Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy and Coaching
Have you found yourself at a plateau in your mental health journey?
Do you struggle to open up in therapy?
Do you long for a treatment that works quickly?
Are you wishing to transition out of daily medication through an innovative medical technique?
Kairos Wellness Collective is committed to offering many different paths to mind, body, and spirit health. Ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic, has become a groundbreaking new offering that partners the mental health community with the medical community. Ketamine for mental health is dosed at a lower level than for medical anesthesia, and induces a state of unreality, temporary unusual thoughts, and sometimes euphoria (known colloquially as a “trip” or a “journey”).
This dissociative state can often unlock strong emotions. Clients report moments of intense clarity, incredible revelations, and major shifts in thinking.
Researchers believe that Ketamine works by binding to the NMDA receptors in the brain. This binding increases glutamate (a neurotransmitter) which then, in turn, activates the AMPA receptors. Simply put, this Ketamine-induced domino effect, known as “Synaptogenesis,” helps neurons communicate with each other in a new way by creating new pathways.
These new pathways for neuron communication can result in improved cognition, a disruption in entrenched negative thinking patterns, and an improved mood.
Ketamine has been studied significantly for depression and trauma, but less so for OCD and anxiety. Initial data is extremely positive, and many psychiatrists are supportive of utilizing Ketamine when ERP, SSRIs, and other established techniques have not been as effective.
Unlike SSRIs, Ketamine is metabolized and eliminated by the body around 10-12 hours after ingestion. The positive effects, however, can last weeks or months, and may permanently improve an individual’s mood regulation.
Why choose Ketamine for anxiety treatment?
Here are a few reasons why ketamine may be considered for anxiety relief:
Rapid Onset of Action: One significant advantage of ketamine is its rapid onset of action. Ketamine can provide relief from intrusive thoughts within just minutes, much faster compared to traditional antidepressant medications. This rapid onset can be particularly beneficial for individuals with severe anxiety symptoms or those who have not responded well to other treatments.
Treatment-Resistant Anxiety: Ketamine has shown promise in the treatment of anxiety disorders that have not responded well to conventional treatments. This includes individuals with treatment-resistant anxiety, such as those who have not experienced significant improvement with psychotherapy or standard medications. Ketamine can offer an alternative option for these individuals who may be seeking relief from their anxiety symptoms.
Potential for Long-Lasting Effects: Some studies have suggested that the effects of ketamine on anxiety may persist beyond the acute administration. This means that even after the initial ketamine treatment, individuals may experience a reduction in anxiety symptoms that can last for days or weeks. This potential for sustained relief is encouraging, especially for individuals who struggle with chronic or persistent anxiety.
Mechanism of Action: Ketamine works through a unique mechanism of action compared to traditional antidepressants. It modulates glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, and promotes the growth and connectivity of neural networks. This neuroplastic effect may contribute to the therapeutic benefits of ketamine in anxiety disorders.
Potential for Personalization: Ketamine treatment can be tailored to individual needs when integrated with therapy. The dosage and setting for administration, as well as content evoked in a psychedelic session, can be adjusted based on the severity of symptoms, treatment response, and other factors. This personalized approach allows for individualized treatment plans that consider each person's unique anxiety profile.
Despite these potential benefits, it's important to note that ketamine is still being researched for the treatment of anxiety disorders, and its use is primarily off-label. Ketamine treatment for anxiety should still be conducted under the supervision of a qualified healthcare professional with expertise in ketamine-assisted therapy.
Please contact Kairos Wellness Collective today to learn more about our Ketamine Protocol and Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy and Coaching services.
Recent Blog Posts
For many with OCD, the mind is rarely quiet. We may spend the greater part of our waking hours trying to mine more information both internally and from the outside world. We may perpetually be trying to settle the need for perfectionism, over-responsibility, and intolerance of uncertainty.
OCD causes our brains to be constantly scrutinizing, revising, and redoing – often in a way that is completely invisible to others!
For this reason, low doses of Ketamine, which is a dissociative anesthetic, may help individuals with OCD to simply click out of this overthinking into a peaceful state that is inaccessible through meditation, yoga, and other interventions.
Individuals with OCD may feel that these other modalities of achieving dissociative relaxation are simply not powerful enough to click off their exceptionally powerful critical inner dialogue.
Luckily, Ketamine is an incredibly safe drug and can be used more flexibly than other medicines in its class. At Kairos, Ketamine is combined with Chinese Medicine, mindfulness, and ceremony, to prolong and deepen this relaxation experience. While at higher doses, Ketamine is a psychedelic, it may be titrated to offer the best possible dosage for each individual. A psychedelic journey can be useful for some but not all individuals.
Ketamine is an emerging field, and anecdotally, dosing seems to be tied to the healing personality of the prescriber.
For those prescribers favoring a more gentle approach, a Ketamine journey might look more like a soft exit from the pinball machine that is our constant overthinking and anxiety cycle.
This temporary relief is not only a much needed break for an individual with OCD, but is also a means of creating new neural pathways of experience that can recalibrate the brain in a more permanent way. We cannot aspire to a quieted mind if this is something that we have not experienced! Neurologically, the brain may develop more comfort with this state and let go of some of the safety mechanisms of anxious cognitions that have long provided temporary relief to fear.
Much more research needs to be conducted on the titrated use of Ketamine for OCD but early findings are promising.
Contact Us Today
Do you have questions about Ketamine Treatment?
How does Ketamine treatment work at Kairos Wellness Collective?
Matthew Williams, PhD, provides Ketamine Assisted Coaching services and Natalia Aniela, Owner and Lead Therapist at Kairos, provides Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy. Matthew and Natalia both received their training certificates from Resilience Behavioral Health Solutions and they have given a lot of thought into how to best tailor Ketamine Assisted sessions to provide OCD-Focused Psychedelic Treatment.
Before beginning, you will need to meet virtually or in person with a psychiatric provider for a thorough ketamine-readiness evaluation (See our recommended providers, below). During this evaluation, the psychiatrist will perform a psychiatric assessment, review your patient history, including addiction history, and determine the efficacy of ketamine for your needs. If approved for ketamine use, the psychiatrist will then determine dosing and order your prescription. You will need to bring your ketamine lozenges with you to each session, to be taken in a safe, monitored, non-medical setting, under the supervision of one of our therapists. In some cases, you may be referred to a medical facility or to a licensed professional to receive ketamine intravenously (IV), as dosing can be more carefully controlled via this mode.
Shortly thereafter, you will have 1-2 intake sessions to build a strong therapeutic alliance and create an individual treatment plan. It is crucial that you feel trust and comfort with this therapist. Some people request extra intake sessions to build readiness; others feel excited to get started right away! At Kairos Wellness Collective, we believe in following the emotional lead of our clients and will never push our clients to either accelerate or delay this process.
Ketamine Assisted Coaching or Therapy sessions usually last 2 hours, and we usually prescribe 4-6 treatments over the course of 3-4 weeks, to start. During the active stage of this session, shortly after the lozenge, you may prefer an amicable silence with your therapist, while you access deeper emotions, thoughts, and images. Many have an immediate feeling of deep relaxation and body awareness during the ketamine experience. When the more intense properties of the drug wear off, and you return to connectivity with the present, you may feel ready to process what you have felt and learned with your therapist.
Between Ketamine Assisted Coaching or Psychotherapy sessions, you will schedule integration sessions with your coaching or therapy provider. Integration sessions with Matthew may incorporate Chinese Medicine, mindfulness, and/or Shin-Rin Yoku Forest Bathing, a Japanese tradition of connection with the natural elements for mental health awakening.
We find these integration sessions key to fully tapping into the transformational physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional effects of Ketamine. In this way, you are supported in accessing and harnessing the new information and important shifts in a supported and empowering manner.
What if I try a session and realize that Ketamine isn’t right for me?
While some other practices sell Ketamine sessions as a prepay package, at Kairos, we do not believe this is ethical. We do not ask our clients to commit in any way to this process. Some prefer to do just one Ketamine session. We bill clients as they go, and are constantly checking in with our clients to make sure they are benefiting and wish to continue.
Contact Kairos today to learn more about our Ketamine Program.
Resilience Tucson and the Transpersonal Research Institute of Psychotherapeutic Psychedelics (TRIPP)
TRIPP offers 4 day Intensive Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Trainings in Tucson, AZ: