Will Ratliff, RN, LP is a former flight medic and nurse, as well as one of the original founders of Transcend. As a subject matter expert in all things Ketamine, he serves as the clinic’s Director of Operations. Will played a key role in designing Transcend’s current clinics, developing protocols and procedures, refining processes and systems, and personally training all staff to meet the high standards he and Dr. Cord Cunningham set.
Long before founding Transcend, Will was a self-described "Ketamine nerd" due to his extensive experience administering the medication in a variety of critical care settings—ambulances, emergency rooms, helicopters, accident scenes, and roadsides. At Transcend, he has facilitated approximately 5,000+ Ketamine infusions alongside KAP therapists, spending countless hours observing the real-time effects of Ketamine administration across diverse settings, indications, and patient populations.
Will has been instrumental in establishing Transcend as a leading IV KAP clinic, advocating that titrated IV Ketamine administration is essential for intra-infusion psychotherapy—and that intra-infusion psychotherapy is critical for meaningful efficacy in KAP, especially for trauma patients. He firmly believes that Ketamine’s value in mental health treatment lies not in its chemical effects alone but in its ability to accelerate the psychotherapy process. According to Will, most KAP providers have never fully witnessed this potential because they lack the ability to precisely control Ketamine levels. The majority of KAP treatments rely on IM or oral administration, or if IV is used, it is often delivered via steady-state infusion or gravity drip. These methods rarely place a patient in the optimal state for psychotherapy unless by sheer chance.
In Transcend’s early days, Will recognized that Ketamine dosing during therapy was a delicate balance—too low or too high, and the process could be ineffective. He also observed that a patient’s sensitivity to Ketamine varies from session to session and even changes throughout a single infusion. Unless the dosage is actively adjusted in real-time, therapy may be hindered rather than helped. Bringing these insights to Dr. Cunningham, they developed a protocol for Ketamine administration designed specifically to facilitate psychotherapy, rather than just induce full dissociation. As a result, Transcend’s approach to Ketamine dosing is among the most advanced in the KAP industry—a direct product of two medical professionals with unique backgrounds solving a problem that had been largely overlooked.
Will still puts on his well-worn Transcend scrubs to facilitate KAP sessions, primarily working with medically complex cases, adolescents, and elderly patients. However, he now spends most of his time steering the clinic in the right direction and training the next generation of Transcenders. His greatest passion is passing on the knowledge he has gained from this work, knowing that by sharing these insights with new KAP clinicians, he can help create a ripple effect—improving lives and saving more patients than he ever could alone.
Outside of his work at Transcend, Will is deeply dedicated to meditation, mindfulness, and breathwork, having maintained a daily practice for 15 years. He is also passionate about music (playing drums, guitar, and bass), martial arts (Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, boxing, wrestling, and MMA), strength training (often with kettlebells and steel maces), practicing non-duality, and parenting his son and daughter.
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