JENNA GHAZANFARI, LMFT
Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy
In the past several years, ground-breaking research has arisen in the medical community around the profound and life-changing impacts of Psychedelic Assisted Pyschotherapy. Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy, such as Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy(KAP), has been around for decades, but has become one of the most sought after treatments due to it's fast acting and long lasting effects. Ketamine therapy helps people get unstuck and experience life-changing improvement in symptoms, particularly those struggling with depression, anxiety, PTSD, other mental illnesses or those facing a roadblock in their current therapy.
What is Ketamine?
Ketamine is a legal, safe and effective medicine used to treat a variety of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety and PTSD. Ketamine has rapidly-acting antidepressant and mood-enhancing effects, which can begin to take effect within 1-2 hours after treatment.
How Does Ketamine Feel?
The effects of ketamine, which most patients find pleasant, last for approximately 45 minutes. These effects can make you feel “far from” your body, and facilitate shifts in perception that can often feel expansive in nature. Your motor and verbal abilities will be reduced, so you’ll be lying down in a comfortable position during the experience. Once these effects subsided, we’ll spend the remainder of our appointment giving you space to process and discuss your experience. While it may feel hard to articulate what happened during the experience, patients feel like the insights gained remain clear. Studies have shown that the benefits to mood and neurological growth can last up to two weeks after each Ketamine session. For best results, clients should plan to do 4-6 ketamine sessions, typically scheduled every other week, to achieve up to 6 months of relief from symptoms.
How Does Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Work?
1. Schedule Initial Consultation
2. Schedule Medical Evaluation with Journey Clinical:
Journey Clinical is a platform for licensed psychotherapists to incorporate science-based psychedelic therapies in their practice safely and effectively, starting with Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP). Journey Clinical’s in-house medical team takes on patient eligibility, prescriptions and outcome monitoring, while I take on the therapy. Their collaborative care model is designed to deliver personalized treatment plans to meet your individual needs and improve long-term outcomes.
You schedule an initial evaluation with a clinician from the Journey Clinical medical team via zoom. They will go over your medical and psychiatric history with you, provide education on the treatment and determine if you are eligible for KAP.
If Journey Clinical’s medical team determines that you are eligible for KAP, they will develop a personalized Ketamine prescription and outcome monitoring plan for you.
Journey Clinical’s medical staff will write a ketamine prescription for you, and a small amount of oral ketamine will be sent to your home, enough for the first 2 KAP sessions. You will be taught to take your vitals and self-administer the ketamine lozenges by Journey Clinical’s medical team in advance of our KAP sessions.
3. Preparation Sessions:
Once you receive your ketamine lozenges, we will schedule time together for our KAP preparation, dosing and integration sessions. Preparation session(s) will be scheduled just like regular therapy sessions prior to the KAP dosing session. The goal of a preparation session(s) is to align on the process and set intentions for our KAP sessions together.
4. KAP Dosing Session:
A typical ketamine dosing session lasts between 1-2 hours and can take place either in-person at my office, or remotely via telehealth.
During a dosing session, you will self-administer your ketamine lozenge either in my office or in your home. You will be in a comfortable, reclining position wearing an eye mask and listening to calming music. Although a KAP dosing session may be largely an internal experience, I will be present with you the entire time to hold space and provide support as needed.
5. Integration Sessions:
After our KAP dosing session, we will meet for multiple integration therapy sessions to review the memories, thoughts & insights that arose during your dosing session, and to prepare for the next dosing session.
6. Follow-up Consultations with Journey Clinical:
After our first KAP session, Journey Clinical’s medical team schedules regular follow ups with you to monitor outcomes and prescribe ketamine lozenge refills, as appropriate. The frequency of follow ups depends on your unique treatment plan, at a minimum of once every 3 months.
What is the Cost of Treatment?
Journey Clinical Medical Costs:
Initial medical consultation with Journey Clinical: $250
Cost of medication: $88 (enough for 2 sessions)
Follow-up medical consultation with Journey Clinical $150
(at least once every 3 months)
Cost of medication: $148 (enough for up to 6 sessions)
KAP Session Cost:
$250 per hour: KAP sessions range from 2-3 hours
(Reduced fees may be available in special circumstances)
How Do I Sign Up?
If you would like to explore the possibility of working with me on KAP, please schedule a consultation to discuss eligibility and next steps. I look forward to talking with you!