Healing isn't always linear.
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy for people seeking a different way to approach healing.
Ketamine Assisted Therapy
A thoughtful, supported approach to exploring healing through psychotherapy and ketamine treatment.
Sometimes we understand our patterns intellectually but still struggle to move through them. Sometimes traditional approaches have helped, but something continues to feel stuck.
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) combines psychotherapy with medically supervised ketamine treatment. For some individuals, this approach may create opportunities to explore difficult emotions, entrenched patterns, and new perspectives.
The goal isn't to force a breakthrough. It's to create space for meaningful therapeutic work, with preparation, support, and integration along the way.
What is Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy?
My approach to KAP is relational, trauma-informed, and influenced by Internal Family Systems, attachment theory, and somatic awareness.
I'm interested in the parts of us that protect, the patterns we've developed to survive, and the ways our nervous systems respond to experiences that once felt overwhelming.
KAP may offer another context for exploring these experiences, but the medication itself isn't a substitute for the relationship, reflection, and ongoing work that psychotherapy involves.
Ketamine is a medication used in medical settings for decades. Research has also explored its potential for treating certain mental-health conditions, particularly depression.
KAP brings psychotherapy into the treatment process, supporting clients before, during, and after their ketamine experience.
Ketamine can temporarily alter perception, awareness, and emotional experience. Some people describe feeling greater distance from familiar thoughts or patterns, while others have more difficult or disorienting experiences.
Not every session produces insight, and not every person benefits. The therapeutic work involves making space for whatever arises without assuming that a particular experience or outcome must occur.
A different way of approaching familiar patterns.
what does the process look like?
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I collaborate with our prescriber, Dr. Rachel Kigano, DNP, PMHNP-BC, who meets with you virtually to review your medical and psychiatric history, evaluate whether ketamine is appropriate, and manage prescribing.
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Before a dosing session, we'll discuss your history, goals, expectations, concerns, and what support you may need throughout the experience.
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Your ketamine session takes place in my office using sublingual ketamine lozenges prescribed by your psychiatric nurse practitioner.
I remain with you for the entirety of the session, providing therapeutic presence and support as you move through the experience.
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In subsequent psychotherapy, we'll explore what emerged, what felt meaningful or challenging, and how the experience might connect to your relationships, patterns, and everyday life.
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We'll consider whether continued psychotherapy or additional ketamine sessions may be appropriate, with medication decisions and medical follow-up managed by your prescribing clinician.
Is KAP right for you?
KAP may be worth exploring for some adults experiencing depression or other mental-health concerns, particularly when previous treatments haven't provided sufficient relief.
It isn't appropriate for everyone. Certain medical conditions, psychiatric histories, medications, and other factors can make ketamine treatment unsuitable or require additional evaluation.
Medical eligibility is determined by the prescribing clinician, and treatment decisions are individualized.
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is not a guaranteed treatment or a replacement for appropriate psychiatric and medical care.
Your experience matters. So does what happens afterward.
Sometimes an experience gives us a different perspective.
But insight and change aren't necessarily the same thing.
Integration is the process of exploring what arose, understanding its relevance, and considering how to carry meaningful insights into ordinary life.
It's where we make room for curiosity without rushing to turn every experience into a lesson.
Curious about KAP?
You don't need to know whether ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is right for you before reaching out.
We can begin with a conversation about your goals, questions, and whether exploring a medical evaluation might be an appropriate next step.
Ketamine is prescribed and medically managed by a psychiatric nurse practitioner. Sublingual ketamine for psychiatric treatment is an off-label use and is not FDA-approved for psychiatric indications. Treatment carries potential risks and is not appropriate for everyone.
Your session takes place in person.
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy sessions are held in my office, where I remain with you throughout the experience.
Your prescribing appointment is virtual.
Medical evaluations and prescribing are managed separately by a psychiatric nurse practitioner through virtual appointments.
Transportation is required.
Clients must arrange for someone to transport them both to and from their ketamine session. You cannot drive yourself home afterward, and you should not drive until medically cleared under your prescriber's instructions.
Preparation and integration are part of the process.
The ketamine experience is one component of treatment. The therapeutic work before and afterward helps us approach the experience thoughtfully and consider what, if anything, may be useful to carry forward.