The Builder’s Journey

Beyond Talk Therapy: Ketamine, Psilocybin & Healing

Guest: Ashley Denny, MA, LMFT, NMCF

What happens when traditional talk therapy isn't enough?

In this short, unscripted conversation, Alex sits down with Ashley Denny, a licensed psychotherapist and natural medicine clinical facilitator, to explore the emerging world of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.

Ashley discusses how ketamine and psilocybin are being integrated into therapeutic settings, who might benefit from these approaches, and why preparation, professional oversight, safety, and integration are essential parts of the healing process.

They also tackle the stigma surrounding psychedelics, the differences between recreational use and regulated therapeutic practice, and the importance of helping people make meaningful, lasting changes in their lives.

No script. No rehearsed questions. Just an open conversation about alternative approaches to mental health.

Episode timestamps

Learn more

Aletheia Healing Center — Ashley Denny

Satori Integrative Medicine Clinic — Glenwood Springs, Colorado

This episode is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Ketamine- and psilocybin-assisted therapies require appropriate professional evaluation, screening, and supervision.

RIP Warrior.

Got the Fuckits?

[email protected]

In this wide-ranging conversation, Alex sits down with Ryan Nau, CRNA, owner/operator of Satori Integrative Medicine Clinic in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

Ryan shares his background in anesthesia and rural medicine and how he became an early adopter of CTK, an emerging treatment approach that Combines Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)—a noninvasive therapy that uses magnetic pulses to stimulate specific areas of the brain—with Ketamine, an established treatment used in mental health care.

His passion and commitment to helping others have created a safe place for people to explore science-based alternatives to more traditional treatment protocols.

From his clinic in Glenwood Springs, Ryan is bringing these treatment options to patients throughout Colorado’s Western Slope and the Roaring Fork Valley.

The conversation explores both the promise and limitations of these treatments—including side effects, contraindications, cost, stigma, addiction, patient safety, and what Ryan is seeing firsthand in clinical practice.

Alex also shares his own experience as a long-term ketamine patient and discusses how his response to treatment has changed over time.

TIMESTAMPS

00:23 — Meet Ryan Nau, CRNA

[email protected]

Feel Invisible?

What happens when the experience that changes your life happens before you've even really had a chance to figure out who you are?

Eagle County native Finn Mott was still a kid when headaches and other unexplained symptoms eventually led to a diagnosis of brain and spinal cancer. Chemotherapy and radiation followed, along with a childhood and high-school experience that looked very different from the one he expected.

The day after his diagnosis, Finn's mother gave him a notebook.

He started writing.

What began as a private place to put things that were difficult to say out loud eventually became something much larger: poetry, performance, creative work and a way of helping other people navigate illness, trauma, grief and other life-altering experiences.

In this conversation, Finn and Alex talk about the complicated idea of being "cured," losing and rebuilding identity after serious illness, expressive writing, creativity, PTSD, alternative approaches to healing and why simply putting an experience into words can sometimes change our relationship with it.

Finn also shares how his writing grew into performances around the world and ultimately into work designed to help other people move through difficult experiences.

It's a conversation about cancer—but even more, it's about what happens afterward.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 — Introduction

06:03 — Meet Finn Mott

08:44 — Childhood cancer: Finn's diagnosis and treatment

10:26 — A notebook, writing and finding a way to process the experience

12:37 — Turning creativity into a way to help others

17:15 — Trauma writing, PTSD and alternative approaches to healing

20:35 — Final thoughts and where to find Finn

VAIL DAILY: "Laughter as Medicine event coming to Vail"

VAIL DAILY: "Eagle County native Finn Mott's new project, 'Glint', is an effort to help 'overcome calamity'

TEDxYouth-Vail: "Chemo & Coffee"

www.Glintworks.com

INSTA: Finn.Mott

Feel Invisible?

Strength in numbers. We need you.

Host: [email protected] 

There are trail names, earned on places like the Appalachian Trail.

Then there are highway names—bestowed upon hitchhikers by the motorists who give them a ride.

As the story goes, it was nearing dusk when I came across a young man making his way to Idaho to spend some quality time with his father.

Grab your marshmallows, graham crackers, and a blanket. Pull up a camp chair.

Because from this day forward, Hayden's highway name is Campfire.

[email protected]

Music Sourced from www.Pond5.com

When I set out to field-test my new Zoom H2 Essential Multi-Mic Handy Recorder (which I can't recommend highly enough), I assumed I was simply going to capture some random audio.

Apparently, God had other plans.

While riding public transportation from Glenwood Springs to Eagle, Colorado, a ray of sunshine entered my life by the name of Dan.

I'll cut to the chase: the world is a better place because Dan is in it. We need more people like him.

Was our meeting a sacred contract, divine destiny, or completely random? I'll likely never know.

What I do know is that some people leave your life better than they found it. Dan is one of those people.

Godspeed, my friend. We'll be in touch soon.

If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988.

National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988

Music sourced from Pond5.

If you'd like to be a guest on the show, Alex can be reached at [email protected].

From an early age, Finn Mott faced trials that would have broken many people, including a cancer diagnosis. Those hardships could have sent a lesser man into a lifetime of self-pity. Instead, Finn chose a different path.

Through grit, determination, and an unwavering refusal to give up, he transformed adversity into his greatest strength. Rather than watching life from the sidelines, Finn stepped into the arena, proving that resilience isn't something you're born with—it's something you build, one challenge at a time.

Although he's probably too modest to admit it, he's definitely running with the big dogs.

If you're short on time and looking for a powerful dose of inspiration, resilience this is a conversation you won't want to miss.

VAIL DAILY: "Laughter as Medicine event coming to Vail"

VAIL DAILY: "Eagle County native Finn Mott's new project, 'Glint', is an effort to help 'overcome calamity'

TEDxYouth-Vail: "Chemo & Coffee"

www.Glintworks.com

INSTA: Finn.Mott

Asking for help isn't a weakness—it makes you one of us.

If you're struggling in any way, shape, or form, don't fight this battle alone. Call or text 988, or if you're in immediate danger, call 911.

Strength in numbers. We need you.

Host: [email protected] 

From an early age, Finn Mott faced trials that would have broken many people, including a cancer diagnosis. Those hardships could have sent a lesser man into a lifetime of self-pity. Instead, Finn chose a different path.

Through grit, determination, and an unwavering refusal to give up, he transformed adversity into his greatest strength. Rather than watching life from the sidelines, Finn stepped into the arena, proving that resilience isn't something you're simply born with, it's forged one challenge at a time.

Today, Finn is a published author, internationally recognized stand-up comedian, public speaker, entrepreneur, and passionate mental health advocate. Although he's probably too modest to admit it, he's definitely running with the big dogs.

If you're short on time and looking for a powerful dose of resilience and inspiration, this is one conversation you won't want to miss. VAIL DAILY: "Laughter as Medicine event coming to Vail"

VAIL DAILY: "Eagle County native Finn Mott's new project, 'Glint', is an effort to help 'overcome calamity'

TEDxYouth-Vail: "Chemo & Coffee"

www.Glintworks.com

INSTA: Finn.Mott

Asking for help isn't a weakness—it makes you one of us.

If you're struggling in any way, shape, or form, don't fight this battle alone. Call or text 988, or if you're in immediate danger, call 911.

Strength in numbers. We need you.

Show Host: Alex Mintling [email protected]

Just when you thought it was safe to listen.

It's only May 8th, but it's never to early to fix up the pool for the upcoming party season! USA USA USA

https://youtu.be/4c40jxv6yb4