Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy in Texas

At Love Roots Therapy, we're excited to announce a new offering: Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy. Rooted in our commitment to authenticity and respect for all cultures, this therapeutic approach combines the profound insights of psychotherapy with the transformative potential of ketamine. We're dedicated to providing a safe and supportive environment for our clients as they explore this innovative treatment option.

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Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy

KAP is an innovative therapeutic approach that combines the use of ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic, with psychotherapy techniques to facilitate profound therapeutic experiences. In KAP sessions, ketamine is administered in a controlled setting under the supervision of trained therapists, who guides clients through their experiences and help them integrate insights gained during the session.

While under the influence of ketamine, clients may experience altered states of consciousness characterized by enhanced introspection, emotional openness, and heightened awareness.

Our therapists use a variety of psychotherapeutic techniques, such as mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), or somatic experiencing, to facilitate processing and exploration of thoughts, emotions, and memories.

The therapist-client relationship plays a crucial role in KAP sessions, providing a safe and supportive environment for clients to navigate their inner experiences.

After the ketamine session, clients engage in integration practices to assimilate and apply insights gained during the experience to their daily lives. Therapists provide ongoing support and guidance to help clients integrate these insights, address challenges, and sustain therapeutic progress over time.

How Does Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Work?

1. Initial consultation with Journey Clinical

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.

2. 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 Journey Clinical dosing session. The goal of a preparation session(s) is to align on the process and set intentions for our KAP sessions together.

3. 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.

4. 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. 5. 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 per quarter.

What is the Cost of Treatment?

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy is an affordable, accessible modality. Although the medical intake and follow ups are not covered by insurance, they are eligible for out-of-network reimbursement.

Journey Clinical Medical Costs

Initial medical consultation with Journey Clinical: $250 & Cost of medication: $88 (enough for 2 sessions)
Ongoing treatment: Follow-up medical consultation with Journey Clinical $150 (at least 1X per quarter) & Cost of medication: $148 (enough for up to 6 sessions)

History and Effectiveness of KAP

Discovery: Ketamine was first synthesized in the 1960s by Dr. Calvin Stevens and was approved for medical use in the United States in 1970.

Anesthetic Use: Initially, ketamine was primarily used as a general anesthetic due to its rapid onset of action and minimal respiratory depression.
Emerging Psychiatric Applications: In the 1990s, researchers began to explore ketamine's potential in treating various psychiatric conditions, including depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use disorders.
Rapid Antidepressant Effects: Clinical studies have demonstrated that ketamine can produce rapid and robust antidepressant effects, often within hours or days, compared to traditional antidepressants that may take weeks to months to achieve therapeutic benefits.
Neurobiological Mechanisms: Ketamine's antidepressant effects are believed to be mediated by its actions on the glutamatergic system, leading to synaptic plasticity, increased neurogenesis, and enhanced connectivity in brain regions implicated in mood regulation and emotional processing.
Clinical Trials and Research: Over the past two decades, numerous clinical trials and research studies have provided growing evidence supporting the efficacy of ketamine in treating treatment-resistant depression and other psychiatric disorders.
FDA Approval: In 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved esketamine, a nasal spray formulation of ketamine, for the treatment of treatment-resistant depression, marking a significant milestone in the recognition of ketamine as a therapeutic option for mental health conditions.

Effectiveness in Addressing Various Conditions:

Depression: Ketamine has shown remarkable effectiveness in rapidly reducing symptoms of depression, even in individuals who have not responded to other treatments. It has been particularly beneficial for individuals with treatment-resistant depression.
Anxiety Disorders: Ketamine has demonstrated anxiolytic effects and may help alleviate symptoms of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
PTSD: Ketamine-assisted therapy has shown promise in the treatment of PTSD, facilitating emotional processing and reducing the severity of traumatic memories.
Chronic Pain: Ketamine's analgesic properties make it useful in managing chronic pain conditions, such as neuropathic pain and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).

In summary, Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy represents a promising therapeutic approach that harnesses the synergistic benefits of ketamine and psychotherapy to address a range of mental health conditions, offering hope and healing to individuals who have not found relief with conventional treatments.