Small Shifts, Big Changes: Trauma Therapy in Utah

McKinley Merchant, LCSW · Serving the Salt Lake City area · Telehealth across Utah

For those healing from complex childhood and religious trauma. Through gentle, body-based parts work, you’ll feel safe in your body, make peace with your inner protectors, and reconnect with the wise, intuitive self that’s been there all along.

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Therapy that goes beneath the surface


You may understand why you feel the way you do and still find yourself repeating the same patterns. That isn’t a failure. It’s often a part of you that learned long ago to do whatever it took to keep you safe.

Through somatic-based Internal Family Systems (IFS), we’ll slow down, listen to your body, and get to know those protective parts with curiosity instead of shame. As they finally feel heard, they begin to soften, and you get to experience what it feels like to be calm, grounded, and present.

I believe healing involves the whole person: mind, body, relationships, and spirit. And I know it’s possible, because I’ve lived it. You are not stuck, and you won’t walk this path alone. I’ll be right beside you, celebrating every small shift along the way.

Ways We Can Work Together

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    Individual Therapy

    If you're feeling stuck, depressed or anxious, you're not alone — and you don’t have to face it on your own. If you feel that trauma has kept you in a constant loop, we'll explore what’s going on beneath the surface and find ways to help you feel more grounded, connected, and empowered.

    I tailor therapy to fit your unique needs, using a range of tools to support your healing and growth. This is a space where all parts of you are welcome.

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  • Ketamine Assisted Therapy in Salt Lake, A close up of birds wings

    Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy

    Ketamine-Assisted Therapy offers a powerful opportunity to step outside of old patterns and heal deeper. When paired with supportive, guided therapy, ketamine can help quiet the inner noise, soften defenses, and create space for new perspectives and emotional breakthroughs.

    If you’re feeling stuck, disconnected, or weighed down by depression, anxiety, or trauma, this approach may offer a new path forward.

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    Religious Deconstruction

    Questioning your faith or leaving a high-control religion can be one of the most painful and transformative experiences of your life. Religious deconstruction often brings grief, anxiety, shame, and the rebuilding of a life that feels authentic.

    Together, we'll create a nonjudgmental space to process your experiences, reconnect with yourself, and discover what spirituality looks like on your own terms.

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    Psychedelic Integration

    Psychedelic experiences can open doors to insight, healing, and transformation. Integration therapy provides a supportive space to process your journey, find clarity, and explore how to carry those insights into your daily life.

    Whether your experience was profound, confusing, beautiful, or challenging, you don’t have to navigate it alone. Together, we’ll honor your experience and help you find meaning, clarity, and grounded next steps.

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    Couples Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy

    Stuck in cycles of conflict or disconnection that conversation alone can’t seem to break? Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) for couples helps you break old patterns and reconnect in a safe, therapeutic setting.

    Each experience includes an assessment, preparation, a guided ketamine session, and integration therapy, all tailored to your relationship to create lasting change.

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Schedule a time with us


Take the first step toward balance and well-being. Our holistic, trauma-informed mental health therapy supports your mind, body, and spirit: offering personalized care through mindfulness, somatic techniques, and integrative approaches. Appointments are available now: start your healing journey today.

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