Healing Stuck Grief: Ketamine, EMDR, and the Grief Impact Statement with Karen Sprinkel
Some people do years of Therapy and still feel stuck in their Grief. In this episode, Trauma specialist, psychotherapist, and author Karen Sprinkel shares the innovative east-west approach she has developed over decades of working with grieving clients — combining EMDR, somatic experiencing, internal Family systems, ketamine-assisted therapy, and a Buddhist philosophical framework to help people finally find lasting relief.
Karen explains why ketamine combined with traditional trauma modalities produces more durable, sustaining change than either approach alone, how she assesses clients mentally, somatically, and spiritually before any intensive work begins, and what after-death communications look like in a psychedelic-assisted therapy context. She also introduces the grief impact statement — a powerful tool she developed from her early work in victim advocacy that gives grievers a structured way to be witnessed in their loss, whether or not there was ever a perpetrator to face in court.
If you or someone you Love has been stuck in grief and wonders if there’s something more, this episode offers a genuinely different path forward.
🔗 Karen’s Website: https://www.karensprinkel.com 🔗 Instagram: @thethrivingself 🔗 IADC Training: https://www.iadctraining.org
Listen on your favorite podcast platform or watch on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/jE-7rtNJAvo
The GRIEF Ladies grew from decades of clinical work, community building, and lived experience. It isn’t a checklist to “get over it.” It’s a path you can re-enter on the hardest days and the ordinary ones.
Kelly Daugherty from Center for Informed Grief and Karyn Arnold of Grief in Common first connected when Kelly was leading a collaborative grief book project and posted in a Facebook group looking for authors. Karyn responded, and from their very first conversation, the connection was instant. They discovered a shared passion for supporting grieving individuals and striking similarities in their approaches and professional paths. Both had worked in hospice, and both believed that there are practical tools that can truly help support someone on their grief journey.
That first book became The Grief Experience: Tools for Acceptance, Resilience, and Connection. From there, their collaboration grew naturally. What began with one project has blossomed into an ongoing partnership including building frameworks, workshops, and now the GRIEF Ladies Podcast to help others navigate life after loss with honesty and hope. Sign up for their newsletter to stay informed about their future ventures!
Karyn Arnold has served grievers for 25+ years as a facilitator, educator, and the founder of Grief in Common, an online community that connects people by shared experiences of loss. With a background in psychology and mind–body work, Karyn blends evidence-informed practice with simple daily actions that help people steady themselves and find support. She has guided thousands of grievers through groups, workshops, and online programs, and partners with clinicians and organizations to make grief resources easier to find and use.
Kelly Daugherty, LCSW-R, FT, BCC, is a clinician, educator, board-certified coach, and founder of the Center for Informed Grief in Malta, NY. A Fellow in Thanatology, Kelly has worked with individuals and families across hospice, schools, and private practice for over two decades. Her commitment to grief work began after her mother’s death during Kelly’s teen years, shaping a career focused on practical, compassionate support. Kelly develops trainings for educators and mental-health professionals, consults with schools on grief-informed practices, and leads community programs that normalize grief while teaching concrete skills. She believes accessible, plain-language tools can change how communities show up for one another.
