Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
A different kind of path forward for mental ailments that have not responded to talk therapy alone.
If you've tried therapy, maybe medication too, and still feel stuck, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) may offer a way through. It pairs the fast-acting, perspective-shifting effects of ketamine with the relational safety of working with a therapist you know and trust: me, right here in my office.
What Is Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy?
Ketamine is a medicine that, at low doses used in a therapeutic setting, can temporarily quiet the mind's usual patterns of rumination and self-criticism. Many clients describe a sense of distance from painful thoughts, or a felt sense of connection and hope that talk therapy alone hadn't reached. That opening creates real therapeutic opportunity, which is why the "assisted psychotherapy" part matters as much as the medicine itself.
In KAP, the ketamine experience is held within an ongoing therapeutic relationship. I'm with you in the room before, during, and after your dosing session, and we do dedicated integration work afterward to help the insights and shifts actually take root in your daily life.
How It Works
Getting started involves a few coordinated steps between my practice and a licensed medical provider who oversees the medical side of your care:
1. Consultation & Medical Evaluation: You can contact me first for a consultation, after which I can refer you to our medical provider. Or you can begin through Skylight Psychedelics and request me as your therapist. Either way, we will meet for a consultation before beginning therapy together.
Before any ketamine is prescribed, you'll complete a medical evaluation with our partnering medical provider. You can begin that process directly through Skylight Psychedelics, where you'll register, complete an intake, and meet with a licensed prescriber via telehealth. They'll review your health history and, if appropriate, send a prescription for sublingual (dissolve-under-the-tongue) ketamine, shipped securely to your home.
2. In-Office Sessions With Me: Your dosing sessions take place here in my office, with me present throughout. We block off two hours for each session, enough time to settle in, dose, move through the experience together, and begin to process it before you leave.
3. Ongoing Treatment: Most clients do somewhere between 6 and 12 sessions, though the right number is something we'll figure out together based on how you're responding and what you need. Every course of treatment looks a little different.
4. Optional At-Home Telehealth Sessions: Once we've built a solid foundation together and you feel comfortable, some clients choose to continue subsequent sessions at home, supported by telehealth. We'll only move in that direction if and when it feels right for you.
5. Integration: The dosing session is only part of the work. Integration sessions, where we make sense of what came up and connect it to your life outside the room, are essential to making the experience meaningful and lasting. If you'd like to use insurance for these integration sessions, we can look into that together.
Who This Is For
KAP may be worth exploring if you're dealing with:
Depression: especially if it's felt resistant to prior treatment
Anxiety that keeps you stuck in old patterns
PTSD and trauma that talk therapy hasn't fully resolved
OCD that hasn't responded fully to prior treatment
Eating disorders, as part of a broader treatment approach
This work isn't for everyone, and that's okay. It's generally not appropriate for those currently in active substance abuse or experiencing psychosis. Your initial medical evaluation is where all of this gets sorted out; the provider will screen your health history and current circumstances and let you know whether KAP is a safe, appropriate fit for you before anything moves forward.
Click on the photo to read the article titled: Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy provides lasting and effective results in the treatment of depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder at 3 and 6 months.
Safety & What to Expect
Your safety and comfort come first. You'll never be on medicine without a trained clinician present. Before we begin, we'll spend time together making sure you understand what to expect, what the experience can feel like, and how we'll support you throughout the session and in the days after.
Ready to Get Started?
You can start in either of two ways:
Contact me first. We’ll meet for a free consultation to discuss your needs and whether working together feels like a good fit. I can then refer you to Skylight Psychedelics for your medical evaluation.
Start through Skylight. If you begin with Skylight Psychedelics, you can request me, Dr. Czarina Azzam, as your therapist. We will still meet for a consultation before beginning therapy together.
