A Journey through Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP): What Does it Feel Like?
By Pamela Peters (I provide KAP in my practice. You can learn more about how KAP works and schedule a 15-minute consult with me.)
In the world of mental health and holistic therapies, innovative approaches continue to emerge, offering new avenues for healing and self-discovery. Among these is the transformational world of Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP), a newly popular psychedelic modality that combines the therapeutic potential of the medicine called ketamine with psychotherapeutic practices with a trained therapist in the room.
Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) can profoundly benefit individuals dealing with mild to moderate depression, PTSD, and those seeking deep self exploration.
Clients can potentially gain relief from mild to moderate depression by participating a 3-6 ketamine assisted therapy sessions spread over a few months. Ketamine works to disrupt negative thought cycles that keep you stuck in negative patterns and away from your present moment.
Ketamine is considered a dissociative medication and often it can bring people into their bodies in order to re-experience old traumas in an emotionally and physically safe space. Trauma creates symptoms within the body that ketamine can help you uncover to process in a safe emotional and physical space. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, often considered a psychedelic therapy, can help you “get out of your head” or become more in tune with your heart and emotions. Being able to sit inside these emotions in the safer ketamine space can enable you to heal from trauma, faster and more fully than other talk-focused modalities.
Ketamine assisted therapy can be a deeply meaningful source of enduring change and personal growth. It can help you more deeply engage in your existing therapeutic practice.
Setting the Stage for Healing
In the peaceful confines of your therapist's office, you and your therapist will collaborate to create a safe, cozy nest to help enhance the healing potential of the experience. When embarking into a KAP session you may find yourself in a setting conducive to deep introspection and healing. Each session is a deliberate curation of comfort and safety, allowing you to relax and open yourself to the experience ahead.
The Power of Sublingual Ketamine
Unlike other methods of Ketamine administration, KAP involves the sublingual route – absorption of Ketamine through the absorbent membranes in your mouth. You will put a troche or lozenge in your mouth, chew it to create a slurry of the medicine, and swish this around for 15-20 minutes to absorb the medicine through buccal (inside cheeks) and sublingual (under the tongue) membranes. This approach enables needle-free, self-administration of the medicine. You will begin to notice the medicine taking effect within 10-15 minutes. The entire experience will take 2.5 to 3 hours. Because the medicine can make you unstable, you’ll need someone else to drive you home.
Navigating Inner Landscapes
Once the Ketamine takes effect, you will often embark on a journey through your inner landscapes, where emotions, memories, and perceptions intertwine. Often clients re-experience vivid memories from long ago. Accompanied by a skilled therapist, you’ll navigate these realms with heightened awareness, which may allow for delving into the root causes of challenges and illuminating different pathways to resolution.
What It Feels Like
KAP clients often describe feelings of detachment from their bodies, a sense of floating, and alterations in perception of time and space. Time can feel stretched or shortened or even non-linear. This altered state of consciousness often blurs the boundaries between the self and the external world, leading to an experience of ego dissolution—a sense of losing the usual sense of self or identity. Although this may sound frightening, most ketamine assisted therapy clients express feelings of calm and acceptance at this state.
Clients might initially feel a sense of relaxation and a gradual disconnection from their physical body. This dissociative state can create an opportunity for introspection and exploration of deep-seated emotions and thoughts that might otherwise be challenging to access.
As the effects deepen, there can be a sensation of entering an altered state of consciousness, where the boundaries between the self and the external world become blurred. This dissolution of boundaries can lead to profound insights and perspectives, allowing individuals to explore their emotions and experiences from a detached, yet insightful, perspective. In this altered state, individuals might confront subconscious thoughts, emotions, or memories that manifest as symbolic imagery or abstract concepts. This can lead to a deeply introspective and sometimes challenging experience, as the individual navigates the inner landscape of their mind.
Emotional catharsis might occur as suppressed feelings or memories rise to the surface. This can be both intense and therapeutic, providing an opportunity for individuals to confront and process unresolved issues or trauma in a safe and supportive environment.
The experience might be accompanied by vivid imagery, abstract thoughts, and a sense of timelessness. This altered perception of reality can facilitate a deeper understanding of one's emotions and behaviors, enabling individuals to gain insights and make positive changes in their lives.
The psychedelic nature of the ketamine session might also induce feelings of interconnectedness with the universe or a sense of unity with the cosmos. Some clients report mystical or transcendent experiences, feeling a profound connection to something greater than themselves.
Despite the intensity and sometimes chaotic nature of the KAP journey, many individuals report that a ketamine assisted psychotherapy session can offer insights, personal revelations, and a sense of expanded consciousness. Integration of these experiences post-trip can lead to personal growth, enhanced self-awareness, and potentially transformative insights into one's psyche and existence.
Integration and Transformation
As the session draws to a close, the integration phase begins – an key aspect of KAP. During this phase, supported by your therapist, you’ll reflect on the insights gleaned during the experience. This reflection fosters a deeper understanding of yourself, paving the way for transformative growth and healing. Often clients use alternative methods for integration including movement (dance or hiking in nature) and artwork modalities. I recommend that you journal closely after the experience to capture your early memories of the experience.
Embracing the Journey
Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy sits at the intersection of psychedelic journeying and talk therapy practices, offering individuals an opportunity to embark on a profound journey within. In the world of mental health and self-exploration, KAP invites individuals to explore the depths of their unconscious mind and emerge with newfound clarity, resilience, and understanding.
If you are interested in exploring some of the ideas here, read more on my website about Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy as well as Psychedelic Integration therapy. Contact Pamela Peters for a free consultation about KAP.
