PSYCHEDELIC MEDICINE:
KETAMINE-ASSISTED PSYCHOTHERAPY & BODYWORK
WHAT IS KETAMINE-ASSISTED PSYCHOTHERAPY (KAP)?
We offer a therapeutic modality called Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) in partnership with an organization called Journey Clinical. Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) is a holistic modality in which ketamine is used as a complement to psychotherapy to help eligible patients experience more frequent breakthroughs and sustained improvement in symptoms. We 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. Below is more information about KAP to help you navigate if it may be a good fit for you.
PSYCHEDELICS + ART THERAPY + BODYWORK
Psychedelics provide a unique opportunity to encounter your psyche. Trauma and tension held in the body can begin to shift in the psychedelic space. At Open Mind Holistics we incorporate gentle acupressure into the ketamine journey to support somatic release and nurture the mind-body connection.
Minimal touch is applied in the dosing session, primarily focusing on relaxing the body. Acupuncture, acupressure, essential oils, and moxibustion are emphasized during preparation and integration sessions to strengthen resilience and catalyze somatic integration. Ketamine experience is often accompanied by specific imagery and symbols. After the ketamine journey, art expression can facilitate meaning-making and deepen the symbolic insights from your journey, helping you process, integrate, and find clarity moving forward.
Trauma recovery happens at the intersection of somatic processing and symbolic integration. Combining psychedelic work with art therapy and Chinese medicine, we are here to support your deep inner process.
Minimal touch is applied in the dosing session, primarily focusing on relaxing the body. Acupuncture, acupressure, essential oils, and moxibustion are emphasized during preparation and integration sessions to strengthen resilience and catalyze somatic integration. Ketamine experience is often accompanied by specific imagery and symbols. After the ketamine journey, art expression can facilitate meaning-making and deepen the symbolic insights from your journey, helping you process, integrate, and find clarity moving forward.
Trauma recovery happens at the intersection of somatic processing and symbolic integration. Combining psychedelic work with art therapy and Chinese medicine, we are here to support your deep inner process.
HOW DOES KETAMINE-ASSISTED PSYCHOTHERAPY WORK?
1. Medical Evaluation with Journey Clinical
2. Preparation Sessions:
3. Ketamine Journey (dosing session):
4. Integration Sessions:
5. Follow-up consultations 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 treatment plan for you (usually including 4-6 dosing sessions).
- 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) include both art therapy and acupuncture/bodywork.
- During the art therapy portion of your preparation session, you will meet with art therapist Sarah Klein, LPC, ATR-BC. and will focus on discussing the logistics and experience of the KAP process. You will have space to ask questions, set intentions, and may use art therapy and sandtray to explore your mindset and emotional space.
- During the acupuncture and bodywork portion of your preparation session, you will meet with acupuncturist Isaac Hoft. MSOM, LAC. This session will focus on harmonizing your qi and blood, relaxing the body, and bringing clarity to your intentions with the help of Chinese Medicine. This may include acupuncture, Chinese medical massage, essential oils, and moxibustion.
3. Ketamine Journey (dosing session):
- A typical ketamine dosing session lasts 3 hours and takes place in-person at our office..
- After arriving at the office, you will spend some time revisiting your intentions, and getting comfortable. You will check your vitals and self-administer the ketamine lozenges. We will provide you with eye shades, music, and essential oils to enhance your experience, which will last anywhere from 60-120 minutes. Your therapist will be right there to support you throughout your journey.
- At the end of the session, you may choose to receive light acupressure to enhance your experience, and to help relieve any potential nausea.
- For your safety, we require that a designated chaperone picks you up after the session.
4. Integration Sessions:
- After our KAP dosing session, we will meet for integration therapy sessions to review the memories, thoughts & insights that arose during your dosing session, and to prepare for the next dosing session. Integration sessions are 2 hours and include both acupuncture/bodywork as well as art therapy processing.
- Acupuncture can help recall and translate the psychedelic experience through working on the mind-body connection. By rebalancing the body's energies with Chinese Medicine, we can support emotional regulation and physical wellbeing.
- Following your acupuncture session, you will have an hour of Art Therapy to continue to process cognitive, symbolic, and somatic insights from your experience, and to prepare for any follow-up journeys.
5. Follow-up consultations with Journey Clinical:
- After your 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 KETAMINE?Ketamine is a safe and effective medication used to treat mental health conditions including depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Its rapid-acting antidepressant and mood-enhancing effects can begin within 1-2 hours and last up to 2 weeks. Ketamine is thought to enhance neuroplasticity by blocking NMDA receptors and stimulating AMPA receptors in the brain, forming new synaptic connections and regulating stress and mood. It can be administered through IV infusion, intramuscular injection, nasal spray, or sublingual lozenges. At Open Mind Holistics, we only use the sublingual lozenge form.
HOW DOES KETAMINE FEEL?The effects of sublingual ketamine last for approximately 60-120 minutes. During this time, you may have the experience of expansiveness or the feeling of floating far from your body, and you may experience shifts in perception that can be profound or even result in mystical experience. Some ketamine experiences may be blissful, while others may be confronting or emotional. After the peak of this experience, individuals experience a more extended period coming back into the bodOnce these effects subside, we’ll spend the remainder of our appointment giving you space to process and discuss your experience. You may receive light bodywork towards the end of your session to help you continue to process and to fully return to the body. Studies have shown that the benefits to mood and neurological growth can last up to two weeks after the Ketamine experience, and
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WHAT IS THE COST OF TREATMENT?Costs for initial KAP session:
Costs for follow-up KAP sessions:
Follow-up packages can be purchased for up to the number of prescribed sessions on your Journey Clinical treatment plan (usually 4-6). To make KAP more affordable for patients, KAP sessions are pay-what-you-can (within the suggested range). Depending on your treatment plan and your financial situation, we can also be flexible to space out your treatments or create a payment plan to help accommodate your individual needs. WHAT IS JOURNEY CLINICAL?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.
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For more information about Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy check out this article: An Introduction to Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
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