Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP)
About Ketamine
Ketamine was approved by the FDA for use as an anesthetic agent in 1970. The administration of ketamine in lower, sub-anesthetic doses to treat pain, depression, PTSD, or other psychiatric diagnoses is a newer, off-label use of the medication. Psychiatric use of ketamine has become relatively widespread in recent years, has been studied and promoted by researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health, and has had front-page publicity as an effective antidepressant with a novel pharmacological mechanism of action. Ketamine can be administered by intravenous, intramuscular (IM), sublingual, oral, and intranasal routes. At Spiral Process Therapy, we generally work with the sublingual (under the tongue) route of administration, either at the therapist’s office or client's home.
At the dosage level administered to you, you will most likely experience mild anesthetic, anxiolytic, antidepressant, and potentially psychedelic effects. During the treatment, you will likely experience a “time-out” from your typical experience of thinking and self-perception, with the duration of this period varying usually between 30 minutes to 2 hours. Relaxation from ordinary concerns and one’s usual state of mind, while maintaining some level of conscious awareness, is characteristic of the experience. This often leads to a disruption of negative feelings and obsessional preoccupations. It is our view that this relief and the exploration and experience of non-ordinary states of consciousness are singularly impactful. As ketamine-assisted psychotherapists, we act as stewards to the experience and assist clients in processing their experience and its impacts both before and after each ketamine session.
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Course of treatment overview
To experience therapeutic effects, it is recommended that you go through at least 3 KAP sessions (3 hours each) but you and your therapist will determine individually how many sessions you need. The treatment follows this outline:
Step 1: Initial 50-minute KAP consultation with the therapist to determine if it's an appropriate course of treatment. Please check with the therapist directly about their hourly rates.
Step 2: Video psychiatry evaluation with the medical practitioner to approve eligibility for ketamine lozenge prescription. Generally, only one appointment is required for the prescription of ketamine sufficient for 3 KAP sessions. Medication will be delivered to your home by the pharmacy. The cost of the initial evaluation meeting is around $360, and the cost of Ketamine is $100 (enough for 3 KAP sessions). We will provide you with a referral to the prescriber that we work with.
Step 3: Initial 3 to 5 50-minute preparation sessions with the therapist to build the therapy relationship, clarify your treatment goals, and prepare for the experience.
Step 4: 2- or 3-hour KAP sessions with your therapist, where ketamine is administered at either the therapist’s office or your home.
Step 5: 50-min Integration session with your therapist to help you integrate your KAP experience into your daily life.
Step 6: As mentioned earlier, a minimum of 3 KAP sessions are recommended for lasting benefits, so at this point, you and your therapist will determine at what pace to continue with further KAP, preparation, or integration sessions. If you decide to continue with KAP treatment, a follow up meeting with the prescriber is about $200, and more doses can be prescribed then.