ABOUT KAP

What is Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP)?

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) is a holistic modality in which ketamine is used as a complement to psychotherapy to help eligible patients experience more frequent breakthroughs and sustained improvement in symptoms. A licensed KAP provider takes on the psychotherapy portion of the experience, while Journey Clinical’s medical team supports you on all medical aspects. This includes determining eligibility, developing a custom treatment plan, prescribing the medicine, and monitoring outcomes.

There are 2 ways we can do the sessions:

1. psycholytic dosing - smaller dose where we would have a regular talking session and we would be working on deeper issues while the medicine is doing it's work.

2. psychedelic dosing - with a larger dose where you'd be in a 'dream-like state' , have a more of an internal, transpersonal experience where you would be processing things more internally and integrate the experience once the medicine wore off.

Both have their own, deeply beneficial purposes and are therapeutic in their own right.

Me in this photo prepping for MY own 1st dosing

session with my therapist

Accelerated Healing: Helps clients achieve insights and breakthroughs that might take years in traditional therapy.
Deep Emotional Release: Assists in processing and releasing deeply held trauma or emotional blockages.
Increased Self-Awareness: Supports clients in gaining clarity about their lives and patterns, promoting profound self-growth.
Enhanced Neuroplasticity: Encourages the brain to form new, healthier connections, making it easier to adopt positive changes.
Spiritual Insights: Often provides a sense of connection and meaning, which can be deeply empowering.

What is Ketamine?

Ketamine is a fast-acting anesthetic and dissociative,
to help treat a range of mental health conditions,
especially where other treatments may have been less effective.
It 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. 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. Ketamine can be administered in a variety of ways, including IV infusion, intramuscular injection, nasal spray, and sublingual lozenges. At Journey Clinical, we only use the sublingual lozenge form.

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 subside, your psychotherapist will spend the remainder of your appointment giving you space to process and discuss your experience. While it may feel hard to articulate what happens during the experience, patients feel like the insights gained are clear.

This photo of me: this is what the dosing session would look like in MY office - except it would be you in this chair.

What is it used for?

It’s particularly effective for:

Depression and Treatment-Resistant Depression: Rapid relief from depressive symptoms, including for those who haven’t responded well to traditional antidepressants.
Anxiety and OCD: Helps interrupt thought loops, reduce anxiety, and create new perspectives on distressing thoughts.
PTSD and Trauma: Facilitates processing of traumatic memories in a less distressing way, often enhancing the effects of trauma therapy.
Addiction: Supports breaking habitual thought and behavior patterns, fostering a shift in perspective.

In KAP, the dissociative effects of ketamine allow patients to access a state where they may feel more relaxed, connected, and open to therapeutic insights, which can deepen the impact of therapy.

How much does it cost?

Please contact us for details, but the following is a guide:

1. Journey Clinical Costs

First-time patients: $338. This payment includes:

Initial medical consultation with Journey Clinical: $250
Cost of ketamine medication: $88 (enough for 2 sessions)
Cost of shipping and processing ketamine medication
Note: medical consultation costs may be covered by insurance

‍ Ongoing treatment: $298. This payment includes:

Follow-up medical consultation with Journey Clinical: $150 (at least once per quarter)
Cost of ketamine medication: $148 (enough for up to 6 sessions)
Cost of shipping and processing ketamine medication
Note: medical consultation costs may be covered by insurance

2. Costs of therapy are at my standard costs of therapy.
All therapy is eligible for reimbursement by your insurance
on an in-network or out of network basis
(depending on whether I'm in your insurance plan)

The actual dosing session is NOT covered by the insurance in the
state of New Jersey yet. This would be your out of pocket cost.

What is Neuroplasticity?

Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections, allowing you to change thought patterns, behaviors, and emotional responses. In the context of ketamine-assisted therapy, neuroplasticity increases after a session, creating a "neuroplastic window" where your brain is more flexible and open to new ways of thinking and healing. This window typically lasts from 24 hours to two weeks, though the duration can vary. During this time, the brain is especially receptive to new experiences, insights, and changes. To make the most of this period, it's essential to engage in integration therapy, practice mindfulness, journal, and implement positive lifestyle changes. These efforts help reinforce new neural pathways, making transformative shifts in your mental and emotional health more likely to last.

Ketamine-assisted therapy offers a powerful opportunity for personal growth through neuroplasticity—your brain's ability to rewire itself. Following a ketamine journey, your brain enters a "neuroplastic window," a period of heightened receptivity to new thoughts and behaviors. This is when therapeutic integration is essential, as it helps solidify the insights gained during your session into lasting change.

Maximize this window by engaging in integration therapy, practicing mindfulness, journaling, and making lifestyle changes that align with your newfound awareness. The more intentional your efforts, the greater the long-term benefits for your mental health and well-being.