Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Cannella.
Hi Kevin, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My story really begins at the moment I was supposed to “enter the real world.” Instead, just after graduating from college, I followed a calling to the Peruvian Amazon and volunteered at the Temple of the Way of Light, an ayahuasca retreat center. What I thought would be a short adventure turned into nearly eight months of profound inner transformation. During that time, I shed old identities, immersed myself in practices like Vipassana meditation and yoga, and experienced what felt like a spiritual reorientation that would shape the next fifteen years of my life.
While at the Temple, I came across a passage—Matthew 6:33: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” It struck me as both a directive and a covenant: if I pursued the spiritual path wholeheartedly, everything else—purpose, romantic relationship, abundance, meaning—would unfold in its own time.
For much of my 20s, that unfolding led me to Maui, where I lived and worked on farms, deepened my healing, and learned to trust life’s emergent path. As Steve Jobs famously said, “You can only connect the dots looking backwards… so you have to trust in something.” That sentiment became a guiding principle for me.
At 27, things shifted. I felt a clear internal instruction: align my work and finances with my true gifts and Dharma. A few months later, another directive arrived just as clearly—move to Boulder and apply to Naropa University’s Master’s in Counseling program. At Naropa, I was introduced to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Given my years of work with ayahuasca, the field felt like home.
After graduating, my next intention was to build a private practice that could serve as the foundation for my long-term work. I trained extensively in trauma, somatics, and psychedelic therapies, and began supporting clients through Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP). Over the next few years, one theme kept arising in my conversations with colleagues: psychedelic therapy was deeply transformative, yet financially inaccessible for so many who needed it. I found myself saying again and again, “I wish there was a nonprofit fund we could plug into so more people could access this work.”
After a year of speaking that desire into existence, the next directive came: start the nonprofit. Start it now. Soon after, another: move to Austin. So in 2021, I moved to this city and began building what would become Thank You Life with Dr. Dan Engle, who became my co-founder. We launched the organization in April 2022 with a simple mission: provide financial assistance for people who need psychedelic therapy and cannot afford it.
Over the next three years, we grew Thank You Life into a nationwide provider network of over 120 KAP clinics across 35 states, and distributed more than $500,000 in direct support to over 250 individuals. It was one of the most meaningful chapters of my life.
This June, I passed the organization on to new leadership and stepped into the next emergence of my path—one that continues to blend psychotherapy, psychedelic healing, and heart-centered entrepreneurship.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
In some ways the road has been smooth, and in other ways it’s been anything but. I often think of the surface of an orange—when you look from a distance, it appears perfectly smooth; but up close, you can see every ridge, pore, and imperfection. My path has felt similar: graceful from afar, textured and challenging up close.
One of the greatest struggles has been learning to trust the unknown. For years, I followed an inner compass that didn’t make sense to most people around me. Friends and family often wondered what I was doing with my life, or why I was “wasting” my degree on spiritual exploration. I carried a lot of doubt throughout those years, questioning whether the path I was on would actually lead anywhere meaningful.
Financially, those early chapters were extremely difficult. I wasn’t pursuing money—I was pursuing spiritual experiences and my own healing. That made me experience-rich, but financially poor. There were times when the financial stress was heavy, yet those moments became some of my greatest teachers in trust, humility, and resourcefulness.
Another ongoing challenge has been the continual death-and-rebirth cycle of identity. After five or six years of spiritual work, entering graduate school as a counseling student felt like stepping into an entirely new world. Then came the transition into becoming a licensed therapist, a business owner, and a psychedelic therapist. Most recently, shifting from clinical work into executive leadership as the co-founder of a nonprofit was another huge transformation.
And now I find myself in yet another liminal space—having passed Thank You Life to new leadership, allowing this version of myself to dissolve and incubate while the next phase of my mission takes shape. Each transition has been challenging, but they’ve all been essential in shaping who I am today.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about On Purpose Counseling / Thank You Life?
I’m involved in two intertwined but distinct ventures: my psychotherapy practice, On Purpose Counseling, and the nonprofit I co-founded, Thank You Life.
Thank You Life is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides financial assistance to individuals who need—but cannot afford—psychedelic therapy. We partner with more than 120 ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) clinics across 35 states, including several here in Austin. What sets us apart is the scale of our reach and our philosophy: instead of sending people out of the country for healing, we built a nationwide provider network so people can access high-quality psychedelic care locally, in their own communities. I’m incredibly proud that in just three years, we helped over 250 people access life-changing therapy and distributed more than $500,000 in direct support.
On Purpose Counseling is my private psychotherapy practice and the home of my clinical work. I specialize in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy integrated with Internal Family Systems (IFS). My clients are primarily men between 25–45 who are standing at a meaningful crossroads: either they’ve relied heavily on intellect and are ready to finally explore their emotional and psychological world, or they’re seeking deeper alignment with spirituality, purpose, and meaning—trying to understand why they’re here and what their unique mission is.
What sets my practice apart is the way I bridge rigorous clinical training with years of spiritual practice, psychedelic facilitation, and a heart-centered, purpose-driven therapeutic approach. My work helps clients not only heal, but evolve—toward clarity, embodied presence, and a felt sense of direction in their lives.
If there’s one thing I want readers to know, it’s that both my practice and my nonprofit were built around the same core belief: we are capable of profound transformation. Everything I offer is designed to help individuals access that kind of change.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
What I love most about Austin is the way the environment supports a full, vibrant life. After six years in Colorado, I deeply appreciate the warmth here and the fact that I can be outside year-round. I was kayaking in November recently—there aren’t many cities where that’s possible.
I also genuinely love the people. Austin attracts individuals who are passionate about healing, growth, creativity, and spirituality. There’s a real sense of openness and curiosity here that feels supportive of the work I do and the life I want to live.
What I like least is that Austin’s openness can sometimes make it feel transitory—people come and go quickly, and it can take a little effort to build long-term, rooted community. I value depth and continuity in relationships, so that’s something I notice.
Pricing:
- Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy: $250 / hr
- Psychotherapy: $200 / hr
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kevinonpurpose.global
- Instagram: kev.on.purpose
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-cannella/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThankYouLifeFund
- Other: https://thankyoulife.org
