Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy - Counseling & Therapy Services - The Juniper Center

Find relief and a new path forward with Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP)

Depression and anxiety are the most common mental health disorders in the United States. Every day, millions of Americans suffer from severe levels of depression and other mental health disorders. While many individuals find relief through traditional psychotherapy and medication, some struggle to find the relief they seek to achieve positive changes in their lives. If this sounds familiar, you do not have to face these challenging times alone.  Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) is a safe and effective treatment for depression, anxiety, trauma, PTSD, and OCD.  KAP is quite different from any treatment modality and has proven to be a ray of hope for people struggling to break through years of suffering. Together with the professionals at The Juniper Center, we can help you on your path to living your best life.

What is Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy?

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) is a unique therapeutic method used to address various mental health conditions, including depression, post-traumatic stress, chronic pain, addiction, and some forms of anxiety. KAP involves the use of ketamine to enhance and deepen the therapeutic process. When combined with the help of psychotherapy and other integrative forms of treatment, the curative effects of ketamine are amplified and prolonged.

Depending on your specific needs, ketamine can be administered in low or moderate doses. In low doses, ketamine can serve as a supportive partner to psychotherapy, as it provides an opportunity to soften the psychological defenses temporarily. When this happens, it allows for deeper self-reflection and psychotherapeutic processing. 

In moderate doses, ketamine has psychedelic effects, which have been shown to facilitate profound transpersonal experiences. These types of incidents can help individuals in various ways, providing healing clarity and insight into one’s struggles.

Please be aware that at this time the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated Ketamine for the treatment of mental health disorders as an off-label treatment.

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) can prove beneficial to individuals who:

  • Struggle with chronic depression, anxiety, PTSD, OCD, or unresolved trauma. 
  • Cannot find relief despite the many medications they have tried.
  • Have tried therapy for years but struggle to achieve the improvements they seek.
  • Have been told they have exhausted all the standard courses of treatment.
  • Seek clarity to reduce negative thoughts, emotions, and patterns.

Meet the KAP Team at The Juniper Center

Laura Haberer, LCSW, Certified Psychedelic-Assisted Therapist
Richard Shapiro, MD
Rick Clark, CRNA, APRN

(Click on the image to learn more about each team member.)

Background: More on Ketamine

Medical professionals describe ketamine as one of the most important breakthroughs in the last fifty years for treating depression, anxiety, and chronic pain. It has been used safely and effectively in hospitals worldwide since the 1970’s as an FDA-approved anesthetic drug. 

Over time, life-disrupting mental illnesses and physical discomfort damage synapses in the brain. According to a 2019 study conducted by Neuroscientist Conor Liston at Weill Cornell Medicine, when medical professionals administer ketamine, it regenerates these lost connections and electrical activity between neurons. Best of all, these remarkable benefits last long after the ketamine has left your body.

Is Ketamine Therapy Effective? (Ketamine alone, without psychotherapy)

While mental health medications such as antidepressants can save lives, many individuals have proven treatment-resistant for their depression and other mental health conditions. Ketamine therapy is an alternative form of treatment for PTSD, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and a host of other mental illnesses. Numerous studies from Harvard, Yale, and other respectable institutions have begun highlighting ketamine’s ability to help individuals who are resistant to typical treatments (such as psychotherapy and medications). 

According to the most extensive study ever conducted on depression, the STAR*D study, most people prescribed antidepressant medications did not experience significant benefits. Furthermore, the study concluded the more antidepressants a person tried, the less likely future antidepressant would work effectively. Additionally, ketamine has become backed by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) as an effective treatment for various mental health disorders.

How is Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Different?

Ketamine therapy is typically offered at a psychiatrist’s office. After being cleared with a medical evaluation, the patient is administered ketamine and left alone in a treatment room for the duration of the medical experience. When used as a standalone medication, ketamine can provide people with significant symptom relief, but it can be short-lived and require regular follow-up infusions.

At The Juniper Center, we offer something different. By combining ketamine therapy with psychotherapy, we provide the opportunity for symptom relief and profound personal growth that can lead someone to change their lives and contribute to healthy overall wellbeing. Working with your KAP therapist, you can expect symptom reduction while simultaneously targeting the underlying issues behind the experience of symptoms

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy with The Juniper Center

At The Juniper Center, we want our clients to be able to experience change in their lives in the long term. Our ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is designed to engage our clients in true healing. We also recognize some ketamine experiences can be disorienting and bring up a lot of psychological material for people. Having a KAP therapist present to guide you and ground you can make your ketamine experience feel safer – safe enough to explore the healing opportunities the experience is designed to provide.

Our KAP sessions are composed of psychotherapy preparation sessions, a medical evaluation with a prescriber, medicine sessions, and psychotherapy integration sessions. Preparations and integration sessions will take place with your KAP therapist, who will also be present during each medicine session to help guide you in your journey. You do not have to face these challenging times alone. We are here to help you on your path to forming long-lasting positive changes in your life.

What is the cost of KAP?

At The Juniper Center, we understand that patients who choose to pursue Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy are making a significant financial investment in their long term health and we take that seriously. We are committed to keeping our costs as affordable as possible without compromising any aspect of the quality of care.

At this time, insurance does not cover any costs of sessions where ketamine is administered (medicine sessions). Depending on your insurance’s mental health coverage, it is possible that the costs of the therapy sessions that take place prior to and after the Medicine sessions (preparation and integration sessions) will be covered.

In short, that means that some of your KAP treatment may likely be covered by your insurance and some will not be covered. It is because we understand the financial investment of KAP treatment that we choose to do the more complicated work of billing insurance for the aspects they cover, while most clinics offering KAP will simply charge an out of pocket cost for the whole program.  

INSURED
Medical intake session….$125
Medical review….$100
1st medicine session….$925
2nd medicine session…..$925
3rd medicine session….$925

Total: $3,000*

*This is the total out of pocket cost. You will receive a QOB regarding the portion of your bill for preparation and integration sessions that we will submit to your health insurance company.

Each additional medicine sessions…$925 

NON INSURANCED
Medical intake session….$125
Medical review….$100
3 prep sessions….$125 (x3) = $375
1st medicine session….$925
1st integration session…$125
2nd medicine session…..$925
2nd integration session…$125
3rd medicine session….$925
3rd integration session…$125

Total: $3,750

Each additional medicine sessions…$1,050 each ($925 medicine + $125 integration)

Schedule a Consultation to Find Out if Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy is Right for You

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