Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) is a therapeutic approach that combines the use of ketamine with psychotherapy to help eligible patients experience more frequent breakthroughs in healing and sustained improvement in symptoms.

While I take on the psychotherapy portion of KAP treatment, I partner with Isha Health which has a specialized medical team that handles all medical aspects. They will:

• Determine your eligibility for KAP

• Develop a custom treatment plan

• Prescribe the medicine

• Monitor your medical progress

KAP treatment with me includes:

• Preparation sessions to set goals, build trust, and prepare for your dosing sessions

• Ketamine dosing sessions (self-administered by mouth in a safe, supported environment)

• Integration sessions to process your experience and apply insights to daily life

I will also collaborate with your current treatment providers (as applicable).

KAP can be part of ongoing therapy where I am your primary therapist, or it can be offered as an adjunct to your existing therapy if you already have a primary therapist and want to add KAP as an additional layer of support.

Yes. In addition to providing Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP), I also offer psychedelic integration support for people who are already working with ketamine or other psychedelic medicines in other settings.

Integration sessions do not involve taking a psychedelic medicine during the therapy session. Instead, they provide a safe and supportive space to process your experiences, explore the insights or emotions that arose, and find ways to apply them to your daily life.

If you are currently receiving ketamine treatment elsewhere—either medically or therapeutically—I can support you between treatments by helping you:

• Reflect on your experiences and make meaning of them

• Identify emotional or behavioral shifts you want to maintain

• Process any difficult or confusing aspects of the experience

• Integrate insights into your relationships, work, and personal growth

While my primary expertise is in ketamine, I also offer integration support for other psychedelic medicines. My approach is trauma-informed and harm-reduction based, which means I can help you make sense of your experience in a way that is safe, grounded, and aligned with your overall well-being.

Ketamine is a synthetic pharmaceutical compound. Although it is commonly known as a dissociative anesthetic used in medical settings, it is also used as an effective off-label treatment for a variety of mental health conditions, including, but not limited to, 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. It works by blocking the brain’s NMDA receptors as well as by stimulating AMPA receptors, which are thought to help form new synaptic connections and boost neural circuits that regulate stress and mood. Ketamine has also been shown to enhance overall neuroplasticity for lasting symptom improvement. Studies have shown that the benefits to mood and neurological growth can last up to two weeks after the ketamine experience. Antidepressant effects can tend to be cumulative, therefore requiring multiple dosing sessions.

Ketamine can be administered in a variety of ways, including IV infusion, intramuscular injection, via nasal spray, and using sublingual lozenges. Isha Health prescribes sublingual lozenges or troches (dissolving under the tongue) for KAP treatment.

The peak effects of ketamine lozenges typically start anywhere from 5-15 minutes post administration sublingually, and last for approximately 45 minutes. These effects can make you feel a sense of detachment from your body, environment and usual sense of self, and facilitate shifts in perception that can often feel expansive in nature. The intensity of these effects can fluctuate with dose, and impacted by various factors. Your motor and verbal abilities during the dosing session will be reduced, so you will be lying down in a comfortable position during the experience. You may also experience sensitivity to light and sound, an altered sense of time, out-of-body sensations, feelings of movement or floating, vivid imagery, and other sensory effects. Once these effects have subsided, we will spend the remainder of your appointment giving you space to process and discuss your experience. You may experience some lingering altered sensory effects for several hours after your session, and I will support you in making a safety and self-care plan for the remainder of the day.

Below are steps to the KAP process:

1. Initial Clinical Intake with me

You will first have an initial virtual clinical intake session with me. During this session, I will complete an assessment to determine whether KAP may be a potential treatment option for you. I may then make a referral to Isha Health for a psychiatric intake to determine your eligibility for KAP and a ketamine prescription.

2. Initial Consultation with Isha Health

Once I complete the referral, you will schedule an initial evaluation with Isha Health’s 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 eligible, they will develop a personalized ketamine prescription and treatment plan for you.

Isha Health’s medical staff will write a ketamine prescription for you, and a specified amount of oral ketamine will be sent to your home. You will be taught how to self-administer the ketamine lozenges by Isha Health’s medical team in advance of your KAP sessions.

3. Preparation Sessions

We will then schedule your 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 KAP process, set goals and intentions, address immediate needs, and provide you with information in preparation for your KAP sessions.

4. KAP Dosing Sessions

A typical ketamine dosing session lasts approx. 2.5 hours and will take place in-person in Oakland, CA, or remotely via Zoom. During a dosing session, you will self-administer your ketamine lozenge(s) while in my therapy office or in your home with a support person (i.e. friend, partner, family member, etc.) present in your home with you. You will be in a comfortable, reclining position wearing an eye mask and listening to calming music. I will be present with you the entire time in-office or on Zoom to hold space and provide therapeutic support as needed. (Note: eligibility for remote KAP sessions via Zoom will be determined on a case-by-case basis). The frequency of KAP sessions is based on your unique treatment plan.

5. Integration Sessions

After your KAP dosing session, we will meet for integration therapy sessions to review the memories, thoughts and insights that arose during your dosing session, explore how to apply them to your daily life, and prepare for the next dosing session.

6. Follow-up Consultations with Isha Health

After your first few KAP sessions, you will schedule a follow-up appointment with Isha Health’s medical team to monitor progress and refill your ketamine prescriptions as needed and as appropriate. The frequency of follow ups depends on your unique treatment plan.

Ketamine Assisted Therapy Fees:

• 55-minute Clinical Intake — $280

• 45-minute Psychotherapy Preparation or Integration Session — $250

• 2.5-hour KAP Dosing Psychotherapy Session — $900

Psychedelic Integration Therapy Fees:

• 55-minute Clinical Intake — $280

• 45-minute Psychotherapy Integration Session — $250

I have a limited number of sliding scale spots. Please inquire if needed. Priority for reduced fees will go to those with marginalized identities and with limited finances.

Some fees may be eligible for out-of-network reimbursement, including preparation and integration psychotherapy sessions. KAP sessions are currently not eligible for reimbursement by insurance.

Please check with your insurance carrier about reimbursement rates prior to beginning therapy.

Isha Health Medical Fees:

The medical intake and follow up appointment fees at Isha Health are separate from my KAP fees above. Their fees may be eligible for out-of-network reimbursement. Please inquire with them and also check with your insurance carrier about reimbursement rates.

The initial 55-minute clinical intake session and all 45-minute psychotherapy preparation and integration sessions after that will be held online via Zoom or phone. For the Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) dosing appointments, you have the option to do those ~2.5 hour sessions in-person in Oakland, CA, or online via Zoom (eligibility for remote sessions will be determined on a case-by-case basis).