Kat Courtney: Ayahuasca, Ibogaine, and Learning to Be HumanKat Courtney: Ayahuasca, Ibogaine, and Learning to Be Human
Cracking Open with Molly Carroll
Molly Carroll talks with plant medicine guide Kat Courtney about ayahuasca, ibogaine, shadow work, addiction, and death, while also sharing practical daily rituals for emotional healing. Their exchange focuses on staying human, kind, and curious in the midst of pain, transition, and recovery.
58:01•24 Sept 2026
Plant Medicine, Shadow Work and Learning to Be Human with Kat Courtney
Episode Overview
- Plant medicines such as ayahuasca and ibogaine can help close trauma loops, while SSRIs act more like a temporary life raft that pauses intense pain.
- Shadow work can arise through crisis or clinical events, but also intentionally through cultural practices like meditation or chemical routes such as plant medicine.
- Daily rituals in the morning and evening—checking in with yourself, setting intentions, and reflecting on the day—can create more balance and presence.
- Transforming an inner critic into a kinder internal voice is central to healing and can reduce shame, judgement, and self-blame.
- Anyone considering plant medicine should ask facilitators about their training, experience, responses to safety concerns, and protocols for difficult psychological reactions.
“We can't think our way through feeling.”
What emotional and inspiring tales of recovery are out there? This conversation between host Molly Carroll and plant medicine guide Kat Courtney takes on some of the heaviest topics—addiction, suicide, trauma, and death—yet somehow feels steady, warm, and deeply human.
Kat shares how an impulsive suicide attempt in her twenties became a turning point, waking her up to the idea that, as she puts it, “there’s got to be a way to feel better.” From there she talks about finding healthier friendships, meeting ayahuasca in the Amazon over 20 years ago, and realising she’d finally found a tool that wouldn’t let her numb out her pain.
“We can’t think our way through feeling,” she says, summing up why these experiences forced her to face what she’d long been running from. For anyone curious about plant medicine as part of healing from addiction or long-held emotional wounds, Kat breaks down the differences between ayahuasca, ibogaine, SSRIs, and traditional therapy in clear, grounded language.
She describes SSRIs as a “life raft” that pauses the pain, while plant medicines invite people to go deeper and “close trauma loops” instead of just coping with them. There’s also plenty here for those who’d never touch psychedelics. Kat shares her simple morning and evening rituals, her focus on dream work, and the importance of catching that harsh inner critic and slowly turning it into a kinder inner voice.
She talks about shadow work, ego “death”, and her role as a death doula, helping people approach dying as a ceremony rather than just a medical event. If you’re in any kind of life transition—sobriety, grief, parenting shifts, or just feeling stuck—this conversation might nudge you to ask: what in you is ready to crack open next, and what gentle step could you take towards that today?
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