FAQs

Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic with psychedelic properties. It was developed and tested right here in Michigan. It was first synthesized in 1962 by Dr. Calvin Stevens, a chemist at Wayne State University working as a consultant for Parke-Davis (now a subsidiary of Pfizer). He was looking to develop a safer surgical anesthetic with fewer undesirable side effects. The first human dose was administered in 1964 by University of Michigan professors Dr. Edward Domino (Pharmacology) and Dr. Guenter Corssen (Anesthesiology). Ketamine received FDA approval in 1970 and since then has been considered a remarkably safe staple in surgical and pain management settings. Decades later, in 2020, researchers in Brazil found Ketamine was naturally occurring within a strain of fungi.

As its use spread in hospital settings "emergence phenomenon" were documented. As patients returned from anesthesia they reported disorientation and perceptual disturbances. Where some saw this as an unwanted side effect, pioneering psychiatrists like Salvador Roquet recognized it as a powerful therapeutic effect in its own right, and began incorporating ketamine into psychotherapy. Other early pioneers, including Eli Kolp, Evgeny Krupitsky, and Karl Jansen, built on this work, using high-dose intramuscular ketamine alongside psychotherapy to treat a range of psychiatric conditions. Throughout the years, researchers, surgeons, and patients, have reported a surprising side effect, relief from depression

Currently, within the psychiatric and psychotherapy community the Non-Ordinary States of Consciousness catalyzed by Ketamine are valued for their ability to support deep psychological work. It is increasingly used off-label in clinical settings to treat a range of chronic, treatment-resistant mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance use disorders, and other psychiatric conditions.

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy pairs a medical treatment with psychological support in one integrated model of care. We believe ketamine is most effective as a catalyst rather than a cure on its own. The medication opens a window of opportunity. Ketamine’s dissociative properties can quiet rigid thought patterns and create enough psychological distance from distressing material for real therapeutic work to happen. The insights that surface during that window, along with how they are integrated afterward, are where lasting change takes root. We provide a structured, supportive environment with a therapist who knows your history, goals, and struggles to help you make the most of each KAP session.

Treatment begins with a thorough intake to assess medical and psychological readiness and to better understand what you're hoping to work through. Together we will build your treatment plan from there. We'll offer honest clinical recommendations, including a referral elsewhere if that better serves you.

Preparation typically unfolds over one to three sessions, during which we walk through the arc of treatment. How to approach the days leading up to your medicine session, logistical guidelines for the day of the KAP session, the range of possible experiences at different doses, and a plan for integration afterward.

The medicine session itself lasts three hours and blends clinical structure with ritual. After settling in and identifying an intention together, you move inward as music supports the journey, staying open to whatever arises. Many clients enter expanded states of consciousness, sometimes profound or transpersonal in nature, that can broaden self-understanding and deepen perspective. Your therapist holds a safe space throughout, and helps you reorient and reflect as the effects wane.

Integration sessions happen in the 24-48 hours following each KAP experiential, while the experience is still fresh, giving you tools and a plan to carry the insights forward.

Each phase; preparation, dosing, and integration, is essential to the outcome. You'll have our support at every step of the process. While there are a range of potential benefits, as with any treatment, we cannot guarantee specific results.

Routes of administration include intravenous (IV), intramuscular (IM), intranasal, and sublingual/oral. At Psych3, we primarily use the sublingual route of administration. You will be prescribed compounded ketamine lozenges that dissolve under the tongue. The resulting liquid is held in the mouth for several minutes to allow absorption before swallowing any remainder. In some cases, intramuscular injection may be offered as an alternative route of administration.

KAP uses varying doses depending on the therapeutic goal for that session. Your dosage will be determined by the prescribing psychiatrist based on presentation, treatment goals, and treatment plans. The subjective effects and potential benefits of the medicine change with dosage.

Psycholytic (low) dose

Ego defenses soften while you maintain awareness of self and context. This dosing range often features increased feelings of comfort, relaxation, compassion, and empathy.  Emotionally charged content that's normally hard to access can surface with less resistance and less fear. The ability to verbalize is still accessible. Somatic (body-based) material may surface. Tension, old pain patterns, or physical sensations tied to emotional memory can arise. This level of dosing is well-suited for using talk therapy to process specific memories, emotions, or relational patterns in real time. It is also used to help the nervous system settle and regulate when in chronically activated states. This is where most clients will start their treatment. In order to establish trust and rapport between client, medicine, and the therapist, we often wade gently into the water rather than starting in the deep end. 

Medium dose

This level of dosing is often used when the goal is accessing material more experientially/symbolically rather than talking it through. Focus shifts even more toward inner experience and there is often less verbal exchange with the therapist. Music and set/setting (eye shades, intentionality) become more central to supporting the experience. There can be time/space contraction and/or dilation, the feeling of being big or small, the sense of time being sped up or slowed down. Feelings of sinking or floating, heaviness or lightness. Visuals featuring archetypal/symbolic imagery are more common.

Higher Dose

The upper end of this range sometimes involves Out of Body Experience (OBE). These experiences involve separation from the body but retaining an individual sense of self. The range of OBEs that have been reported with ketamine include visiting alternate landscapes/spaces, traveling to other locations on Earth or into outer space, encounters with spiritual entities, a sense of traveling backward or forward in time, and re-experiencing aspects of the birth process.

Highest dose

Produces a deeper, non-dual state where the usual sense of self loosens. Clients often describe timelessness, unity, or mystical-type experiences. Processing happens after the session, with the therapist focused on holding safe space during it.