Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy
Ketamine Therapy for Depression, Anxiety & Trauma
Get yourself beyond ordinary~
As you may have seen, the enormous potential of psychedelic medicine to treat PTSD is all over the news these days. After doing a lot of research, I decided to find a way to bring these benefits to my clients. What I discovered is that Ketamine, when taken as directed not only fits within a normal work week, but also opens a window of neuroplasticity and can induce a profound sense of expansive tranquility and reset. This felt too big not to share.
I now offer ketamine “journey” and “integration” therapy sessions in partnership with the Journey Clinical medical team, combining the legal and fast-acting medicine with Brainspotting, Art Therapy, and Quadrant Five Counseling, for deeper, often immediate, longer-lasting results.
"I finally understand what 'calm' actually means." Anonymous middle-aged client.
What is ketamine-assisted therapy?
Ketamine therapy is an innovative mental health treatment that pairs self-administered oral lozenge ketamine with 2-hour long “journey sessions” to help people struggling with depression, anxiety, trauma, and PTSD find breakthroughs that traditional talk therapy or medication alone may never achieve. We host these sessions in my office as part of our ongoing therapeutic relationship. My job is to prepare you, hold safe space for your journey, and then help you integrate your insights into your goals. Research shows that combining ketamine with psychotherapy produces more lasting symptom relief than ketamine infusions alone.
Results that speak for themselves
87% of ketamine therapy patients report improvement in symptoms after just two sessions — with antidepressant effects that can begin within hours and last up to two weeks. For people who have tried antidepressants or traditional therapy without success, this speed of relief can be life-changing.
Here's how it works: Journey Clinical's medical team handles everything on the clinical side — screening you for eligibility, creating a personalized treatment plan, prescribing the medicine, and tracking your progress. My role is your therapist: I'll guide and support you through each session and help you integrate the experience into lasting change.
Is ketamine therapy right for you?
Ketamine therapy may be worth exploring if you've been living with treatment-resistant depression, chronic anxiety, PTSD, or trauma and haven't found relief through conventional approaches. Read on to learn more about what to expect and whether this could be a good fit for you:
● 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 my work with Journey Clinical we only use the sublingual lozenge form.
● 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.
1. Initial consultation with Journey Clinical
● You schedule an initial evaluation with a clinician from the Journey Clinical medical team via zoom. They will go over your medical and psychiatric history with you, provide education on the treatment and determine if you are eligible for KAP.
● If Journey Clinical’s medical team determines that you are eligible for KAP, they will develop a personalized Ketamine prescription and outcome monitoring plan for you.
● Journey Clinical’s medical staff will write a ketamine prescription for you, and a small amount of oral ketamine will be sent to your home, enough for the first 2 KAP sessions. You will be taught to take your vitals and self-administer the ketamine lozenges by Journey Clinical’s medical team in advance of our KAP sessions.
2. Preparation sessions:
● Once you receive your ketamine lozenges, we will schedule time together for our KAP preparation, dosing and integration sessions. Preparation session(s) will be scheduled just like regular therapy sessions prior to the KAP dosing session. The goal of a preparation session(s) is to align on the process and set intentions for our KAP sessions together.
3. KAP Dosing Session:
● A typical ketamine dosing session lasts between 1-2 hours and can take place either in-person at my office, or remotely via telehealth.
● During a dosing session, you will self-administer your ketamine lozenge either in my office or in your home. You will be in a comfortable, reclining position wearing an eye mask and listening to calming music. 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.
4. Integration Sessions:
● After our KAP dosing session, we will meet for multiple integration therapy sessions to review the memories, thoughts & insights that arose during your dosing session, and to prepare for the next dosing session.
5. Follow-up consultations with Journey Clinical:
● After our first KAP session, Journey Clinical’s medical team schedules regular follow ups with you to monitor outcomes and prescribe ketamine lozenge refills, as appropriate. The frequency of follow ups depends on your unique treatment plan, at a minimum of once per quarter.
● After our first KAP session, Journey Clinical’s medical team schedules regular follow ups with you to monitor outcomes and prescribe ketamine lozenge refills, as appropriate. The frequency of follow ups depends on your unique treatment plan, at a minimum of once per quarter.
● Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy is an affordable, accessible modality. Although the medical intake and follow ups are not covered by insurance, they are eligible for out-of-network reimbursement.
- Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
- My typical hourly rate is $198/hr
- Journey Clinical Medical Costs
- First-time patients
- Initial medical consultation with Journey Clinical: $250
- Cost of medication: $88 (enough for 2 sessions)
- Ongoing treatment
- Follow-up medical consultation with Journey Clinical $150 (at least 1X per quarter)
- Cost of medication: $148 (enough for up to 6 sessions)
- First-time patients
● If you would like to explore the possibility of working with me on KAP, please e-mail me at artfortherapy@yahoo.com to discuss eligibility and next steps.
● Journey Clinical is a platform for licensed psychotherapists to incorporate science-based psychedelic therapies in their practice safely and effectively, starting with Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP). Journey Clinical’s in-house medical team takes on patient eligibility, prescriptions and outcome monitoring, while I take on the therapy. Their collaborative care model is designed to deliver personalized treatment plans to meet your individual needs and improve long-term outcomes.
- Paradigms of Ketamine Treatment by Raquel Bennett, Psy.D. for MAPS
- Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP): Patient Demographics, Clinical Data and Outcomes in Three Large Practices Administering Ketamine with Psychotherapy - research study by Jennifer Dore et al, 2018
- Ketamine for Depression and Mood Disorders by Erica Zelfand, ND for Townsend Letter
- Ketamine-Facilitated Psychotherapy for Trauma, Anxiety, and Depression by goop
- Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy with Jonathan Sabbagh of Journey Clinical Psychology Talk Podcast
