Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy

Brooklyn Somatic Therapy has partnered with a group of prescribers called Journey Clinical to be able to offer our clients safe psychedelic exploration using ketamine, the first psychedelic medicine approved for therapeutic use.


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. We at BST facilitate 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. Below is more information about KAP to help you navigate if it may be a good fit for you.

What is ketamine?

Ketamine is a legal, safe and effective medicine used in combination with psychotherapy to treat a variety of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance abuse, existential issues, attachment injury, and more. Ketamine has rapidly-acting antidepressant and mood-enhancing effects, which begin to take effect within 1-2 hours and last for up to 2 weeks. 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, via nasal spray and using sublingual lozenges. In our work with Journey Clinical we only use the sublingual lozenge form.


How does ketamine feel, and what are the benefits?

Like other psychedelics, ketamine facilitates access to the unconscious - the beliefs, memories, and emotions we are generally not aware of in the day to day, but which have tremendous influence over the ways we behave, feel, and make sense of our experiences. Our approach to somatic therapy always has the aim of bringing more of this unconscious material into awareness, where it can be understood, re-evaluated, even released. Ketamine amplifies the ability of therapy to open the doors of the unconscious and let the stuck, repressed parts of us start to move. This process is critical to deep psychological healing, but can feel intense or overwhelming in the moment. This is why we believe it is so important to have a skilled therapist at hand to support you feeling safe, open and curious during and after the ketamine experience.

The immediate effects of ketamine, which most patients find pleasant, last for approximately 45 minutes. Many people feel some version of being “out of” their body, and experience shifts in perception of both inner and outer worlds. Your motor and verbal abilities will be somewhat reduced, so you’ll be lying down in a comfortable position during the experience. Once the initial effects have subsided, you may still feel more open and peaceful, and may take the remainder of the time to process and discuss your experience. Studies have shown that the benefits to mood, and the window of neurological growth, can last up to two weeks after the ketamine experience.

The Polaris Insight Center in San Francisco, a leading organization in the development of KAP, offers this list of common long-term benefits:

  • A “time out” from ordinary mind and reality

  • Decrease in negative or obsessive thoughts and negative self-talk

  • Profound shifts in perspective on self, relationships, and worldview

  • A more positive outlook on challenging life situations and relationships

  • Increase in self-esteem and self-compassion

  • Enhancement of creative problem-solving abilities

  • Greater motivation for lifestyle or behavior changes

  • Relief from existential distress

  • Potential of having a spiritual or mystical experience

What is the process of receiving KAP at Brooklyn Somatic Therapy ?

Your ketamine journey begins with a free consultation call with me. We’ll talk about what’s going on in your life that’s leading you here, your interest and experience with psychedelic work and psychotherapy, and any initial questions or concerns you have about the process. Together we will make a determination about whether ketamine therapy is the right choice for you at this time.

(If you are already a BST psychotherapy client and feel called to include ketamine sessions to your treatment, feel free to bring it up to your therapist who can help you understand your options and make a plan together.)

Next, we will plan our first preparation session. This will be a 50 minute session at your therapist’s office (or over Zoom if you have constraints on time and travel). In most cases it is best to subsequently have one or two more preparation sessions, and you and your therapist will make this decision together.

After the first preparation session, your therapist will put you in touch with one of our prescribing partners. This person is a medical doctor who specializes in the clinical use of ketamine. You will set up a virtual or phone-based intake appointment with the prescriber, which costs $250. The prescriber will make sure you are good candidate for KAP from a physiological perspective. Following their determination, they will write you a prescription for the full amount of oral ketamine tablets you will need for your KAP experience. The tablets will be sent directly to your home, or may be picked up from the compounding pharmacy, and you will bring them with you to your ketamine sessions.

Once we have have completed our preparation sessions, you will schedule your ketamine sessions. These sessions are 3 hours long, allowing you enough time to settle in, connect, create intentional space, have an unhurried trip 1-2 hour trip, and then do some debrief and integration before you go. The number of ketamine sessions will vary depending on your healing needs and individual preferences, and can range in frequency from one to six. But there is no hard and fast rule about when they have to occur. If your trips will be spread out over time, you and your therapist can easily plan virtual or in-person integration sessions in between them to keep in contact and process how the medicine is working in your life.

Following the completion of your ketamine sessions, your therapist will schedule an integration session. At this session you will get to process how the work has gone so far and make a plan for your ongoing healing journey. This may mean scheduling a few more integration sessions, connecting with another psychotherapist, or joining a psychedelic integration group or other supportive context. The important thing is that you have some kind of support in place to allow your your journey process to keep unfolding over at least a few months, as psychedelic work is often the beginning, rather than the end, of a period of healing and change.

What is the Cost of Treatment?

The cost of treatment will vary depending on the individual needs and treatment plan of each client. The total number and frequency of your ketamine sessions is a decision made collaboratively with therapist and your prescriber.

The fees at Brooklyn Somatic Therapy are as follows:

50 minute preparation and debrief sessions:

With staff therapist: $180-250 per session (rate determined by therapist)

With clinical intern: $60

2hr 45m ketamine dosing session:

With staff therapist: 3x established session rate

With clinical intern: $80

A separate set of costs is paid to the prescriber and pharmacy:

Medical assessment with prescriber: $250

Prescription: Approximately $40-$50 covering 6 full doses of sub-lingual ketamine

We’re happy to hear from you, whether you are ready to get started on your ketamine journey, or just want to learn more.