Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
What is Ketamine?
● Ketamine is a legal, safe and effective medicine used to treat a variety of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety and PTSD. Ketamine has rapidly-acting antidepressant and mood-enhancing effects, which can begin to take effect within 1-2 hrs. after treatment and last for up to 2 weeks. It works by blocking the brain’s NMDA receptors as well as by stimulating AMPA receptors, which are thought to help form new synaptic connections and boost neural circuits that regulate stress and mood. Ketamine has also been shown to enhance overall neuroplasticity for lasting symptom improvement.
● Ketamine can be administered in a variety of ways, including IV infusion, intramuscular injection, via nasal spray and using sublingual lozenges. In home-KAP, mostly the sublingual lozenge form is used.
How Does Ketamine Feel?
● The effects of ketamine, which most patients find pleasant, last for approximately 45 minutes. These effects can make you feel “far from” your body, and facilitate shifts in perception that can often feel expansive in nature. Your motor and verbal abilities will be reduced, so you’ll be lying down in a comfortable position during the experience. Once these effects subsided, we’ll spend the remainder of our appointment giving you space to process and discuss your experience. While it may feel hard to articulate what happened during the experience, patients feel like the insights gained are none-the-less clear. Studies have shown that the benefits to mood and neurological growth can last up to two weeks after the Ketamine experience.
How Does Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Work?
1. Preparation
You schedule an initial evaluation with a clinician from a third-party such as MindBloom. They will go over your medical and psychiatric history with you, provide education on the treatment and determine if you are eligible for KAP. A small amount of oral ketamine will be sent to your home. You will be taught how to take your vitals and self-administer the ketamine lozenges in advance of our KAP sessions.
We’ll explore your goals for journeying, reservations, logistics, and we will schedule our appointment date and time well in advance. We will make an artwork about what you’d like to know after journeying.
2. KAP Dosing Session
A typical ketamine dosing session lasts 3 hours. It’s done remotely via telehealth or in-office in Los Angeles.
During a dosing session, you will self-administer your ketamine lozenge in your home or my office, in a comfortable, reclining position. You’re welcome to wear an eye mask and listen to calming music for about 105 minutes total. Although a KAP dosing session may be largely an internal experience, I will be present with you the entire time to hold space and provide support as needed. I can also administer comforting ethical touch if you are comfortable with that.
3. Integration Session
Up to 72 hours after your KAP dosing session, we will meet for an integration session to review the experience. Memories, thoughts & insights may arise during your dosing session, which we can explore using art-making. We’ll also prepare for the next dosing session.
Journeying with other psychedelics
