Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
What is Ketamine?
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic and analgesic that is a derivative of PCP. It is considered an atypical psychedelic that blocks NMDA receptors (i.e., a receptor agonist), which releases glutamate. Ketamine releases brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) and bypasses and rewires the default mode network to stimulate and rewire the brain neural networks (i.e., neuroplasticity) by regrowing synapses for up to two weeks after administration of a dosage. Ketamine calms the nervous system by downregulating the amygdala and emotional arousal responses. This calming of the nervous system helps us to experience life with curiosity, vulnerability, and our innate inner wisdom.
Ketamine is administered through multiple routes: intravenous (100% bioavailability), intramuscular (strongest, 93% bioavailability), sublingual (30% bioavailability), intranasal (40-50% bioavailability), and subcutaneous (94% bioavailability).
What are the effects of Ketamine?
The effects of ketamine last for a few hours, but peak effects often occur within the first 45 minutes. Ketamine can enhance mood and reduce suicidal ideations, soften automatic responses and ego defenses, enhance access to greater perspectices and insights, and process unconscious material.
Physical side-effects can include nausea, blurry vision, increased heart rate, and bladder issues (with chronic use). Emotional side-effects include resurfacing of trauma, fear associated with destabilization, and can worsen psychosis and mania symptoms.
On a transpersonal (i.e., higher) dosage of ketamine, you may feel detachment from the body, loss of sense of identity, loss of orientation to time and space, loss of proprioceptive awareness, imagery and symbolism, oneness with the self, altered sense of the body and/or speech, and altered internal experiences. On a lower dosage, you may feel grounded and be able to complete clearly, a trance-like state, calm and relaxation, mild euphoria or a floating-like feeling, increased feeling to be vulnerable, and subtle distortions with time and space.
How do I work with Ketamine?
As a Brainspotting and Ketamine practitioner, I observe without assumptions and allow you to fully experience life through sensory input from your nervous system. I attune to your nervous system - your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and behaviors - to help you feel safe and understood.
I work with sub-anesthetic doses (less than 150mg sublingual) to treat mental health conditions, including depression, PTSD, and more. I provide psycholytic (low-dose) ketamine therapy to deepen the therapeutic process and help you get to the root cause of relational concerns, trauma, unmet attachment needs, negative core beliefs, deep-rooted issues.
I partner with medical prescribers across Washington and Idaho to offer safe, structured therapy in the comfort of your own home.