Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy
Legal Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy in Central Illinois
What is Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy?
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) is a unique therapeutic approach that combines the use of ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic medication, with psychotherapeutic techniques. KAP targets conditions such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD, particularly when traditional treatments have failed. This innovative approach utilizes ketamine’s calm-inducing and pain-relieving properties to help individuals work through various mental and emotional challenges.
How Ketamine Works:
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that has been used for decades in medical settings for pain relief and anesthesia. When people are stressed or depressed for a long time, they can start to lose the connections between neurons in the brain. Many clients with treatment-resistant depression who have tried traditional therapy report old unhealthy patterns and behaviors “coming back” At sub-anesthetic levels, Ketamine increase glutamate production in the brain which helps build new neural connections, a key factor in changing our brain wiring. Ketamine produces rapid and sustained antidepressant effects, comparable to many other traditional antidepressant drugs.
Therapeutic Integration:
Relational therapy enhances the effectiveness of Ketamine by supporting and nurturing the new neural connections and pathways created with Ketamine. New neural connections are pathways in the brain that need to be practiced and strengthened for long-lasting changes in the brain to be made. Ketamine Therapy is similar to hiring a personal trainer: you are more likely to build long-lasting muscle growth with the support of a personal trainer helping you practice and strengthen your muscles than you are attending one strength-training class.
After your KAP sessions, I will help you identify key insights and experiences gained by your Ketamine medicine session. I will teach you coping skills and recommended exercises to foster and support the new neural connections gained so that you can experience long-lasting reductions in mental health symptoms.
Benefits of KAP
The therapeutic benefits of ketamine-assisted therapy include:
1. Rapid relief of symptoms: Ketamine has been shown to have rapid-acting antidepressant effects, with some individuals experiencing significant improvements in mood within hours or days of a ketamine session.
2. Increased neuroplasticity: Ketamine may promote the growth of new neural connections in the brain, which can help individuals break free from negative thought patterns and develop new, healthier ways of thinking and behaving.
3. Enhanced self-awareness: Ketamine can facilitate introspection and self-reflection, allowing individuals to gain insights into their emotions, beliefs, and behaviors.
4. Reduction of fear and anxiety: Ketamine has anxiolytic properties, meaning it can help reduce fear and anxiety symptoms, making it useful for conditions like PTSD or social anxiety disorder.
5. Improved mood and well-being: Ketamine has been reported to enhance mood, increase motivation, and improve overall well-being.
The KAP Treatment Process
Intake:
If you are not an existing client, you will book a KAP intake consultation session (50 minutes) to explore your mental, emotional, and physical history to see if Ketamine-Assisted Therapy is a good fit for you. You will also have an intake with a medical provider that I work with who will do a medical and physiological intake as next steps. Once you are approved medically and clinically for KAP, you can begin your KAP treatment path.
Preparation Sessions:
Before your first Ketamine Medicine (KAP) session, I recommend 2-4 preparation sessions to explore what you’d like to address in ketamine therapy as well as set intentions and prepare for the ketamine medicine experience. These sessions provide a space to begin healing through relational therapy using mindfulness, trauma-informed, and somatic modalities that I use in individual therapy (see other therapy pages on my website for a list of modalities and specialties that I offer). We will use this time to create a plan for your ketamine sessions, outline the logistics, and work through any concerns or questions you may have. We will practice various somatic and mindfulness coping skills and resources that you can use during the ketamine sessions. During these initial sessions, we will talk about what kind of support you would like during your ketamine sessions. These sessions give us time to create safety and trust through building a therapeutic relationship and to explore your core wounds and healing messages to bring into the ketamine sessions.
We will also talk about how you can make changes into your daily life to support you during the Ketamine medicine treatment path. I encourage people to make time and space for self-care activities throughout the process. If you are going through significant and stressful life situations, we may look at scheduling your KAP treatment when you have more downtime and can add these nourishing pieces into your life.
What does a KAP Session look like?
During Ketamine-Assisted Therapy, you will take your medically prescribed ketamine lozenges while I support you throughout the process. We will set the environment to your preferences that we pre determine in the preparation sessions. Many client choose things like a laying position, eye mask, soothing music, etc. to optimize their comfort during their experience. The effects of ketamine typically start 5 to 10 minutes after ketamine dosing. The peak effects typically last 20 to 30 minutes, and then slowly diminish for the next hour. The KAP session may involve talking, introspection, or somatic mindfulness therapeutic techniques to help you process your thoughts, emotions, and experiences during the KAP session. KAP sessions typically last from 1-3 hours .
The Ketamine Experience
The ketamine experience is characterized by the relaxation of ordinary concerns and usual mindset. This tends to lead to a disruption of negative feelings and preoccupations. At lower doses, you will most likely experience mild anesthetic, anxiolytic, antidepressant, and psychoactive effects. You might experience increased sensitivity to light and sound, as well as an altered sense of time. Some people experience empathogenic effects in this dose range. This state may also enhance participation in psychotherapy, as defenses are relaxed, yet communication with others is still possible.
Higher doses are more likely to produce psychedelic, dissociative states that are largely internal journeys away from the external world. Body sensations are greatly diminished. Such journeys may provide a more robust treatment effect, often assisting in the resolution of existential concerns, accelerating psychological and (and possibly spiritual) growth, and promoting a positive change in outlook and character that I refer to as a transformative response. Sensory effects of ketamine may include distorted visualization of colors, feeling suspended in space or floating, experiencing out-of-body sensations, vivid imagery, and changes in visual, tactile, and auditory processing. An ordinary sense of time may morph into time dilation.
Some people report psychic experiences, which they perceive as bizarre or frightening, while others describe them as pleasurable, joyful, or fascinating. I have found that even frightening experiences can be of great value to your recovery process. I am trained in providing stability for those experiencing extreme states, and you will receive psychotherapeutic help and ongoing guidance as to how to make the best use of these experiences.
Two to three hours after ketamine administration, clients can return to normal functioning. Driving an automobile or engaging in hazardous activities should not be undertaken on the day of the administration, and not until all effects have stopped. You can book an Uber home or have someone pick you up.
Integration Sessions:
After your Ketamine session, we will reflect on and process your experience. I will help you navigate any difficult emotions or psychological material that may have emerged during the KAP session. I will support you in finding meaning and significance in your ketamine experience. We can explore how the insights gained during the journey can be applied to your life, relationships, and personal growth. I may use various therapeutic techniques, such as Internal Family Systems or Brainspotting, to help you integrate the experience into your sense of self and worldview. Often times clients experience profound insights and experiences during their journey. There is a broad spectrum of experiences, feelings, thoughts, and memories that can be evoked with Ketamine therapy. I will assist you in processing these experiences so that you can integrate the outcomes into a more fruitful and holistic way of living.
I can help you develop strategies and practices to maintain the positive changes and insights gained from the ketamine experience. We may address any challenges or difficulties that arise during the integration process.
KAP Treatment Summary
Step 1: Schedule a KAP Consultation
50 minutes
Step 1: Schedule a Medical Consultation
50 minutes (telehealth) – This is with my prescribing doctor
Step 3: Recommended 1-3 Preparation Sessions
50 minutes (telehealth or in person)
Step 4: Ketamine Medicine Sessions (KAP)
I ask that clients commit to 6 KAP sessions to maximize the benefits of KAP. It is recommended that KAP sessions be scheduled 7-10 days apart to maximize the neuroplastic window. Ideally, preparation, KAP, and integration sessions are held roughly within the same week period.
Step 5: Integration Sessions
Recommended one per KAP treatment
KAP Fees & Policies
I’ve seen Ketamine Infusion Treatments costs $4000-$20,000. My goal is to make this therapy as accessible and affordable as possible for clients and I truly believe it helps people heal. Your therapist’s hourly rate applies to all Ketamine Assisted Therapy sessions. ($200 per hour).
Preparation Sessions: Typically 1 hour each (sessions are based on individual’s needs, most people do 1-3 sessions)
Dosing Sessions: Typically 3 hours each (Typically a series of 6-8 sessions)
Integration Sessions: Typically 1 hour (One integration session per KAP dosing session)
*Medical Evaluation Session and Lozenge prescription are paid directly to the prescribing physician. I work directly with a prescriber who will meet with you virtually. Your prescription will be mailed to you.
Lozenge Prescription :
Lozenge medicine fees differ based on the quantity prescribed. Your dosage is specific to you.
Beyond 6 medicine sessions, lozenge sessions and therapy sessions are offered as needed in the “maintenance phase.”
KAP Fee’s and Insurance
I can provide clients with a superbill that would allow clients to file a claim with an “Out of Network” provider for any services covered by their benefits plan. There is no mention of Ketamine on the superbill and insurance coding is the same as any other mental health services. Your therapist is only providing therapy services. Your medical provider is the prescriber and administrator of medicine. These services are billed separately.
If your insurance covers out of network providers, you may be eligible for reimbursement. The best way to find out is to call your insurance company and ask. If your plan covers out of network providers, we can send you a superbill receipt and you may be eligible for reimbursement. Websites like https://getbetter.co/or https://reimbursify.com/ can help with this.
Thank You Life is a non-profit organization working to eliminate the financial barrier for those seeking psychedelic therapy services. https://thankyoulife.org/
Book a KAP Intake Consultation
If you are not an existing client, you will book a KAP intake consultation session to explore your mental, emotional, and physical history to see if Ketamine-Assisted Therapy is a good fit for you.
Additional KAP Resources and Information
CURRENT RESEARCH ON KAP:
Yale Psychiatrists, pioneers of ketamine research and the recent FDA approval.
An article published by Cambridge University entitled “Toward specific ways to combine ketamine and psychotherapy in treating depression“.
psychedelic support:
Ketamine Therapy FAQ
What is the difference between infusion clinics and private practice ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP)?
The main difference between infusion clinics and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is the depth of relationship between provider and client. Some ketamine clinics have ketamine treatment models that centralize the ketamine medicine, without the guidance of a therapist or a therapeutic process-these are referred to as infusion clinics. It’s therefore important to ask if mental health therapy by a licensed psychotherapist is provided before, during, or after the ketamine medicine.
In the ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) we work together to understand your history and learn about the aspects of your consciousness and lifestyle that are out of balance. We will understand the behavior changes you are needing to create in your lifestyle or in long-withstanding traumas with lingering effects on your mind/heart/body. We work together in order to make small shifts in your life in the few weeks leading up to the ketamine medicine sessions. The one-on-one therapy relationship is what builds the foundation for catering each ketamine treatment session to a unique theme and intention to transform and heal. Integration sessions after the KAP experience are where we create structured practices and draw on community resources for you to maintain improved mood and motivation.
”What was broken in relationship, needs to be healed in relationship.” It is our belief that the most transformational healing comes from working one-on-one with a therapist while using the medicine to enhance the process.
Do we use lonzenges, injections, or IV infusions?
Ketamine administration is through rapid dissolving lozenges that are placed under the tongue. This type of administration allows a person to enter a dissociated, “psychedelic” non-ordinary state of consciousness. Lozenges paired with therapy are the most effective administration route for sustained treatment results and on-going wellbeing. Other forms of administration (IV/injections) may send a person into a state of consciousness that can be too “far out” to do important therapy work during the experience and clients may not remember their experience as well.
How many KAP sessions will I do?
The number of KAP sessions in a treatment plan will be discussed between the client and therapist. The typical range is 6-8 KAP sessions in a first “series”. The therapist will recommend the number of sessions recommended in a treatment plan to meet the client’s treatment goals, with a minimum commitment of 3 KAP sessions. These sessions are recommended to be done 7-10 days apart in order to optimize the neuroplastic window. Once you’ve completed your series of planned sessions, on-going “one off” booster sessions will be available for “tune ups” and “maintenance.”
What to do Directly After / Day-of Session
After completing a session, prioritize rest and recovery for the rest of the day. Emotions and insights may emerge afterward, but it’s essential to allow your mind and body time to process. Resist the urge to dive into work or take bold actions—consider it a necessary break. Be mindful of the following post-session guidelines:
- Avoid driving or operating heavy machinery.
- Refrain from consuming alcohol or substances.
- Postpone major life decisions.
Use this time to care for yourself with stillness and quiet. Even if it feels like nothing happened, much is unfolding within you. Journaling about your thoughts and feelings can help, even if it’s hard to describe the experience. The day after, continue to give yourself space and stillness. Let the lessons settle before returning to your integration work.
Where do sessions take place?
Sessions are primarily held in my office in Peoria Illinois. In-person KAP is preferable, but KAP can also be facilitated online. There is also an option for a hybrid format for those who want to combine in-person and online sessions. You are required to be located in Illinois for KAP dosing sessions.
How will I obtain ketamine?
I work directly with a prescriber who will meet with you virtually. Your prescription will be mailed to you via priority mail. You must be able to sign for the package, or arrange to have it delivered to a UPS holding facility. I do not provide KAP to people who have obtained ketamine without a psychiatric prescription.
Am I required to see you as my primary therapist in order to do KAP with you?
No. I offer KAP both as a standalone service and as part of my wider therapeutic services. This means that you can come to see me just for KAP. You may also choose me as your therapist, and continue services with me even after your KAP experience is over.
What will I feel like on the medicine?
Everyone’s experience with ketamine is entirely personal and can vary greatly. Some individuals describe sensations of calm, lightness, or deep relaxation, while others may feel as though they’re in a dream-like state or have a sense of stepping back from their thoughts and worries. Emotions may come to the surface during this time. No matter what you experience, we will collaborate to interpret it in a way that supports your therapeutic journey and helps you move toward your goals.
Will I remember my KAP session?
Most likely, you’ll have a clear memory of what takes place during your session. You will remain conscious throughout. I’ll also keep track of your insights, feelings, and experiences during the session, so you have something to reflect on and process later.