Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) is a mental health treatment method that involves using ketamine’s trance-inducing and pain-relieving properties to help individuals work through various mental and emotional challenges. As a certified KAP provider in California, I field inquiries from patients interested in this treatment on my website. I hope to address some of the most common questions in this post.

The first reports of using ketamine in psychiatric treatment came in 1973. Since then, research and personal anecdotes have painted a successful picture of ketamine in treating anything from depression to addiction to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In 2019, ketamine became the first psychedelic drug to be approved by the FDA for use in treatment-resistant depression. Today, KAP is most often used in treating major depressive disorder (MDD) and PTSD but has made appearances working with issues like substance use disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), among others. Treating mental illness is not often as simple as weekly talk therapy or daily medication. Sometimes, it can be difficult, maybe even seemingly impossible, for a person to manage their symptoms.

So, someone living with MDD might be battling a constant wave of hopeless thoughts and negative beliefs about their self-worth, while someone with PTSD is trying to manage debilitating fear and uncontrollable flashbacks. This is where KAP comes in. During a typical KAP session—prefaced by thorough evaluation and discussions with the provider—a patient will usually lie down in a quiet room and take the prescribed dose of ketamine. Providers might put on soft music or have patients wear an eye mask to keep the environment as relaxed as possible. In many cases, the medication will be in the form of a lozenge that dissolves under the tongue and takes about 10 minutes to kick in. Other methods include a nasal spray or a series of injections, depending on the patient, the therapist, and the treatment setting. MLA