Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy

Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy

Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) can play an important role in helping to access material that is, for some, otherwise often difficult to reach by standard psychotherapy approaches. It was approved for medical use by the FDA in 1970 and has a 50+ year track record of safe use in hospitals as an anesthetic at higher doses. At the lower doses used in KAP, ketamine has been shown to be significant aid in psychotherapy by facilitating the deep healing that can make lasting positive changes. It is not unusual for people to report making significant progress in a matter of a few months with KAP, after having tried for years to get access to deeper psychological healing with psychotherapy alone.

Ketamine journeys offer the chance to experience a deep “time out” from one’s conditioned habitual patterns, essentially offering a reset in which one’s perspective can shift, allowing core issues and traumas to be seen, understood and felt in a way that allows for a neural rewiring process to occur.

KAP is known to work well for people experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety, addiction, PTSD and complex trauma that have not responded to standard psychotherapy treatment. Some clients also find KAP supportive for personal growth and existential/spiritual exploration. Ketamine is not appropriate if you are pregnant, have a psychotic disorder, or have uncontrolled high blood pressure, heart disease, or liver disease. An intake screening by a licensed psychiatric professional is required prior to receiving a prescription.

For maximum effectiveness, ketamine is used within the context of ongoing psychotherapy, both in preparation for the ketamine journeys, as well as post-journey integration of the material that arises in the journey. In ketamine sessions, the client takes the ketamine, obtained via prescription from a psychiatric professional licensed to prescribe medication, and then receives my guidance into the experience that unfolds.

As it is currently understood by scientists, ketamine acts on the Default Mode Network, essentially “turning down the volume” of one’s thoughts and entrenched habitual ways of perceiving. This creates an opening not only for insights and healing, but also for the critical element of developing new neural pathways that can shift one’s system toward health. Ketamine is typically engaged over a series of sessions over a number weeks or months, which supports those nascent healthier neural pathways to get stronger and more stable. Pairing this with psychotherapy, which ensures a deep integration of the material and insights that arise during the ketamine sessions, is where the full power of this approach is realized and creates lasting improvements.