Guided Ketamine Therapy
Embark on a transformative journey with our supportive and guided ketamine-assisted therapy experience.
Understanding the Ketamine Therapy Process
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP),also referred to as Ketamine-Assisted Therapy (KAT), is a cutting-edge treatment for numerous mental health conditions; depression, anxiety, OCD, and trauma/PTSD to name a few.
This form of treatment involves using ketamine, an FDA-approved medication, in combination with therapy provided by a therapist trained not only in traditional mental health therapy modalities (see our ‘Meet the Providers’ tab to find out more about what modalities we are trained in!), but also trained in psychedelic therapy specifically.
When combining therapy with Ketamine, the antidepressant effect of Ketamine is heightened and therefore clients feel improvement from the therapy faster. And, maybe even better, the therapy experience itself is enhanced as Ketamine allows the recipient to feel more open and ready to discuss, process, and explore what brought them into therapy.
- Ketamine allows the client to feel disconnected and distanced from their raw, difficult, and heavy emotions, which not only allows the client to have a break from their day-to-day feelings and stressors, but to view them in a new light with space to explore in curiosity and from a less bogged down perspective.
- Ketamine allows the client to have a deeper understanding and exploration of themselves and their world.
- And, Ketamine provides the ability for clients to develop and master their coping mechanisms for managing symptoms and emotions in the future.
Each Ketamine session will be different from the last & each Ketamine session will build upon the last one, with symptoms subsiding over time and therapy unfolding naturally from session to session, but typically clients report feeling relaxed and calm and getting a break from how they feel normally day to day.
Clients report that things that once felt difficult or impossible to address in therapy are now addressed with ease. Some session clients report feeling the session itself being less calm and relaxing as they are processing or exploring more deeply, but they always report at the end that they feel as though a weight is lifted off of their shoulders following these sessions. And that is the power of KAP - each session will bring something new, but always something helpful and useful!
The steps in the process
1. consultation
The first step in the process is having a consultation call with one of the doctors from Initia Nova, the medical practice we collaborate with to provide this transformative treatment, to discuss the medical component to this treatment and answer your questions on such. Then, you may opt to have another consultation call with us at Rooted Revival to discuss the therapeutic component to the treatment. These consultations with Rooted Revival are free and occur via phone call, lasting about 15 minutes.
2. medical intake
Once you have decided to move forward with treatment, you will complete a medical intake and assessment appointment with one of the doctors from Initia Nova.
3. preparation sessions
Once you are medically cleared to begin this treatment, you will complete three preparation sessions with us at Rooted Revival which last about 45 minutes each.
First preparation session: A therapeutic intake session where your therapist will get to know you and your goals for treatment, review with you the intake paperwork, answer your questions about treatment, and educate you on what to expect from your treatment.
Second & third preparation sessions: These will prepare you even further on what to expect from your treatment, how to make the most of your treatment, and what you could do between sessions to maximize your results. It is within these sessions that yo u will be provided with tangible resources you can use throughout your treatment with us - and beyond - to ensure you reach your treatment goals.
4. medicine sessions
Once your preparation sessions are completed, and these typically occur once a week for three weeks (but this can be adjusted based on your schedule and needs), you are ready to begin your medicine sessions! Medicine sessions last anywhere from an hour to two hours. At our office, we schedule each session to last two hours to ensure you never feel rushed at the end of your session, but typically sessions are about an hour to an hour and a half. At Rooted Revival and Initia Nova, we recommend a treatment series of 8 medicine sessions. These sessions typically occur twice a week for three weeks (your first 6 sessions) and then we begin to spread out your sessions.
A. While most other offices will only conduct six sessions, we recognize that most clients will just start feeling better and getting the results they were after at their 5th or 6th session and therefore we offer 8 sessions to start to ensure every client has the opportunity to not only begin feeling better, but to begin integrating the changes into their day-to-day life as we then spread out their sessions. It is a more gentle approach to the end of treatment where you aren’t treated intensively and then not seen for a month, but instead we gently spread out your sessions and ensure your progress is maintained and your therapeutic goals are being met.
B. And, while most other offices will leave the client alone for their treatment - it is different with us. With KAP treatment your therapist will be with you for the entirety of your session. And, if you opt to receive treatment without therapy, the doctors at Initia Nova recognize the power of feeling safe and in community during your treatment experience and they ensure you are not left alone, either.
additional considerations
- Travel to and from your sessions: Although you will feel back to your typical self once the Ketamine infusion ends (the infusion lasts 40 minutes), and you will spend no less than 20 minutes following your infusion with us in our office giving you further time to recover your gait, balance, reaction, impulses, as well as your alertness will remain impacted for some time and therefore you are unable to drive yourself home from your sessions. We do allow clients to utilize Uber or similar services, but not after their first session.
- Ketamine treatment can be administered via a variety of routes, such as: IV, IM, IN, Subcutaneous, and Oral. At our office we utilize predominantly IV Ketamine and here is why:
You receive 100% of the medicine’s dose this way and IV treatment allows us to have full control of your medicine experience at all times so we can ensure your session goes as smoothly as possible and puts you in the correct place psychologically to meet your goals.
With IV Ketamine we can slow the IV down, we can speed it up, we can pause it at any time, and we can stop it and when we do one of these actions you notice the result within minutes so you never have to worry about the medicine being too strong or too light - and you are never put in a position that once you start your medicine experience you have to see it all the way through, despite what may come up. This can not be said for the other routes of administering Ketamine. Not to mention, IV also allows for us to add more medicine if needed as well.
Discover the power of Ketamine
Experience transformative healing through our innovative Ketamine Assisted Therapy. Contact us today to learn more.
