Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP)

We are dedicated to helping you achieve lasting healing and growth and are proud to offer a unique and cutting edge approach to mental health treatment that combines the powerful insights of psychotherapy with the transformative effects of ketamine.

Why KAP?

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Ketamine Assisted psychotherapy can help accelerate the brains natural healing process and relieve symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD,

Ketamine has been shown to have a remarkable impact on the brain's neural pathways, leading to increased neuroplasticity. This means that ketamine can help the brain form new connections and break away from old patterns, ultimately improving mood and reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Increased clarity, creativeness, and calmness is often experienced.

How KAP therapy sessions are structured:

Preparation

Our KAP sessions involve 1-3 preparation sessions with Julia Grace to determine your goals and intentions, have appropriate psychoeducation about KAP and address any concerns.

During preparation you will have an intake session with our medical doctor who will review your medical history and determine if KAP is appropriate. If approved, the doctor will The medication, which is picked up by you from a pharmacy and brought to your KAP session.

Experience

During the KAP journey, a sacred and comfortable space is created in a non-clinical environment where the client is invited to lay down with headphones and an eye mask on for this powerful inward journey. A therapist is present and sitting by the client but not interacting during the session. This allows the client to fully experience the journey, gain new insights, and develop a deeper connection with themselves.

During your session, our therapist, Julia Grace will monitor you closely and provide a safe and supportive environment for your journey. For 1:1 session a 3 hour window is carved out for the session, for group sessions, expect 5-hour session.

After the KAP journey, the client has the opportunity to integrate and process their experience with Julia Grace and the group if in a group setting. This can be done verbally through psychotherapy sessions or through non-verbal expressive arts therapy, such as art or dance therapy. These options are designed to help the client process and integrate what they learned during the KAP journey and formulate practical ways to take advantage of the increased neuroplasticity to make positive changes in their life and continue on their path to healing and growth.

Integration sessions:

Integration is a vital aspect of Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) as it allows patients to process and integrate their experience, helping them to make sense of their insights and apply them to their everyday lives. KAP has been shown to promote neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to reorganize itself and form new connections. Its highly important that patients can take advantage of the neuroplasticity promoted by KAP and make long-lasting changes in thoughts, behaviors, and emotional regulation.

We offer different integration options including 1:1 or group therapy integration with others that have done this treatment. These options are designed to help you process your KAP experience, integrate what you learned, and further develop your insights and coping skills.

In addition to talking through and making sense of the experience, we believe in non verbal, creative and lifestyle changes for integration. We offer dance therapy, art therapy, and nutritional guidance to support integrate and maintain change.

If you are an existing patient and are interested in KAP as a potential treatment option, please reach out to us to discuss the intake process with Julia Grace.

The science behind ketamine’s Effectiveness

Ketamine’s inhibitory effect on NMDA Receptors causes a persistent increase in glutamate release in certain regions of the brain, which in turn engenders and sustains antidepressant effects. This mechanism also augments synaptic plasticity and so ketamine’s antidepressant effects are not only rapid in onset, but are also quite durable, outlasting the drug’s physical presence in the body post administration.

“Ketamine has been demonstrated to stimulate the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that supports adult neurogenesis. Ketamine has also been shown to augment synaptogenesis, thereby enhancing synaptic function and plasticity far greater than the SSRIs and other common antidepressants. Studies show, ketamine led to increased growth and improved function in the dendritic spine synapses of the prefrontal cortex. It has been hypothesized that ketamine rapidly enhances neural connectivity by creating new connections between already-existing neurons – a process that yields benefits much more rapidly than waiting for new nerve cells to grow. This improved connectivity between neurons may very well alleviate mood imbalances.”-Expert taken from Read more here.