Ketamine Assistend Psychotherapy (KAP) is a novel therapy approach to help people who have tried other methods to deal with their depression, or have suicidal thinking, a history of trauma or abuse.

Ketamine is a type of drug known as a dissociative anesthetic. At low doses it produces a relaxed or dream-like state that can aid with facing difficult feelings or memories. The medicine effects wear off in about an hour, though you may feel a little “out of it” for several hours.

How does KAP work?

KAP involves 3 Phases: Preparation, Medicine Session, Integration

Preparation

Medicine Session

Integration

We begin with helping you set up a MEDICAL CONSULT for the prescription for ketamine. This is to evaluate whether you have any medical conditions for which KAP would be contraindicated. The medical professional will also check your current medications to determine if ketamine will “play nicely” with them. Here are conditions that present contraindications for KAP:

  • Uncontrolled hypertension
  • Cardiac history including arrhythmia, coronary heart disease or myocardial infarction without clearance from a cardiologist
  • Ketamine dependency
  • History of ketamine-induced interstitial cystitis
  • Any active substance use disorder (except nicotine)
  • Psychosis history
  • Rufusal to follow ketamine safety protocols

Here are some of the medications that may interfere with ketamine. Your prescribing medical professional will go over all your medicines to make sure they don’t interfere with the antidepressant effects of ketamine and are safe to use with ketamine. Sometimes you will be asked to miss taking a certain medicine the day before your KAP session.

  • Benzodiazepine (including Valium, Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin)
  • Lamictal: know to block antidepressant response of ketamine
  • Gabapentin & Lyrica
  • MAOI’s
  • Sleeping pills (Ambien, Lunesta, Trazodone, Seroquel, Belsomra, mirtazapine, and others)
  • Antipsychotics (Rexulti, Vraylar, Abilify, Seroquel, Risperdal, Olanzapine, Latuda and others)
  • Muscle relaxers
  • Amphetamines and stimulants
  • Naltrexone