
Founders

Dr. Steven L. Mandel
Founder & President
Dr. Steven Mandel is an internationally-recognized expert & pioneer in the use of ketamine infusion therapy to treat mental health disorders & chronic pain. Dr. Mandel has more than 40 years of experience utilizing ketamine as a board-certified anesthesiologist. He also earned his master’s degree in psychology. He is the founder & president of Ketamine Clinics Los Angeles, a leading ketamine infusion therapy clinic in Southern California. Dr. Mandel is also founder and first president of ASKP.

Sam Mandel
Cofounder & Chief Executive Officer
Sam Mandel, Cofounder & Chief Executive Officer, is a lifelong mental health advocate and entrepreneur. Sam cofounded Ketamine Clinics Los Angeles (KCLA) with his father, Dr. Steven L. Mandel, in 2014 and currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer. He has grown KCLA to be one of the most successful and well-respected Ketamine Infusion Therapy clinics in the world.
Physicians

Dr. Suzie Dupée
Psychiatrist
Dr. Dupée graduated from medical school at the University of Queensland in Australia and has worked in multiple hospitals in Melbourne, Brisbane, Los Angeles (Cedars Sinai), San Diego (UCSD), and New York City (Bellevue & Kirby). After more than 20 years of managing her private practice in Manhattan Beach, Dr. Dupée decided to join our team at Ketamine Clinics Los Angeles because of her interest in evidence-based, effective treatments. She feels the innovative advances that KCLA offers will further enhance the quality of life for patients with difficult-to-treat psychiatric conditions. At KCLA, Dr. Dupée provides medication management, liaises with our patients’ treating mental health professionals, oversees the psychiatric aspects of ketamine infusions, and will soon provide consultations and mappings for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), a safe and effective FDA-approved treatment for a variety of many mental health conditions; depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety disorders, PTSD, and others have all been proven to respond to TMS.
In Dr. Dupée’s spare time, she enjoys traveling, jogging on the beach with her dog, spending quality time with her children, cooking, and attending U2 concerts. LEARN MORE

Dr. Peyman Tashkandi
Director of Psychiatry
In 2012, Dr. Tashkandi attended Medical School at the Western University of Health Sciences and graduated in 2016. Upon graduation, he started his residency in general adult psychiatry. Upon completion in 2019, he went on to complete his fellowship training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the USC Keck School of Medicine, where he served as an education chief and helped care for the underserved population in the greater Los Angeles area. While there, he gained deep experience treating complex, challenging cases of numerous psychiatric disorders, with added emphasis on eating disorders.
Dr. Tashkandi is currently a part-time clinical faculty member of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the USC Keck School of Medicine. He participates in teaching and part-time patient care. His philosophy is to use evidence-based medicine and a whole-person approach in treating patients, utilizing medication management, psychotherapy, and education. Dr. Tashkandi is passionately interested in educating the public about mental health issues and is working to raise awareness of mental health concerns affecting all communities. The opportunity to care for patients at Ketamine Clinics Los Angeles fits perfectly with Dr. Tashkandi’s passion for comprehensive, evidence-based, effective modalities to provide patients with the best chance of relief.
In Tashkandi's spare time, he enjoys tennis, playing guitar, reading, and spending quality time with family and friends. LEARN MORE
Executives

Angel
Director of Operations

Banksy
Office Manager
Advanced Providers

Conor
Physician Assistant

Melanie
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
Nurses

Denisse
Licensed Vocational Nurse

Kevin
Charge Nurse (RN)

Victoria
Registered Nurse

Julian
Registered Nurse

Edith
Registered Nurse
Administrative Team

Alyssa
Project Manager

William
Patient Care Coordinator

Juleny
Patient Care Coordinator

Camila
Administrative Assistant