Theradelic Retreats

Dr. Richard Schwartz began his career as a systemic family therapist and an academic. Grounded in systems thinking, Dr. Schwartz developed Internal Family Systems (IFS) in response to clients’ descriptions of various parts within themselves. He focused on the relationships among these parts and noticed that there were systemic patterns to the way they were organized across clients. He also found that when the clients’ parts felt safe and were allowed to relax, the clients would experience spontaneously the qualities of confidence, openness, and compassion that Dr. Schwartz came to call the Self. He found that when in that state of Self, clients would know how to heal their parts.

A featured speaker for national professional organizations, Dr. Schwartz has published many books and over fifty articles about IFS.

Michele Taggart is the owner and host of the remarkable Finca Mia retreat center in Costa Rica. https://www.fincamia.com. Michele is a long time leader in her community, as well the host for innumerable and diverse healing, profoundly life changing events and experiences. Mrs Taggart has established a school for local children and been a leader in sustainable farming practices and community building. Michele is a gifted singer who is a heart based, as well as highly skilled facilitator of ceremonies. She has apprenticed under well known masters. Michele's humility and deep, gentle wisdom is refreshing, genuine and inspiring.

Dr. Iva Grabic is a Board certified Adult Psychiatrist based in San Francisco, serving clients throughout the greater Bay Area, CA. She specializes in intramuscular ketamine therapy, offering a 3 hour model that includes intention setting, tailored IM ketamine dosing, and meaningful integration therapy. Dr. Iva also provides integrative medication management (virtual or in-person) to treat most mental health conditions, including PTSD. She collaborates with Sunny Strasburg, LMFT supporting retreats as a consulting psychiatrist (providing medical oversight and IM ketamine expertise) to help co-create a supportive environment.

Dr. Grabic brings over 13 years of experience and has worked with more than, 4,000 patients, including 7 years at Kaiser Permanente, California’s largest medical system. Born in Bosnia and displaced during the early 1990s conflict, she experienced rebuilding life across cultures, shaping her deep appreciation for resilience and the human capacity to find meaning through hardship. Her work centers on safety, compassion and integrity.

David Starfire presents music specifically created for psychedelic healing journeys. He has traveled around the globe to record with indigenous musicians and vocalists to create amazing sound healing songs. He performes with live instruments as an accompaniment to his recorded tracks.

Named by BBC Radio as “One of the most brilliant world-fusion producers of our time”, David Starfire is known as the pioneer of the Global Bass genre and his music created for psychedelic dance floor experiences. Billboard summed it up best, “David Starfire brings a unique perspective to EDM.” David has performed at prominent festivals such as Winter Music Conference, Coachella, Outside Lands, Burning Man, Eclipse, and Lightning in a Bottle. He’s collaborated with the likes of Afrika Bambaataa, Sizzla, Ooah (The Glitch Mob), Beats Antique (Sidecar Tommy), Alex Grey, William Close, and the Grammy Award-nominated vocalist Chaytanya. His Ascend album reached #7 on the iTunes World Music chart.

Julie’s BSN degree launched her career on a Med/Surg unit where she learned some first- hand lessons about life and death. Next, she had the privilege of ushering babies into the world in Labor and Delivery as a staff nurse for 15 years. While raising four children, Julie then did hospice training and five years of hospice work, helping transition souls out of this world and into the next. She began her spiritual work in earnest and got an MA in Women’s Spirituality at Sofia University in Palo Alto. Her meditation practice led her to become certified as a mindfulness teacher, doing the training at Mindful Schools, in Oakland, CA, and then a two-year teacher certificate training with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. Julie is passionate about supporting mental health in whatever way she can. She teaches mindfulness to K-5 children at Oak Knoll Elementary School in Menlo Park. Julie also became fascinated with the healing properties of psychedelics and received her certificate for Psychedelic Assisted Therapy at the California Institute of Integrated Studies. She is currently volunteering as an RN at Polaris Insight Center in SF and plans to continue to work with children and teens in mindfulness education. Along the way, she also obtained a 200 Hour Yoga Teachers Certificate and practices Bikram Yoga.

Kate Yeadaker is a seasoned Holistic Nurse Practitioner with over two decades of dedicated experience in the nursing field, and she has held the prestigious Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) designation for the past eleven years. Kate's diverse background encompasses trauma, obstetrics, surgery, pediatrics, integrative/regenerative medicine, integrative mental health and psychedelics.

Having earned her master's degree from Georgetown University in 2014, Kate has since contributed her expertise to various medical realms, including pre-operative medicine/anesthesia, holistic and integrative mental health, psychedelic medicine, functional medicine, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Her commitment to continuous learning is evident through extensive post-master's studies in nutrition, biochemistry, nutrigenomics, functional medicine, and trauma informed care. 

Kate is deeply passionate about uncovering the root causes of disease and illness, approaching each patient encounter holistically to address the WHOLE person. Certified in energy healing as a Qi-Gong practitioner since 2002, and a Reiki Master, her energy work provides a solid foundation for her clinical practice. She is also certified in Integrative Somatic Trauma therapy, and Ketamine therapy via KTC.

Her interests span a wide spectrum, including the gut/brain axis, mind/body medicine, mindfulness practices, somatic bodywork, autism spectrum disorders, women’s health, and the therapeutic power of sound and music. Kate attributes her authentic and empathetic patient connections to a lifelong practice of Buddhist meditation, embodying compassion in every sacred patient interaction.

For the past six years, Kate has dedicated herself to the transformative potential of ketamine therapy, viewing psychedelics as a bridge between eastern and western philosophies. She is fervently committed to raising awareness and dispelling stigmas associated with psychedelic use. An advocate for empowerment, Kate delights in helping individuals access their "medicine within."  

Karen has practiced anesthesia for over 24 years in many settings: level 1 trauma centers, outpatient surgery centers, cosmetic surgery centers and dental offices.  Through her practice Karen has used Ketamine on a variety of patients. More recently administering ketamine for Ketamine Assisted Therapy (KAP) in collaboration with Sunny Strasburg, LMFT. She has seen the benefits of KAP on patients with PTSD, anxiety and depression. Karen hosts KAP retreats at her home in Park City, Utah and Wyoming. She owns  Madigan Anesthesia Services. madigankaren@hotmail.com

Esther is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Pilates Instructor, and high performance strength and conditioning coach. She brings a decade of clinical knowledge to her somatic therapy work which combines manual therapy, therapeutic movement and an array of traditional healing arts to offer clients an integrated treatment approach . Esther has extensive personal experience as a student of the body-mind connection, having worked with Sunny Strasburg and a network of healing providers to build pathways of understanding that aim to elevate our shared human experience. Esther owns and operates www.grassrootsphysicaltherapy.com and www.selfteatment.com. She works as a strength and conditioning coach for www.samsaraexperience.com.

Dan Ahlers, M.D. is a psychiatrist based in Sacramento, CA. He completed medical school near his hometown at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and his psychiatric residency training at the UC Davis Medical Center. He went on to pursue his passions with further training through the Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program at the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis and the Certification for Psychedelic Therapies and Research at the California Institute of Integral Studies

Dr. Ahlers honors the unique individuality of his patients, drawing from a variety of theoretical frameworks to support the individual’s innate healing process. He views his role as similar to that of a wilderness guide; he uses his experience with the process of exploring to be of assistance in discovering the mystery of his patients’ subjective experience, facing what is found on the path with curiosity and compassion, so that his patients’ self-healing ability may flourish.