KAP Therapy | How Long Does Ketamine Treatment Last?
Depressive disorders and anxiety disorders are major public health concerns in the US and worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 5 persons suffer from depression worldwide. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), has estimated 19% of U.S. adults have had an anxiety disorder in the past year.
Despite these significant mental health concerns both nationally and globally, there have been few novel treatments for both depression and anxiety in several decades. Medications such as SSRI and SNRIs have proven themselves to be only marginally effective as treatments and frequently have significant and troubling side effects.
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) has emerged over the past decade as a novel treatment for both depression and anxiety disorders and is demonstrating itself to be more effective than any other treatments currently available with lasting and durable benefits.
This article explores many of the questions people have been asking about this form of therapy, such as, "How long does ketamine treatment last?" and "What does Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) entail?"
By the time you finish reading, you should have a better understanding about what you can expect from KAP treatment and the potential long-term benefits KAP treatment provides the potential for you to gain a deeper understanding of yourself, learn and implement skills to manage your symptoms of depression and/or anxiety, and gain the confidence to live a vibrant and fulfilling life despite having been diagnosed with either depression or anxiety.
How Long Does Ketamine Treatment Last?
Ketamine treatment is a process and not a one-and-done medical procedure. While some individuals do feel better after a single treatment, it can take several sessions before you start to feel the more profound and long-term effects from KAP treatment. At Quantum Integral Healing Arts, treatment begins with an initial intake appointment followed by 1-2 preparation sessions. We recommend 6 KAP sessions to be scheduled over 4-6 weeks. Each 3-hour KAP session is followed by a 50-min integration that is scheduled 1-3 days following each KAP session, all with a licensed clinical therapist trained in KAP.
After the initial 6 KAP sessions, we take time to re-evaluate the treatment plan. Some individuals no longer need to continue with KAP therapy due to significant improvements in their symptoms and may return to KAP treatment in the future only when and if needed. Others may transition to maintenance sessions that may be scheduled once a month or once every few months, depending on treatment needs. These decisions are made on an individual basis in consultation with the treatment team.
The effects of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy and the duration of lasting benefits of KAP depend on a number of factors. These may include:
An individual's goals and intentions for treatment
Treatment expectations
Genetic predispositions impacting metabolism and neuroplasticity
The use of other medications as part of the treatment plan
The route of ketamine administration
The determined optimal dose of ketamine
Use and/or abuse of alcohol or other drugs, prescribed or not prescribed
The therapeutic rapport developed with the KAP therapist
Integration
Ketamine can be administered via a lozenge that dissolves in your mouth, via intravenous (i.v.) administration, or via an intramuscular (IM) injection.
At Quantum Integral Healing Arts, we prefer to administer ketamine by an injection into your deltoid, or shoulder muscle because of the ease of this delivery route and our ability to adjust the dose more predictably and reliably. In contrast, with sublingual administration it can be difficult to determine the degree and rate of absorption of the ketamine.
The dose of ketamine you receive is based on your body weight, your body's prior response to ketamine during previous KAP sessions, your past experience with other psychedelic medicines, and your treatment goals.
Often times a lower dose of ketamine is advisable when trying to access specific memories of experiences related to anxiety and/or depression. All of these factors are considered and discussed with the client in preparation of each KAP session.
We consider the initial 4-6 wks of KAP treatment as a time of high potentiality for change as it is an optimal period of neuroplasticity. Ketamine is a neuroplastigen, which means it supports new brain tissue growth in the days and weeks following ketamine administration. During the initial 4-6 weeks of treatment, your brain has the potential to make new neural connections and develop new neuronal pathways. Ketamine treatment provides an optimal milieu to review and act on new ideas and approaches to your anxiety and/or depression.
You may also find it easier during this initial treatment period to let go of old beliefs and narratives about yourself with an understanding that these old beliefs are no longer helpful for your optimal health and wellness. It has been suggested that ketamine may support these changes in thoughts and behavior because ketamine may be opening critical developmental windows of learning that had been closed during earlier stages of our brain's development.
How Can Ketamine Treatment Combined With Psychotherapy Help?
While ketamine has powerful effects on the brain as a neuroplastigen, ketamine alone is not entirely responsible for the long-term and lasting benefits we see at Quantum Integral Healing Arts. Ketamine treatment is most effective when combined with KAP-informed psychotherapy and integration.
When working with ketamine or other psychedelic medicines such as MDMA in a therapeutic context, an important concept has emerged from the psychedelic medicine research and its supporting literature related to both 'set' and 'setting'. The 'set' is an individual's mindset, beliefs about themselves, their mental and physical health and the severity of symptoms they present with when entering into treatment. The 'setting' is the environment where care is provided and the services delivered, including the therapeutic relationship that develops between the therapist and client. Both the set and setting are influenced and impacted during the course of ketamine treatment.
During KAP treatment, all these factors (set, setting, and medicine) are working synergistically to support you in your healing process. The time spent exploring your thoughts and feelings during the integration sessions allows for you to develop new insights about yourself. Growth and healing happen when you are integrating the insights learned into your life. Therefore, it is important to recognize that the best medicine we have to offer is perhaps not the ketamine itself, but rather a greater awareness and a deepening understanding of yourself. And the care delivered in all of these domains allows for long-term treatment benefits and overall improved outcomes.
Integration sessions may include several types of therapy. Overall, we believe utilizing psychotherapy likely reduces the need for individuals to need ongoing ketamine treatment at a higher frequency. These decisions are explored with clients on an individual basis. Regardless, KAP provides a more holistic approach to your healing process and likely boosts your body's ability to respond to mental health issues both with and without ketamine.
There are many ketamine clinics that offer ketamine treatment without the therapy. We believe this type of care drastically minimizes the potential benefits you could receive from KAP therapy. It is through your work with a KAP therapist that you have the potential to gain a deeper understanding of yourself and your depression and/or anxiety. If you have started your ketamine treatment journey without a KAP therapist and you are noticing your symptoms of anxiety or depression starting to return, you may want to contact a KAP therapist to discuss where you are in your healing process with ketamine. You may need further treatment and by working with a professional therapist you can ensure that you receive a treatment plan that matches your needs.
As such, you should consider a combined treatment that gives you the highest chance of success.
Quantum Integral Healing's Unique Approach to Care
Our KAP therapy sessions aim to leverage the ketamine treatment benefits most likely to ensure you have deep and lasting improvement in your symptoms of depression and anxiety. KAP is the most progressive and effective treatment for depression and anxiety disorders currently available and is informed by cutting-edge psychiatric and psychological research in the emerging field of psychedelic medicine treatment.
We understand the neurobiological effects of ketamine and also the developmental and learning processes that are impacted when ketamine is combined with psychotherapy. As such we are passionate about delivering this care to as many persons as possible who are in need and are currently suffering from either depression or anxiety disorders. We have witnessed the rapid and dramatic relief from debilitating symptoms of depression and anxiety and can now offer hope to so many.
Experienced and Well-Trained Staff
We have an expert team that includes an integrative psychiatrist, psychiatric nurse practitioners trained in several psychotherapeutic modalities, and an IFS-trained and certified psychologist. The Quantum team has also been intimately involved in the research of MDMA-assisted-psychotherapy for PTSD and is involved in other psychedelic medicine research, to include psilocybin-assisted-psychotherapy for Major Depressive Disorder and 5-MeO-DMT-assisted-psychotherapy for Treatment-resistant depression.
We also recognize emotional pain can impact your physical health and wellbeing and therefore we also offer massage therapy from an excellent certified massage therapist and acupuncture with a Chinese medicine practitioner. With our varied skillset, we ensure every patient receives the best care for complex mental health conditions. We intend to address every facet of a person's emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing and thereby enhance the overall effectiveness of our treatment. Together, we can ensure that the KAP treatments you receive are as long-lasting and impactful as possible.
Leveraging a Triad of Healing
While modern medicine focuses only on the scientific perspective behind healing, at Quantum Integral Healing Arts we also incorporate Eastern medicine and philosophy into our treatments which provide a more holistic approach. We can give you the best chance of emerging with a much more comprehensive sense of betterment.
Scientific Approaches to Healing
All the treatment and care provided at Quantum Integral Healing Arts is rooted in scientifically-supported and evidence-based methods. Ketamine has been around since the early nineteen-sixties and has been confirmed to be medically safe to use in an office setting.
In addition and as previously mentioned, our clinical team is actively involved in clinical research for several psychedelic medicines including ketamine, MDMA, psilocybin, and 5-MeO-DMT. We are committed to the rigors of the scientific method and it is through our experience in clinical research that we have gained insight in the potential benefits of KAP. We understand how important it is for those in our care to receive medical treatment from experts within this newly emerging field of medical science.
Mystical and Spiritual Healing
While Western science and medicine are relatively new in studying psychedelic medicine treatment benefits, traditional healers and ancient mystical traditions have used these medicines for thousands of years. Depression and anxiety disorders often require healing not just on a physical level, but also on an emotional and even a spiritual level. There are many indigenous healing modalities practiced by native peoples and healers who have studied and learned the healing properties of psychedelic medicines through traditional practices and ancient wisdom passed down through family lineage for centuries.
In addition, all the world's major religions have healing practices and traditions as a component of their teachings and wisdoms.
Although not everyone wants to include spiritual aspects of their care and treatment, at Quantum we honor all spiritual practices and encourage our clients to incorporate spiritual healing into their treatment as they feel is most appropriate for them.
Some of the Quantum team members studied and have knowledge based in Chinese medicine and Taoism which includes the practice of Five Element Medicine. Other clinicians, in addition to their ongoing training and professional development within their Western medical specialties, have sought out teaching from healers of various indigenous traditions.
Regardless of our various spiritual inquiries, we honor all aspects of healing. We recognize that our humanness is a reflection of nature. When we are sick, either physically, emotionally or spiritually, this is a reflection of an imbalance in our natural state and in order to heal, we must re-establish balance in our lives.
By honoring the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of healing, we stand as a center of excellence in mental health, bridging science and spirituality in our treatments. By using many different therapeutic models in our processes, we can offer the best chance of sustained mental wellness. This is a significant part of our holistic approach to mental health issues and allows us to also approach the mind's health as one part of a larger whole.
Discovering Experts in Ketamine Treatment
KAP is one of the most impactful therapies available from Quantum Integral Healing. We encourage you to investigate it for yourself and take your first steps towards helping yourself long-term.
If you want to get a more comprehensive answer to, "How long does ketamine treatment last?", you only need to get in touch.
Our team is waiting for you and can get you booked in for a consultation as soon as possible. Take advantage of our holistic approach to your health today.
