AOC paid doctor known for ketamine treatment $19,000 in campaign cash

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has spent $19,000 on a psychaiatrist that is known for ketamine treatment, according to a report from the New York Post. The $19,000 was spent from her campaign coffers in 2025.

Dr. Brian Boyle, the chief psychiatric officer at Stella, was hired by the left-wing lawmaker in 2025. The chain of mental health clinics focuses on "novel" treatments that are popular in Hollywood and on Wall Street. In March 2025, her campaign paid Boyle $11,550. In May, she shelled out another $2,800. Then in October, she paid $4,375 to the doctor, tallying up to $18,725, per the Federal Election Commission.

The expenses were marked as “leadership training and consulting" on campaign finance records. The lawmaker's campaign did not respond to a request for comment when the Post reached out to the lawmaker. Boyle claimed to be an "interventional psychiatrist” and has specialized in different unorthodox ways to treat mental health issues. He also claims to be the "leading authority" on ketamine treatment, the same drug that led to the death of "Friends" star Matthew Perry.

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

In an interview about the treatment, Boyle said that celebrities are fans of the treatment. “Celebrities tend to be more inclined to be on the hunt for highly effective solutions across beauty, health, mental health, nutrition and so on."

AOC has herself moved to make unorthodox drug treatments for therapy more accessible. She has proposed legislation three times to more closely study the impact of psychedelic drugs.

Critics took aim at AOC for the use of campaign funds to pay for the sessions, whether ketamine was used or not. Paul Kamenar, the counsel to the National Legal and Policy Center, said, “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."

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