Psychedelic/Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy

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, which is what you will use in our work together.

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.

KAP can offer a bit of a format to therapy, and the process can help you get more clear on what healing can look like for you. We have three phases: Preparation, Dosing and Integration. All are equally important to your journey.

Preparation - We will do at least one to as many as needed sessions to fully explore and understand what your hopes and goals are for this treatment. During preparation sessions, we will build our relationships, we will explore your history and goals. From there we will look at what your dosing session will look like, the logistics, your ideal set and setting and what you might want with you to create a healing space.

Dosing Sessions - We will plan on at least 2 and up to 8 dosing sessions, each one followed by at least one integration session. Your dosing session will last between 2-3 hours and can occur in my office or remotely at your home (a chaperone must be present at home with you during the entire session). 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 provide support as needed.

Integration - Following every dosing session we will do at least one integration session, usually a few days following your dosing session. During integration we will explore and help strengthen what felt meaningful to you in your experience, work with feelings, and explore how these experiences could impact your lifestyle and ways of being in the world.

I partner with an organization called Journey Clinical. I take on the psychotherapy portion of the experience, while Journey Clinical’s medical team supports you on all medical aspects. This includes determining eligibility, developing a custom treatment plan, prescribing the medicine and monitoring outcomes.

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). Their collaborative care model is designed to deliver personalized treatment plans to meet your individual needs and improve long-term outcomes.

After you and I have talked about your interest in Ketamine Assisted Therapy, I will connect you with Journey Clinical. From there:

● 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

Then you and I will schedule your dosing sessions!

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.

■ My typical hourly rate is $165/hr. If I am an in network provider for you, I can bill your insurance for your Preparation and Integration Sessions. I charge out of pocket for your dosing sessions. I typically schedule dosing sessions for three hours.

○ Journey Clinical Medical Costs

● Initial medical consultation with Journey Clinical: $250

● Cost of medication: $85 (enough for 2 sessions)

● Follow-up medical consultation with Journey Clinical $150 (at least 1X per quarter)

● Cost of medication: $145 (enough for up to 6 sessions)