Frequently Asked Questions on Ketamine Assisted Psychoterapy (KAP)
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. 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.
In my work with Journey Clinical we use the sublingual, lozenge form of Ketamine.
How Does Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Work?
We start by meeting together in my office to help us develop our relationship, our trust, to set our intentions for KAP, and to work with any fears about the work. These preparation sessions are just like regular therapy, but they incorporate considerations about the deeper work with Ketamine that we are working towards, as well.
Once you receive your ketamine lozenge prescription from a Journey Clinical psychiatrist, we'll schedule time together for our KAP dosing session.
How is Ketamine prescribed?
Initial consultation with a Journey Clinical psychiatrist:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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.
What is a KAP Dosing Session like?
A typical ketamine dosing session lasts between 2-3 hours and will take place in-person at my office.
We start with answering any remaining questions and ensuring your comfort with the process. We follow this with re-focusing on your therapeutic intention for the session, and reading some inspiring poetry.
During a dosing session, you will take your own blood pressure prior to the medication administration, and self-administer your ketamine lozenge prescription in my office. 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'll be present with you the entire time to hold space and provide support as needed.
What are integration sessions like?
After our KAP dosing session, we'll 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.
Integration sessions are just like regular therapy sessions, but are enhanced by the insights and long lasting impacts of the dosing session. We use Internal Family Systems as the approach to help you bring your own curiosity and self compassion, along with my own, to these processing sessions.
How does the prescription for Ketamine work after the first dosing sessions?
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 do KAP psychotherapy sessions cost?
My hourly rate is $200/hr.
Each session of KAP preparation is typically one hour, while a dosing session is generally 2-3 hours, and integration sessions are one hour at a time.
KAP is similar in cost to regular psychotherapy, except that one session is generally longer. However, the benefits to the longer session are deeply impactful across all the other sessions.
What do KAP Prescription sessions cost with Journey Clinical?
KAP Intake with a psychiatrist at Journey Clinical:
Consultation: $250
Non-covered services (including medication): $97
KAP Follow-Up with a psychiatrist at Journey Clinical:
Consultation: $150
Non-covered services (including medication): $163
Medication Management (a regular psychiatry appointment):
$250 flat fee
For more info from Journey Clinical: https://journeyclinical.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/28002696219028-Insurance-FAQs
How Does Ketamine Feel?
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.