MEET THE WIDENING CIRCLES TREATMENT TEAM
PRESCRIBERS
CAROLINE LEWIS, MD | MEDICAL DIRECTOR + PSYCHIATRIST
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Caroline Lewis, MD joined Widening Circles Integrative Treatment and Consulting Services in April of 2023 as Medical Director. Board certified in Psychiatry since 2010, Dr. Lewis specializes in the treatment of a wide range of psychiatric disorders in adults including depression, anxiety, psychotic disorders, bipolar affective disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, substance use disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Dr. Lewis graduated from The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University in 2005. She graduated from residency in Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico in 2009. Dr. Lewis has over 15 years of experience working in multiple practice settings including private practice, community mental health, hospital-based care, crisis stabilization, and consult-liaison psychiatry.
For the past eight years, Dr. Lewis has served the veterans of western North Carolina at the Charles George VA Medical Center. In June of 2022, she co-founded the Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy program. She has administered over 150 infusions and spent hours working with veterans who were under the therapeutic effects of ketamine. She received extended specialty training in IV ketamine administration from the department of anesthesia and has experience administering intravenous, intramuscular, and oral formulations of ketamine. She obtained additional training under Phil Wolfson and The Ketamine Training Center and through The Pearl Psychedelic Institute and was an attendee of Psychedelic Science 2023 in Denver, Colorado.
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In addition to her work with Widening Circles Integrative Treatment and Consulting Services, Dr. Lewis is a site physician and investigator for the Expanded Access program for MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy through the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies and The Pearl Psychedelic Institute. She is also a member of the Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy team and ketamine training team at The Pearl Psychedelic Institute. She is building a groundbreaking elective in psychedelic medicine in collaboration with MAHEC and The Pearl Psychedelic Institute.
Dr. Lewis is dedicated to fostering personal healing and growth, with a deep belief that psychotropic medication is a valuable facet of a multidisciplinary approach to mental health treatment. She has witnessed the catalyzing impact that psychedelic medicines can exert on the psychotherapeutic process. When judiciously applied and paired with compatible psychotherapeutic techniques, psychedelic medicine holds the potential for a profoundly healing and transformative therapeutic journey—one that empowers and reaffirms life.
FAITH HISLOP, PA-C | PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT + KAP PRESCRIBER + IFS PRACTITIONER
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Faith started her journey as a healing professional at Blue Ridge Health Services in 2015. As a Physician Assistant in the Community Health Center, she gained experience supporting patients as they work toward their goals of healing in a resource-limited setting. During this time, she came to recognize that prescribed medications, while at times very useful, are not the only tool that should be utilized in one’s healing journey. As a result, she sought out further training in Pain Reprocessing Therapy, Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy and the Internal Family Systems Modality of Therapy. Through these trainings and through her own personal work, she has connected with her own innate healing intelligence and looks forward to guiding patients in their journey to working with theirs.
Excited to work with an integrative team, she delivers therapies with the goal of guiding toward healing from within. Faith offers Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, Pain Reprocessing Therapy, and Internal Family Systems Therapy.
Her pursuit to help others started as an undergrad at the University of Arizona, where she graduated from the College of Sciences with a Bachelor of Science in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Spanish. In 2015 she earned a Master of Science as a Physician Assistant from South University in Savannah, GA. While she enjoyed living in the Lowcountry, she deeply connects with the mountains and with nature. She is bilingual, speaking both Spanish and English and looks forward to serving Spanish-speaking patients.
In her free moments, Faith enjoys spending time with her family and being outdoors, including hiking to waterfalls around Western North Carolina. When she can be caught indoors, she enjoys a good read, especially historical fiction, and spending time with her dogs Luna, Boomer, and Hazel.
AIMEE SPENCER, PA-C | PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT + FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE SPECIALIST + KAP PRESCRIBER
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Aimee Spencer is a board certified Physician Assistant, functional medicine specialist and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy practitioner. She has worked in different arenas of medicine including integrative family practice, emergency medicine, urgent care, pediatrics as well as subspecialty in gynecologic oncology but found her passion and home in functional medicine. She believes in the body’s wisdom and innate healing and now acts as a guide toward healing from within by getting to the roots of chronic illness and imbalances.
Aimee specializes in functional medicine focusing on mental health, women’s health and hormones, preconception optimization and infertility, and digestive disorders. She takes a comprehensive, holistic and individualized approach when working with her patients, getting to underlying core issues such as inflammation, methylation problems, nutritional imbalances, gut and hormone imbalances, food allergies, toxin exposures, and sleep and lifestyle patterns. In addition to earning a Master of Physician Assistant Studies, she has completed training through Aviva Romm’s Functional and Integrative Medicine for Women’s Health, the Kharrazian Institute, Institute for Functional Medicine and has become a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner.
She is also passionate about the transformative power of psychedelic therapies to treat mental health disorders. She has completed Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy training through Pearl Psychedelic Institute as well as Polaris Insight Center Medical Module for Ketamine Therapy and has previously served as a board member for The Pearl Psychedelic Institute.
Being able to live out her dream while applying years of study and experience to helping others become their most healthy is Aimee's dharma. An aspect of her vision is being able to meet clients, sharing space and the connections of heart to heart wholeness, and helping others on their journey while honoring mind, body and soul.
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In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons outdoors–hiking, climbing and reveling in all Mother Nature has to offer and traveling. She is currently accepting patients in her practice, Koseli Health Collective, at The Pearl Psychedelic Institute, Widening Circles and virtually.
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PSYCHOTHERAPISTS
KIM SKELTON, LCMHCS, LCAS | CO-FOUNDER + CEO + PSYCHOTHERAPIST
Kim Skelton co-founded Widening Circles in 2017 and now serves as the CEO and as a psychotherapist. She is a queer Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Supervisor and a Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist. Kim’s areas of special interest include mood and anxiety disorders, trauma and traumatic grief, psychedelic medicine, addictions, gender and orientation concerns, and spirituality. Kim’s treatment orientation is rooted in existential/humanistic psychotherapy; psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy; ecopsychology (“connection with” vs. “power over”); harm reduction psychotherapy; feminist psychotherapy; feminist therapy; and EMDR (adaptive resolution of trauma).​
Kim graduated from The University of Alabama with a Master of Arts degree in Community Counseling (2005) and has over 18 years of experience working in a myriad of practice settings including private practice, community mental health, school-based mental health, an opioid use disorder program, and a domestic violence shelter. In 2013, she and Ilona Csapo, MD founded a small, mindfulness-based opioid use disorder treatment program, Willow Wellness and Recovery, where she served as the clinical director until 2019. At that time, she pivoted to focus on integrating psychedelic medicine into the Widening Circles treatment milieu.
For the past six years, Kim has diligently focused her professional time and attention on learning how to ethically and responsibly incorporate psychedelic medicine into therapeutic practice. Kim is passionate about creating meaningful and accessible integrative mental health treatment delivery systems. She completed MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy Therapist Training through the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) in 2019 and is currently serving as a co-therapist with the Expanded Access program for MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy through MAPS and The Pearl Psychedelic Institute. This experience will allow her to provide MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy pending FDA approval. She also trained in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy and Group Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy with the Psychedelic Research and Training Institute (PRATI) in Colorado. Additionally, Kim has advanced training in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP). Kim has also studied community herbalism through HERBalachia and Chinese Stone and Crystal Medicine through Upper Clarity School of Stone Medicine.
In addition to her role at Widening Circles, Kim is the Training Director at The Pearl Psychedelic Institute in Waynesville, NC where she co-creates psychedelic medicine training experiences for mental health professionals. Kim’s guiding force is to support and empower psychospiritual growth, healing, and recovery through compassionate connection and mindful, heart-centered care. In her free time, Kim enjoys spending time with her family and her dogs, playing with watercolor and soaking up the outdoors in beautiful Western North Carolina.
TEVA HITE, LCMHC | CLINICAL DIRECTOR + PSYCHOTHERAPIST
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Teva Hite, LCMHC, is a co-owner and the clinical director of Widening Circles. She is passionate about bringing innovative methodologies such as qEEG-guided neurofeedback and photo biomodulation (PBM) into her work with mental health as she believes this modality offers an adaptive perspective in conceptualizing and treating presenting mental health concerns.
Teva has over 20 years pre-and post-graduate counseling experience serving a variety of populations including adults with co-occuring mental health and developmental disabilities. Her clinical background includes level I, level II, and level III therapeutic residential treatment settings, direct care and program development using expressive arts for adults with developmental disabilities, community based mental health, intensive in-home therapy, mental health case management, family visitation coaching, family reunification, non-profit work, program development, neurofeedback training, and outpatient therapy.
Teva has lived in western North Carolina since 1986 and is committed to bringing innovative therapies to underserved populations. Teva is trained to provide professional, relevant, and effective counseling services for children, adolescents, adults, and families. Her areas of special interest include mood
disorders, attention disorders, trauma, and self-identity. She has completed extensive training in Neurofeedback, Quantitative Electroencephalography (qEEG), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Her theoretical orientation is integrative in nature, drawing from a wide range of theories and practices, including Neurobiology, Feminist Therapy, Expressive Arts, Existential Counseling, Person-Centered Therapy, and Family Systems.
Teva completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology, with a specific focus on Art in Mental Health, with additional minor concentrations in Philosophy and Religion, and Fine Art, from Appalachian State University in 2001. Teva completed her master’s degree program in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in 2017 from Western Carolina University. She is a board certified Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor.
Teva enjoys living in the country with her family and her cats, she is a part time ceramic artist since 1999, and a self-proclaimed conifer tree enthusiast.
ASSOCIATE THERAPISTS + COACHES
RACHAEL BRUTON, LCSW | PSYCHOTHERAPIST
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Rachael is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who provides individual therapy for adults in Asheville, NC and virtually for NYS folx. She received both her bachelor and master’s degree in Social Work. She has worked in various mental health settings including outpatient substance use treatment, crisis care for children and adolescents, community grief support for families who experienced perinatal loss, and intensive therapy in the homes/communities of individuals who are living with severe persistent mental health diagnoses.
Some areas of speciality for Rachael include ADHD, trauma, depression, disordered eating and body image struggles, grief/loss, psychosis, and mood disorders. She is trained with Progressive Counting, Internal Family Systems, and Psychedelic Assisted Therapy. She currently offers Ketamine-Assisted Therapy. She received her training for Psychedelic therapy through Soundmind and the Living Medicine Institute. She is passionate about providing person-centered care to each of her clients in efforts to alleviate the burdens that the parts of oneself carry from past stories.
Rachael identifies as an ADHDer and finds that this compliments her work with other neurodivergent folx. She emphasizes the importance of her clients having the space to authentically be themselves and “unmask” in sessions. This as well for other folx who live in larger size bodies as she does too.
Rachael is originally from Buffalo, NY and she received her Masters in Social Work in Buffalo at the University at Buffalo. While she misses the pizza and wings from Buffalo she is in love with the beauty and community that Asheville offers. When Rachael isn’t working she spends her time in nature, swimming, with her fur baby family, at community events, listening to a podcast, or obsessing over decorating her home!
ALLISON CHAPMAN, LCSWA | PSYCHOTHERAPIST + RECOVERY COACH
Allison has a diverse history working in community mental health settings and therapeutic wilderness programs. She graduated with a Master of Social Work degree with a focus on substance use and addiction from Western Carolina University. She is mom of two wonderful girls, an active community member and social justice advocate.
Her person-centered, strengths-based approach seeks to empower people as they become the best version of themselves. She works 1:1 to gently guide individuals towards self-actualization.
In her free time she enjoys running, attempting interesting athletic adventures, gardening, and connecting with family and friends!
SAM ROBINSON, LCMHCA | PSYCHOTHERAPIST
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Sam’s journey towards counseling began while working at Buddhist meditation retreats where he was able to witness the power of awareness, exploration, and relational experimentation to transform struggles into strengths. His practice is woven around the perspective that most problems can be traced back to feelings of fragmentation or not belonging in some way. Using a foundation of compassionate curiosity, he helps people by walking beside them on their journey back towards wholeness, always reminding them that they belong and can thrive wherever life finds them.
His theoretical approach is supported by both the evidence-based practice of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and a psychodynamic perspective that meaningfully examines how the past manifests itself in the present. Some techniques that he uses include dialogue, directed compassion, decentering, cognitive reframing, meditation and breathing exercises, somatic self-monitoring, and dream exploration.
He graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne University in August of 2023 with a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, gardening, swimming in nearby creeks, creating music with his wife, and rolling around on the ground with his toddler-aged son.
INTUITIVE ASTROLOGER
LIZ GUNN | INTUITIVE ASTROLOGER
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Like so many involved in healing work, Liz's background is varied, experiential and distinctly unique. She has learned that there is no better teacher than life itself. She's traveled a long road to arrive home to a place of integrated lived experience and can share with you the uncommon wisdom found along the way. She believes in the value found through the power of discernment and the importance of paying attention to the cycles of change and transformation. The practical application of the living wisdom contained in ordinary reality is the cornerstone of her offerings.
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In 1986, at the age of 24, she helped organize the Adult Children of Alcoholics movement in Savannah, Georgia. This was the doorway that led her into the realm of spiritual exploration, personal growth and healing as a way of life. Her entry into the world of Astrology followed shortly thereafter. This combination, beginning with ACOA, astrology, extensive therapy and psychospiritual development, set the course for her growing passion to understand the “why” of existence.
Liz's work as a whole brings together a quality of understanding that facilitates a shift towards more authentic self- knowledge. It’s a deeply affirming, loving and compassionate experience to explore your astrological blueprint with her. She is a big believer in the practical application of spiritual wisdom so you can face your life with courage, faith and grace. The knowing that every single experience is absolutely bringing you into contact with your highest Self is what connects you to the essence of All That Is. Please see Liz's website for more information about her intuitive astrology practice.
OFFICE MANAGER & ADMISSIONS COORDINATOR
VICY WILKINSON, MA I OFFICE MANAGER + ADMISSIONS COORDINATOR
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Vicy holds both a BA from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, GA, and an MA from University of Durham (UK) in Philosophy of Science and Mind. She has studied mindfulness and consciousness for over 25 years, with specializations in East/West philosophies and neuroscience research analysis. She’s been a certified transformational life coach since 2009, and received her board certification in 2012, and truly loves helping people learn how to get more of what they really want out of life through her own private coaching practice.
Vicy joined Widening Circles as Office Manager and Admissions Coordinator to support the other group of people she feels passionate about: people doing direct care work. Vicy’s backgrounds in philosophy and broad perspective are a useful addition to the Widening Circles team.
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Vicy has an abiding enthusiasm for life and believes deeply that one of the missing components for many people is having an ongoing, spiritual relationship with the natural world. Vicy lives on the side of a mountain deep in the trees, and is an avid hiker, paddler, rower, and “wild swimmer.” She even swims in our gorgeous mountain lakes during the winter! Cold water and sunshine have so much to give, and regular swimming keeps her mind right. She also enjoys connecting with friends, family, and cats, and embraces world travel as often as possible, with open arms.
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In addition to her formal education and certifications in coaching, Vicy is also a Concept2 UCanRow2 Rowing Instructor, a 250-hour certified yoga instructor, and a Qi Gong and Tai Chi practitioner.
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