SAMANTHA TRAMUTA, LCSW
FOUNDER + THERAPIST
honor emotional experiences, challenge old patterns, reach untapped potential, and face reality with clarity.
Samantha has a unique way of connecting with those who have never really clicked with traditional therapy. Her clients have often learned to rely on fierce independence, rebelliousness, people-pleasing, emotional shut down, keeping it ‘surface level’, avoidance of intimacy, substance abuse, over-achieving, adrenaline-seeking, conflict & chaos, or any manner of escape to get them through life.
Samantha’s track record of clinical excellence is rooted in therapy that balances down-to-earth connection, cutting edge techniques, and lived experience. She navigates complex family dynamics and highly defended clients with confidence, empathy and grit. Sam’s clients want a therapist who will be radically honest, keep them accountable, teach them to accept help and affection, believe in their inner worth when they can’t, and laugh at the absurdity of it all with them.
areas of expertise—
Psychedelic & Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
At Higher Ground, psychedelic therapy isn’t about escaping- it’s about turning toward what’s true. Using Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) and other evidence-based psychedelic approaches, I help clients face what they’ve avoided, see patterns from a new vantage point, and translate insight into meaningful change.
This work supports those moving through complex trauma, PTSD, depression, anxiety, and addiction, guided by preparation, intention, and careful integration. Each experience is designed to feel safe, grounded, and transformative-rooted in neuroscience, attachment, and lived wisdom.Couples Therapy & Relationship Intensives
Most couples don’t need another communication trick- they need to understand the emotional blueprints driving their distance. I help partners slow down, see the patterns they built to protect themselves, and learn to reach for each other instead of retreat.
Through private couples intensives, powerful retreats and ongoing therapy, we focus on what’s beneath the surface: attachment, vulnerability, and the courage to stay open when it matters most.The goal isn’t perfection- it’s honesty, repair, and connection.
Family Consulting & Attachment-Based Family Intensives
Every family has its own ecosystem- and sometimes it needs an outside perspective to restore balance. My approach to family consulting is assertive, comprehensive, and deeply involved. I often work with blended or high-profile families and systems in crisis or transition who feel they need a calm and assertive voice at the helm.
Through attachment-based family intensives, I help members understand one another’s wiring, rebuild safety, and create new patterns of trust and communication. Families come to me when they need structure, steady leadership, and a clear plan forward.
Men’s Therapy & Emotional Expression
I work with men who have spent years excelling, providing, and staying composed- yet quietly feeling disconnected. Whether success has replaced fulfillment or anger has replaced vulnerability, this work creates space to understand emotion without judgment or pressure.
I help men explore identity, relationships, intimacy, purpose, and recovery with honesty and humor. Clients describe the process as equal parts challenge and relief: a chance to finally talk, feel, and show up differently- in their marriages, careers, and lives.
Complex Trauma & Dissociation
Some people survive by staying strong, surrounding themselves in chaos or adrenaline, others survive by disappearing. I work with clients who have learned to disconnect, run away, shut down, or hold it all together for too long. Many of my clients grew up around conflict, survived high-tension divorce or institutional trauma, or are still unlearning what it means to feel safe.
In therapy, we rebuild the ability to feel- safely, gradually, and without losing control. This work blends trauma-informed psychotherapy, somatic awareness, and sometimes psychedelic-assisted sessions to help clients return to a sense of wholeness after years of fragmentation.
Addiction & Recovery Integration
Addiction work is personal for me. I blend relational depth, neuroscience, and lived experience to help clients understand what drives their escape routes- and how to replace them with connection.
Whether you’re maintaining recovery, rebuilding after relapse, or exploring psychedelic-assisted healing in sobriety, I bring equal parts accountability and compassion. Think old-school recovery meets new-school science.
High-Achieving Professionals & Integration Work
I work with people who look successful on paper but feel detached from their own lives. Together, we unravel burnout, perfectionism, workaholism, process addictions, and emotional numbness and start to deconstruct the chaos of busyness that often surrounds the success to make space for purpose and presence again.
This work often includes performance psychology, nervous-system reset, or integration therapy after psychedelic experiences or major life transitions. It’s for those ready to trade control for clarity.
professional experience—
Samantha brings a rare mix of clinical depth and real-world leadership to her work at Higher Ground. Over the past decade, she has built and accredited detox, residential, and intensive outpatient programs across the country, guiding teams of clinicians and healthcare leaders toward excellence in care. Her leadership style is grounded, direct, and relationship-driven- focused on integrity, quality, and outcomes that last.
Before founding Higher Ground, Samantha worked across the full continuum of mental-health and addiction treatment. She has served as a clinical and executive director, therapist and crisis clinician, treating everything from substance use and trauma to complex mood and personality disorders. Her experience includes working with first responders, dual-diagnosis offenders, and individuals navigating high-intensity environments where stability and trust are essential.
Samantha’s clinical foundation integrates DBT, CBT, Structural & Strategic Family Therapy, Attachment Theory, Emotionally Focused Therapy, and Cognitive Enhancement Therapy. She is also an expertly trained psychedelic therapist with advanced certification in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy.
Her approach is equal parts science and soul- deeply informed by evidence-based practice, but grounded in honest human connection. She’s known for her clarity, humor, and ability to help clients face hard truths with compassion and courage.
training & education—
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Licensed clinical social worker in Connecticut. Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Colorado.
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Licensed Addictions Counselor in Colorado. Advanced training in Motivational Interviewing, biology of substance abuse, tolerance and withdrawal, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of substance use disorders.
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Certified in Psychedelic Therapy and Integration and advanced certification in Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy. Training in Applied Mindfulness for Psychedelic Therapists, Trauma Informed Psychedelic Therapy, Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration, Intoxication and Dissociation in Psychedlic Therapy, MDMA Assisted Therapy Research and Psilocybin Assisted Therapy Research.
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Advanced training and competence in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, risk assessment and crisis management, differential diagnosis of mental health disorders, Attachment Based Family Therapy, Structural and Strategic Family Therapy, Cognitive Enhancement Therapy, Seeking Safety.
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Samantha has trained, mentored and provided clinical supervision to LCSW and LPC candidates in Colorado and Connecticut. She has supervised and trained Licensed Addictions Counselors in Colorado. She has supervised and mentored behavioral and nursing staff in residential, detox and outpatient levels of care.
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Graduated with concentration in group work from UCONN School of Social Work. Developed, designed, workshopped, and implemented dynamic group curriculum for adult and adolescent mental health and substance use disorders. Expert in group facilitation and creative distress tolerance interventions.
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Master of Social Work awarded from the University of Connecticut. Group Work Concentration. Bachelor of Arts in Political Science awarded from the University of Connecticut.
specialized offerings—
Concierge & Intensive Services- some people just need a way to break through.
Psychedelic Intensives- three days, real change, healing that lasts.
Psychedelic Retreats- this is not a trip. it’s a turning point.
Public-Facing Family Crisis Management- expert containment, clarity, and support.
media—
Ep. 22: What is attachment theory and how does it shape our lives + relationships? with Sam Tramuta
