AOC Caught Paying ‘Ketamine Psychiatrist’ $19K In Campaign Cash

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shelled out nearly $19,000 in campaign cash last year to a psychiatrist known for pushing cutting-edge ketamine treatments, according to federal records.

The New York Democrat’s campaign paid Boston-based Dr. Brian Boyle, a top doctor at the Stella mental health clinic chain, a total of $18,725 across three payments in 2025, filings with the Federal Election Commission show. The expenses were labeled as “leadership training and consulting.”

The payments included $11,550 in March, $2,800 in May, and $4,375 in October, the New York Post revealed.

It’s unclear which services were provided or who participated in the sessions. Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Boyle, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist, describes himself as an “interventional psychiatrist” who treats patients with severe depression, PTSD, and anxiety using unconventional approaches. He has built a reputation around ketamine therapy, a controversial treatment that has drawn both interest and scrutiny.

“I just saw the incredible power of what these treatments could do,” Boyle said during a podcast appearance last year. “It’s a ton of fun helping patients get better.”

His clinics also offer other high-end treatments popular among wealthy clients, including stellate ganglion block—an injection aimed at calming the body’s fight-or-flight response. Business figures such as Bob Parsons have publicly praised the procedure for helping with PTSD.

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“Celebrities tend to be more inclined to be on the hunt for highly effective solutions across beauty, health, mental health, nutrition, and so on,” Boyle said in a separate interview.

Ocasio-Cortez has long backed loosening restrictions on psychedelic drugs for medical research. After first pushing the idea as a freshman lawmaker, she repeatedly introduced measures to expand federal study of substances like psilocybin and MDMA.

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“It’s well past time we take drug use out of criminal consideration and into medical consideration,” she said in 2019.

Her early attempts failed, including one rejected by fellow Democrats. A similar effort ultimately cleared Congress and was signed into law in 2023.

The Bronx and Queens congresswoman has also been open about her own mental health struggles. She said she sought therapy following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, which she described as deeply traumatic.

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“Oh yeah, I’m doing therapy,” she said during a 2021 appearance on the public radio show Latino USA, recalling the day she said she hid in a bathroom while fearing for her life. “An extraordinarily traumatizing event.”

“I’ve had to take a beat,” she added.

She has also spoken about burnout after her 2018 campaign, when she unseated longtime Rep. Joe Crowley.

“I went from doing yoga and making wild rice and salmon dinners to eating fast food for dinner and falling asleep in my jeans and makeup,” she wrote on Instagram at the time. “I neglected myself.”

The spending is drawing scrutiny from watchdogs who question whether campaign funds were used appropriately.

“While I can understand why AOC would spend $18,000 for a shrink whose specialties include narcissistic personality disorders, using her campaign contributions for what appears to be an expense for personal use violates federal campaign finance laws,” said Paul Kamenar, counsel for the National Legal and Policy Center.

“While she describes these expenses as ‘leadership training,’ Dr. Boyle has no expertise in that area, unlike several Democratic campaign consultants,” he added. “This looks like yet another example of misuse of campaign contributions.”

Ketamine treatments have gained traction in recent years, but doctors warn the drug still carries risks.

“There’s a risk of people receiving infusions for ketamine without an appropriate diagnostic workup and considering other factors which may be responsible for their symptoms,” psychiatrist Dr. Simon Dosovitz told The Post. “It is a strongly dissociative drug.”

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