Is Ketamine Assisted Therapy Right For You?
I just returned from facilitating a Ketamine Assisted Therapy Training last week for professionals in my field and I am feeling a renewed appreciation for this medicine and this work. I thought it fitting to write an updated article about the benefits of Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP). If you’ve been curious about this area and want to know more, this is the place to learn more.
What is KAP used to treat and how does it work?
It treats a variety of issues, ranging from treatment-resistant depression (TRD), generalized anxiety, existential distress, grief, and PTSD. It targets NDMA receptors in the brain which help relieve depression and anxiety similarly to SSRI medications, though in a much more rapid process. It creates neuroplasticity in the brain, and reduces the activity in one’s “default mode network”. The default mode network occurs in many areas of the brain when one is in a passive, non-task driven state. It often holds negative thought patterns and self critical tendencies. Thoughts like “I’m a failure” or “I’m not enough” come from the default mode network. Ketamine acts to quiet the mind akin to a lengthy and zen-like meditation session, often difficult to achieve without years of experience. This allows for new thought patterns and neural connections to occur, and to be able to see situations from new vantage points, with greater insights about oneself. It can help release old stories and help us view ourselves in a more positive, empowered light.
What does a typical KAP session look like?
After being medically cleared by a doctor or psychiatric professional, you will participate in one to two prep sessions to go over goals and intentions with your therapist. Then you will receive a prescription for ketamine oral lozenges or “troches” to bring in to use in the therapy office, or come to a clinic to receive either an intravenous infusion or intramuscular injection of ketamine. Your therapist will meet you there to support you through out your medicine journey. After setting intentions for the session, you will wear eye shades, headphones with calming music, and lie in a recliner chair or on a couch for the medicine journey. Clients report feelings of calm, clarity, visual hallucinations, “lucid dreaming” sensations and dissociation from the physical body at higher doses. KAP sessions are typically scheduled for 2-2.5 hours. The medicine journey will last anywhere from 40-90 minutes depending on the route of administration. After you come out of the experience, your therapist will check in with you and write down anything you would like to share with them. A few days after the KAP session you will meet with your therapist again to integrate everything that came up in your journey.
The number of sessions in a series vary depending on the treatment plan you make with your therapist and medical provider, but typically clients will do a range of 6-8 sessions. If you find that just 2-3 sessions are leading to great improvement, you can always discuss that with your therapist as well.
A final thought on reasons to experience KAP
I have noticed my clients sometimes say they worry they don’t have “big enough issues” to try KAP. You do not have to be severely suffering in order to greatly benefit from this medicine. Many people will use this to just create greater clarity around their life, perhaps during transition or a difficult time of uncertainty. It can be used for spiritual exploration as well. There are a few medical and psychiatric issues that make Ketamine unsafe to take, however many people are able to take it safely and receive great benefit. Please reach out to me if you want to learn more!
