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Could Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) be right for me?

Updated: May 4




What is new?

In February 2025, I began a relationship with a medical/psychiatric organization called Journey Clinical to handle the parts of providing Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) which are outside my scope of practice, specifically medically evaluating, prescribing as appropriate, and compounding oral ketamine for psychotherapy patients who desire this kind of treatment. When providing KAP with Journey, I take on the psychotherapy portion of the experience, while their medical team supports you on all medical aspects. This includes determining eligibility, developing a custom treatment plan, prescribing the medicine and monitoring outcomes. If you have insurance coverage for their medical services, they also provide estimates and bill on your behalf.



What is Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy?

KAP is a transformative modality that pairs ketamine treatment with dedicated psychotherapy sessions for deeper work, more frequent breakthroughs and better clinical outcomes. Many patients report that their healing is faster, more profound, and gentler, all at the sam time. I use it in conjunction with such therapies as Gottman, Cognitive Reappraisal CBT, Brainspotting, Internal Family Systems, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, and other methodologies.


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.  More importantly, with a course of KAP treatment, longer lasting improvements which many patients experience as "life changing" are possible. Ketamine 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.  (No, it does not taste good.... sorry!)


We can further discuss what happens in the brain when ketamine is administered if that interests you.


How Does Ketamine Feel? 


The acute 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. (This is known as a non-ordinary state of consciousness) Your motor activity and verbal production will be reduced, so you’ll be lying down in a comfortable position during the experience. Once these effects subside, we’ll spend the remainder of our appointment giving you space to process and discuss your experience. While some initially find it hard to articulate what happened during the experience, most 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 a single Ketamine experience.  That period is called a "critical period" of neuroplasticity which facilitates further processing, growth, and learning. To gain the long term benefits many describe as life changing, we do a series of dosing and integration sessions with overlapping critical periods.



How Does Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Work?


  1. We discuss your intentions, concerns, and your "fit" for KAP.

  2. You schedule an initial medical 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.

  3. 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. 

  4. Journey Clinical’s medical team 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. 

  5. 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.   

  6. A typical ketamine dosing session lasts between 1-2 hours and can take place either in-person, or remotely via telehealth. 

  7. During a dosing session, you will self-administer your ketamine lozenge(s).  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.

  8. 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.

  9. 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.


What is the Cost of Treatment?

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy is an affordable, accessible modality.


Normal psychotherapy rates apply to your sessions with me. Your insurance may cover some part of your medical evaluation costs.



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