Exactly what happens in a ketamine session
You’ll rarely hear a therapist speak about anything in black and white terms, with any level of concrete assurance. Here, I will attempt to do just that; to lay out the nitty gritty of what you can expect if you decide to pursue ketamine as a treatment modality. Can I manage this herculean task of assured declaration? Let’s find out.
First of all, please know that ketamine isn’t for everyone, and it might not be for you. You’re never committed to it until the medicine is in your mouth, and even then, you remain in choice about how deep you want to go.
Second of all, the actual plan we create is unique to you, so everything below must be taken with a grain of salt. It's a place to start, but we will work together to figure out how, exactly, this will apply to your unique situation. And just like that, the certainty that I promised above is *poof* gone!
There are some things you can count on, though. Step by step, here’s what the process will look like.
You come in for an initial consultation with me. If you’re already a client, then we have already done this part. If not, we will meet, discuss whether ketamine is a suitable choice for you, and either move forward or not. If not, we may decide to instead pursue a more traditional approach to therapy instead. Or, we may decide it's simply not the right fit, in which case I'm happy to refer you to other providers.
If we decide to move forward with ketamine, I’ll refer to you to Journey Clinical, the company that will provide the medication. After a consult with the prescriber, they will send your prescription to a compounding pharmacy.
The pharmacy will send you the medicine in the mail.
You’ll stash the medicine away in a safe place until our dosing session.
While waiting for the prescriber appointment and the medicine, we are meeting on a regular cadence (probably weekly, at least) in order to start the preparation work. In this phase, we are clarifying your intentions for the medicine. This is where the therapy takes a turn into the spiritual realm, as we engage any belief system you have about the world and your place in it. Any set of beliefs is welcome, as long as there is something to work with. What do you consider sacred? How do you connect to a power greater than yourself? Even if these answers are not formed yet, we will begin to create some clarity around them so that we can work with them.
We will practice relaxing your nervous system. You will become more accustomed to exploring your own internal landscape.
When you are ready, we will schedule the dosing session. There are a few ways we can go about this, depending on your needs. For a first session, I strongly recommend an in person experience. You can come to my office in Montclair, or I am able to travel to your home if that works better. We will make sure the environment is conducive to a healing journey, which means it needs to be quiet, secure from any interruptions, and safe for you.
We will set the vibe. This is important. Your personal spirituality will guide what you choose to incorporate into the experience. I will work with you to identify sacred elements, whether that means a prayer, a scent, a talisman, photos, books, certain candles, meditations...this list could go on.
You put the medicine in your mouth, where you will swish it around for 10 minutes. I'll be there to help you get comfortable. You'll listen to a pre-selected playlist, and wear an eye mask.
If you choose, you can take a bit more medicine in order to further deepen the experience.
You'll journey! While you have your experience, I will be with you, connecting energetically, writing down my own insights as they arrive, and supporting you however I can.
When you have come to the end of your journey, we will integrate what you've learned, and clarify what sorts of actions you want to take in the following week or so that can support your growth.
We will meet again some time within the next week to continue the integration process, which also becomes the prep for your next dosing session (between 2-6 weeks later).
There you go. Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy in 13 easy steps.
The gray areas are still there, naturally. How often you're seen, how much medicine you take, how you approach the work, the setting for your journey, how you prepare and how you integrate, as well as many other choices, do not have black and white answers.
I will be as flexible as I can to help you access this medicine, which also means that some of the above may look different for you. That is something we would have to discuss individually.
Interested in moving forward? Connect with me here so that we can get started.