Psychedelic-Assisted EMDR Therapy
Is trauma interfering with you living your best life?
Do you long to resolve your long-standing trauma but feel that it is too difficult to access these memories?
Are you interested in psychedelic work, but concerned about a “bad trip”?
Psychedelic-assisted Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapeutic approach that combines elements of EMDR therapy with the controlled use of psychedelic substances. EMDR is a well-established psychotherapy technique used to help individuals process traumatic experiences and reduce associated distress.
EMDR typically involves bilateral stimulation, usually with tapping or buzzing, to facilitate the processing and integration of traumatic memories.
In psychedelic-assisted EMDR, a psychedelic substance (at Kairos Wellness Collective, we are currently using Ketamine for this treatment), is administered under the supervision of trained clinicians Natalia Aiza and Matthew Williams. Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that has gained attention for its potential therapeutic benefits in treating various mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). When used in a therapeutic context, ketamine is typically administered at sub-anesthetic doses.
Ketamine's dissociative effects can create an altered state of consciousness that may enhance the individual's ability to access and process traumatic memories or emotions.
Ketamine enhances the therapeutic process by increasing emotional openness, enhancing introspection, and facilitating a shift in perspective.
The psychedelic experience is believed to help individuals access deeply rooted emotions and memories, making it easier to process traumatic experiences and integrate them into a healthier narrative.
During a ketamine-assisted therapy session, EMDR can be employed to facilitate the processing and integration of traumatic memories or other distressing experiences. EMDR can be incorporated into a ketamine-assisted therapy session to enhance the reprocessing of trauma into a healthier, more balanced narrative.
Here is how a typical Ketamine-assisted EMDR session would go:
Intention-Setting:
A Ketamine session typically begins with the setting of an intention. Some clients like this process to be led by a spiritual inquiry and a heartfelt conversation with their therapist. Some prefer opening up creativity with a tarot card reading. Occasionally, clients will come in with journal entries, or create one in the session, in order to guide their Ketamine work. For a Ketamine-Assisted EMDR session, the client would also set a target memory for trauma processing. This memory is regarded by the client as treatment-interfering: in other words, a traumatic experience that is somehow blocking them from reaching their stated mental health intention.
Creating a Safe Container:
Next, the therapist will help the client establish guided imagery for a safe space, protector, nurturer, and container. This is an EMDR technique called "Resource Development and Installation" (RDI). This exercise aims to help individuals develop internal psychological resources that can provide a sense of safety, support, and containment during the processing of distressing memories.
Ketamine Administration:
At Kairos, Ketamine is taken sublingually, typically in a low enough dose (150-250) so that the client can continue to be verbal throughout the session. After the client has taken the Ketamine, there is usually a period of silence of 10 minutes, while the client waits for the medicine to dissolve and begin to take effect.
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Bilateral Stimulation:
Once the client begins to have a psychedelic effect, the practitioner will prompt the targeted trauma memory (agreed upon before the session begins). Once the memory is triggered, the therapist will begin the EMDR, which typically involves bilateral stimulation, through taps, buzzes, or tones. This bilateral stimulation is thought to mimic the rapid eye movement experienced during the REM sleep phase when the brain naturally processes and integrates information.
Dual Attention:
The client will continue the EMDR session for as long as it is tolerable and healthy. The individual is asked to focus on the distressing memory or thought while simultaneously engaging in bilateral stimulation. This process of holding the distressing material in mind while attending to external stimuli is known as dual attention. It is believed to facilitate the processing of traumatic memories by allowing the individual to maintain a connection to the present moment while revisiting past experiences.
Adaptive Information Processing:
EMDR aims to help individuals reprocess traumatic memories and experiences in a way that allows for more adaptive resolution. The bilateral stimulation is believed to activate the brain's information processing systems, enabling the individual to access and reorganize the memories in a healthier and less distressing manner. This can lead to the integration of the traumatic material into the individual's existing memory networks, reducing the emotional distress associated with it. Simultaneously the Ketamine is acting as a further facilitator of processing, while also allowing the client to enter into their trauma memory in a less stressful manner.
Cognitive Restructuring:
After the Ketamine wears off (usually between 45 minutes and two hours, depending on the client’s medicine metabolism), the Therapist will lead the client in the final stage of Ketamine-assisted EMDR which is cognitive restructuring. The individual works with the therapist to identify negative beliefs or thoughts associated with the traumatic experience and replace them with more positive and realistic ones. This process helps individuals develop a more balanced and adaptive perspective on their past experiences. Sometimes clients will be too disoriented following Ketamine for this type of work, and will choose to do this cognitive restructuring during another session on the following day.
A Psychedelic-Assisted EMDR session commonly lasts approximately three hours, and is billed at the therapist’s regular hourly rate. Psychedelic-Assisted EMDR is appropriate for clients who are 16+. If you are experiencing acute suicidal distress, we ask that you first engage in crisis stabilization before reaching out for psychedelic-assisted EMDR.
It's important to note that psychedelic-assisted EMDR is an emerging field of research, and its use is primarily experimental at this stage. There are ongoing clinical trials exploring the safety, efficacy, and potential therapeutic benefits of combining psychedelics with established therapeutic modalities like EMDR.
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If you would like to explore how Psychedelic-Assisted EMDR can benefit you or your loved one, please contact Kairos Wellness Collective today.