Ketamine, Neuroplasticity, and Why Real Healing Isn’t a Quick Fix (The Velvet)
Velvet's Edge with Kelly Henderson
iHeartPodcasts
4.5 • 927 Ratings
🗓️ 21 January 2026
⏱️ 40 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ketamine has quickly become one of the most talked-about — and misunderstood — tools in mental health. Some see it as a miracle cure. Others are skeptical or uneasy about the hype. But what if the real story isn’t about a breakthrough drug at all — and instead about how the brain actually heals?
In this episode, Kelly sits down with Sharon Niv, cognitive psychologist and co-founder of Joyous PBC, to unpack what’s really happening beneath the headlines. Sharon shares how psycholytic, daily low-dose ketamine works differently than the high-dose, clinic-based experiences most people hear about — and why a gentler, habit-focused approach may lead to more sustainable change.
Together, they explore why so many of us are anxious, burned out, and searching for relief right now; how neuroplasticity allows the brain to genuinely rewrite old emotional patterns; and why symptom relief alone often isn’t enough. Sharon explains what people tend to uncover when the nervous system softens — from long-held shame and grief to survival strategies we didn’t even realize were running the show.
This conversation goes beyond medication to talk about integration, daily practices, safety, skepticism, and accessibility — and what healing actually requires from us as participants, not just patients. If you’ve ever wondered whether treatments like ketamine are a shortcut… or an invitation into deeper self-understanding, this episode offers a grounded, thoughtful perspective.
Learn more about Sharon and her work:
• Joyous: https://www.joyous.team
• Joyous for Therapists: https://www.joyous.team/therapists
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HOST: Kelly Henderson // @velvetsedge // velvetsedge.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an IHeart podcast. |
| 0:02.5 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:15.5 | Sharon Neve is a cognitive psychologist and co-founder of Joyous PBS, |
| 0:20.5 | where she leads the development of |
| 0:21.9 | AI-powered affordable mental health programs. Sharon pioneers over 83,000 patients nationwide |
| 0:28.9 | in psycholytic or daily low dose ketamine therapy, a gentle approach that prioritizes safety |
| 0:35.9 | and reveals the root causes of emotional pain. |
| 0:39.0 | So instead of quick fixes, Sharon's method helps patients build habits and skills for lasting |
| 0:43.9 | change by harnessing the brain's neuroplasticity, making old patterns truly rewrite themselves. |
| 0:50.9 | She's also the founder of Joyous for Therapist, a free collaboration space for clinicians |
| 0:55.4 | interested in these cutting edge evidence-based methods. Wow, that was a mouthful. |
| 1:02.7 | Kelly. I feel like, first of all, hi, Sharon. How are you? Hi, Kelly. It's great to be with you. |
| 1:09.3 | Thank you. I'm good. How are you? I'm good. If any of the, if you're |
| 1:13.0 | listening and you were thinking what to a couple of the words, we're going to get into that because I literally |
| 1:17.9 | just spent 10 minutes asking the same thing. Let's start with, we were talking about joyous PBC and I love |
| 1:25.2 | what you guys are doing. So can you explain what PBC means to the listeners? Because I had no |
| 1:29.7 | idea either. Sure. So PBC is public benefits corporation. And from like a tax structure, we're like |
| 1:37.2 | any other corporation. But what PBC means is we are allowed to put mission above profit. and that is a signal to shareholders that, |
| 1:46.4 | and at this point, we're not public. |
| 1:48.4 | So, you know, there are no shareholders beyond the company. |
| 1:51.5 | But if we do go public, it is still a signal that we are going to prioritize the mission of |
| 1:56.5 | this company, which is to allow individuals, families, communities, and humanity to live joyous |
... |
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