WellBEing Wins w/ Debbey Woodruff:  Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy + Available “No Drug” Interventions

How Bodhi of Sacred Roots Supports Clients w Trauma & Drug-Resistant Depression

About Today’s Episode

On a wooded plot of North Carolina earth, in an A-frame house that feels more like a retreat than a business, Bodhi and her staff “midwife” souls.

A licensed counselor in North Carolina, Bodhi specializes in ketamine, psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy—the only legal psychedelic therapy available in the state. At a Ballantyne clinic, she guides clients through a research-backed protocol of up to six ketamine sessions paired with intentional integration work. The medicine, she says, can help rewire entrenched patterns—especially in cases of treatment-resistant depression and trauma. But it is not magic. “You’re the medicine,” she told me. The drug may open the door; you still have to walk through it.

That philosophy animates Sacred Roots, the spiritual community she founded after moving to Charlotte in 2017. What began as a search for like-minded seekers has become a hub for spiritual and personal development. 

Sacred Roots organizes, among other services:

1. Weekly Sunday gatherings (dogma-free and discussion-rich) that sample traditions from contemplative Christianity to secular mindfulness. The aim is not to tell people what to believe, but to help them have a direct spiritual experience—and then integrate it into daily living. 
2. Men’s and women’s support groups
3. Somatic workshops
4. Sound baths
5. Drumming circles, and 
6. A weekly group-open to the public and used by her therapy clients-focused on how to safely integrate psychedelic experiences into the nervous system and neural pathways (how to use them to fast-track trauma healing) and reduce negative impacts. 

If there is a headline from our conversation, it’s this: regulate your nervous system, and your life will improve.

Bodhi’s first prescription is breath. 

1. Slow it down. Breathe out longer than you breathe in—try four counts in, six to eight out—for at least 90 seconds to three minutes. You’re telling your body, “You’re safe.”
   1. Invite any tight muscles to loosen/soften as you breathe.
   2. Deep, full breaths – expanding abdomen.
   3. Maybe gently place your hands on your chest. 
   4. Set an alarm on your phone and practice it hourly, as needed. It’s the manual override for fight-or-flight. 

Her second triad is psychological: cultivate curiosity, compassion, and non-judgment. 

1. Stay open to understand the differences in others.
   1. Rigid mindsets (I’m right, you’re wrong; only my way is right) result in distrust, feeling threatened, and stress – because any statement that doesn’t align with you puts your nervous system on alert.
      1. You don’t have to agree, but, as Steven Covey says in his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “See first to understand, then be understood.”  
   2. Discern without condemning.
      1. Avoid judgmental words when describing people / events.
   3. Treat yourself—and others—with kindness; recognizing that everyone is doing their best with the tools/knowledge they have.

No psychedelics required. Just breath, openness, and the radical discipline of kindness.

About Debbey Woodruff

Debbey Woodruff – Your WellBEing Guide – is a certified yoga teacher and mindfulness practitioner. Through yoga therapy, mindful movement, breathwork, and guided self-reflection, Debbey helps you reconnect with your body, calm your mind, and nurture lasting emotional well-being. Experience a compassionate, personalized path to healing and renewal and find your W.O.W. – Whole-body Optimized WellBEing ©. Debbey is the owner of Breakthrough! WellBEing Phone: 704-881-4912 and email: info@breakthroughwellbeing.com

Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author and do not necessarily reflect those of LKNConnect or its affiliates.

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