's how it's going to go. I don't find that I'm like, oh my God, I need to do my academy. No, it's just my treatment schedule.
[14:32] April Pride:
How long ago was that?
[14:34] Jennifer Whetzel:
First, the very first treatment was probably two and a half years ago. I did it off and on at first because I didn't understand how it worked. And now it just works better.
[14:42] April Pride:
Got it. And once you go into your room, you close the door, you have your treatment, and then you come out. What's the time?
[14:51] Jennifer Whetzel:
I give myself three to four hours because I like to, and if nobody's home, that's even better. If I have many hours just to myself, then I don't, sometimes I rush a little bit and I stop doing that. But I'll think about what am I going to think about during my meditations today? And then I'll choose my meditation list and I'll write in my journal and then I'll go take the medicine and I'll sit right down. I'll do the meditations and I can sit sometimes for an hour and then I'll get antsy, sometimes two hours. I've sat with my eyes closed for two hours before. When you open your eyes, you're seeing double and you feel dumb and slow for a little while. It's hard to walk. Yeah, I'm all risk anyway, so it's best to just sit down. But then I'll get up and I'll putter around and have a little snack. I'll do some dishes. I'll take care of myself. I'll write. I'll look at pictures. I like to look at the Apple Photos sends me videos of my memories. I like to look at them because it makes me happy. Yeah. And then I can remember how awesome I am.
[15:49] April Pride:
Awesome. That reminds me, you have a couple of practices that you've created for [integration after ketamine]. Yes, that I'd love for you to share.
[15:57] Jennifer Whetzel:
So one of them is I like to take selfies using Snapchat. I like to play dress up except they don't actually like to physically play dress up. I like the filters and I have taken hundreds and hundreds of pictures of myself using these filters, including ones with no teeth because those are hilarious. I've printed them out. I hang them up around my house because some of them are so funny. I can't help but laugh at myself. And it's really interesting because I take these selfies using all kinds of facial expressions and all kinds of emotions. You know, I take them when I'm having a terrible day. I take them when I'm sad. I take them when I'm happy and delighted. And then I can look through and see, oh, look, you do experience all of these emotions, including happiness. And look, you are depressed this day. And then the next day you are happy. So it's all right.
[16:43] April Pride:
You're going to be all right.
[16:45] Jennifer Whetzel:
So there's a lot of self-talk as I look at myself, think about how I was feeling in the current. So those are very helpful. They also stop me from ruminating. If I can flip through the physical pictures, I'll stop thinking about whatever's bothering me. That's one. I really like that. Another, I like to use the AI to write stories. And I've read that using the hero's journey as a structure for your own life story can be really healing. Sometimes I'll give the AI, whom I call Chatty, some specifics and I'll ask it to write a story using the hero's journey format. I was a mess. I wept through the whole thing. I had AI writing stories in a hero's journey format about getting my tooth out and about preparing for this journey and coming out triumphant in the end and it helped retelling your own story in a way where that is empowering and where you are the hero really makes a difference or it did for me.
[17:41] April Pride:
Yeah because sometimes there's an ending you wouldn't. You have three, actually. You know what I'm talking about? Which one?
[17:51] Jennifer Whetzel:
Your garden. Sparkle garden. I've been doing sparkle gardening a lot lately. So outside in my yard, I have been... creating what i call sparkle garden and it is wind chimes and sun catchers and spinners that i have been upgrading the sparkle and the spin by adding i've been deconstructing old jewelry that i've been gathering from flea markets and yard sales for years and i have i'm looking around my room there's beads and jewelry everywhere i'm not going to show you the mess but the light show that happens outside when the sun is shining the sparkle the rainbows and it's just it's so joyful and I also have sun catchers in every window and so the rainbows dance around my house where the sun is out and I can't help but be happy so it seems like a really amazing way to give my ADHD brain something to look at yeah I can just look at nature and sparkles and rainbows.
[18:58] April Pride:
Did you have this last winter or is this a summer, spring, summer? Because I think it'll be really helpful in the wintertime because you live in Maine and I am...
[19:08] Jennifer Whetzel:
Winter is my favorite. I was a figure skater growing up, so I'm used to the cold. What's going to be exciting is that when there's snow, I will be able to see all the rainbows and the sparkles on the snow. Right now, they just melt into the forest. So I can't wait to take videos and pictures when this happens, so I will.
[19:22] April Pride:
That's cool. Thank you so much for your time and for sharing the stories. longer i don't think that you were able to share a lot about what got you to ketamine treatment which i think a lot of people don't feel like they have permission to make that choice i know speaking to a lot of women that they're not having the outcomes that they wish that they had because they don't have the support and there's not the integration that's being really stressed in the process it's good that you came up with your own integration process.
[19:53] Jennifer Whetzel:
I think that one of the issues is having outsized expectations of the treatment. Because if you really just go in thinking, I'm going to have this big, amazing thing, and then everything's going to be better. It doesn't always work that way.
[20:07] April Pride:
But your first treatment did dispel your depressive episode, so...
[20:11] Jennifer Whetzel:
That wasn't my first treatment, actually. That was at least a couple months ago. My first treatment was very low and I didn't feel anything. And so I had to work up to it. Great. To be continued.
[20:27] April Pride:
And if you're ready to dive deeper into the world of ketamine, be sure to check out the show notes online. Be sure to check out the show notes of this episode to link to SetSet's Comprehensive Ketamine Guide, a clinician-created resource available in both PDF and audio that covers candidate criteria, dosing, methods of administration, contraindications, science, history, and more. The SetSet website has this resource available for purchase and download, as well as DIY guides for psilocybin and microdosing. Thank you for joining me for today's episode. I'm your host, April Pride. If you liked what you heard, please rate and review Set Set wherever you listen. It really does help more people find the show. And a special offer just for our listeners. Enter discount code SHOW20. That's S-H-O-W-2-0 at checkout for 20% off Set Set psychedelic cards. Our powerful set and setting in a box. Check out our show notes for the link and make your next journey extraordinary.
Share this post