Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy
We all carry stories about ourselves and the world around us. Some of these stories help us organize information and function in our lives, but others unconsciously limit us and weigh us down. Under the right conditions, psychedelics can support profound transformation by helping to suspend these narratives and access the innate healing intelligence that lives within all of us.
We combine the use of ketamine with psychotherapy (including sessions with and without the medicine) to support you in reclaiming the fragmented parts of yourself and integrating these into a new understanding of your whole, true self. Because psychedelics promote the growth of new neural connections, you may find throughout treatment that it’s easier to break long-standing patterns that don’t serve you and establish new behaviors or ways of relating to yourself, others, and the world around you.
Psychedelic Assisted Therapy isn’t a quick fix, a silver bullet, or a cure-all. It is an invitation to deep self-inquiry which in turn may allow for deeper levels of healing. Furthermore, like any intervention, responses and results vary between people depending on a number of variables. Multiple sessions are indicated because it can often take several experiences with the medicine to find your right dosage and for you to learn how to work with this powerful tool.
More about KAP
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Ketamine is legally prescribed substance that has been used in human and veterinary medicine for decades as an anesthetic and sedative. More recently, Ketamine has been gaining popularity as a treatment for major depression, suicidality, eating disorders, trauma, obsessive compulsive disorder, and anxiety when taken at lower doses that produce psychedelic effects. Ketamine can be administered in several ways, including IV infusions, via oral lozenges, as an intramuscular injection, or as a nasal spray.
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In most cases, some relief is felt within minutes, but these shorter-term effects typically wear off on their own. Ketamine is more effective when taken as a series of treatments paired with specialized psychotherapy, in order to process and integrate the insights gained through treatment and translate these into long-lasting change. At Home Body Therapy we work exclusively with this integrated psychotherapy model (KAP), using either oral lozenges or intramuscular injections prescribed by a partnering physician. It can still take some time, however, to learn the flow of the treatment and understand how to use this tool to support your healing.
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The KAP process begins with a consultation session with Jenny to explore your interest and eligibility for KAP. If we decide to move forward together, we will meet for 2-5 preparation sessions to establish a relationship and explore your goals for treatment. These sessions are very important in creating a sense of trust and safety with your provider which can directly affect your ketamine journeys.
You will also undergo a medical intake (scheduled and billed by the prescribing physician) prior to working with the medicine.
A typical course of KAP entails 4-8 sessions with the medicine interspersed with non-medicine sessions. These appointments, known as integration sessions, are to help process your experiences and integrate the wisdom and insights into your daily life. All non-medicine sessions (consultation, preparation and integration) are 45-50 minutes long, and ketamine sessions are 2-3 hours. We recommend a minimum of four sessions with the medicine in order to find your optimal dosage and to begin to feel the cumulative effects of the treatment.
In summary, the process entails:
An initial consultation session
2-5 Preparation sessions
Medical Intake
4-8 medicine sessions and 4-8 corresponding integration sessions
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While the upfront costs may be higher with KAP than you might pay at a ketamine infusion clinic or conventional therapy, the unique combination of the psychedelic medicine within the context of a therapeutic relationship typically allows for deeper levels of insight and healing. It’s not uncommon for people to say they’ve accomplished more in a course of KAP treatment than they have in a year or more of traditional talk therapy. Like any treatment, there are no guaranteed results, but we will work closely with you to set realistic expectations and position you for success.
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In most cases, you will be able to continue taking other psychiatric medications and seeing your regular therapist (if applicable) while engaging in Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy. In fact, KAP may help deepen your therapy or other practices of self-inquiry.
