Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) blends the rapid, brain-boosting effects of ketamine with the depth and safety of guided therapy. By enhancing neuroplasticity — the brain’s ability to form new connections — ketamine can help release long-held patterns tied to depression, anxiety, and trauma, creating space for fresh perspectives and emotional breakthroughs. In my practice, KAP is offered within a holistic, trauma-informed framework, with care taken to prepare you for the journey and to integrate insights afterward so they become lasting change. Many clients describe feeling more open, connected, and hopeful — and often make progress that once felt out of reach.
Clinically, ketamine can produce fast reductions in depressive symptoms, suicidality, and avoidance or hyperarousal that sometimes take weeks or months to change with conventional treatments; these rapid shifts create an opportunity for psychotherapy to be more effective because clients can access material, emotion, and cognitive flexibility that was previously blocked by severe symptoms. Randomized and controlled studies — and growing real-world data — support ketamine’s rapid effects in mood and trauma-related disorders, and emerging systematic reviews of KAP indicate promising outcomes when medication is paired with psychotherapeutic preparation and integration.
Why add KAP to regular therapy? Put simply: (1) speed — ketamine often lifts severe symptoms quickly, giving therapy immediate traction; (2) neuroplasticity — the drug creates a biologic state that can make psychotherapy learning “stick” more readily; and (3) experience-based processing — the subjective ketamine experience can allow patients to access memories, emotions, or perspectives in ways that talk therapy alone may not reach. When combined with careful preparation, safety monitoring, and integration sessions, KAP is designed to translate transient drug-induced experiences into lasting psychological change.