What is Ketamine?
Ketamine is a legal, safe and effective FDA approved medicine used to treat a variety of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety and PTSD. Ketamine has rapidly acting antidepressant and mood-enhancing effects, which can begin to take effect within 1-2 hours after treatment. 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.
How Effective is Ketamine?
Research indicates ketamine may help grow new neural connections once diminished by chronic stress, leaving many people feeling relief. The literature indicates a 70% response rate to ketamine of patients with treatment resistant depression, and a remission rate of 40-50%.
Weighing the Cost of Treatment
At Intuitive Heart Counseling, we understand that the financial burden of accessing treatment is concern for our clients. While the cost for treatment might seem expensive, studies show that Ketamine appears to be an effective treatment for clients who have not found relief from antidepressant use, traditional talk-therapy, and other modalities. In fact, a study found that the direct costs for seeking medical care for depression can range from $6,053 to $10,611 annually, and while antidepressants can take six to eight weeks to take effect, only 1 in 2 people will experience a fifty-percent reduction in their symptoms. When we weigh the effectiveness of Ketamine assisted therapy compared to the ineffectiveness of classical depressive treatment, the investment of Ketamine treatment could be saving you thousands of dollars in the long-term.
Do You Offer Sliding Scale?
Yes, we offer sliding scale pricing to low-income/BIPOC groups interested in receiving Ketamine assisted therapy. Our goal is to increase accessibility to this much needed treatment to underserved communities and help fight the stigmatization of seeking mental health support for communities of color and psychedelic use as a form of medicine.
Who Prescribes the Ketamine?
At Intuitive Heart Counseling, we partner with Journey Clinical, a third-party medical prescriber responsible for conducting your medical evaluation and filling your ketamine prescription. The client establishes an independent arrangement with Journey Clinical (independent from our practice), whereby the prescriber, in their clinical judgment and to the extent that it is clinically indicated, prescribes ketamine to the patient.
Who is Responsible for Determining Medical Eligibility?
The medical team at Journey Clinical is responsible for determining medical eligibility during intake and follow-up consultations. They are also responsible for your medical treatment plan, ketamine prescriptions, and refills.
How Is The Prescription Filled?
An independent arrangement between a pharmacy and the patient, whereby the pharmacy fills the prescription for ketamine and dispenses it to the patient, typically through the mail. This is arranged by our third party medical team at Journey Clinical, (independent from our practice).
How long is the Ketamine Treatment Session?
Ketamine treatment sessions are usually 2-3 hours. The patient transports the ketamine from their residence to my office. It is expected for the client to arrange transportation to and from their Ketamine Treatment sessions. Driving after a Ketamine Treatment session is not permissible under any circumstances. The patient self-administers the ketamine in our office at Intuitive Heart Counseling.
What Does Ketamine Feel Like?
The effects of ketamine, which most patients find pleasant, last for approximately 45 minutes to an hour. These effects can make you feel “far from” your body, and facilitate shifts in perception that can often feel expansive in nature. Your motor and verbal abilities will be reduced, so you’ll be lying down in a comfortable position during the experience. Once these effects subside, we’ll spend the remainder of our appointment giving you space to process and discuss your experience. While it may feel hard to articulate what happens during the experience, patients feel like the insights gained are clear.
Eligible Diagnoses for KAP include, but are not limited to:
Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, OCD, Bipolar, Eating Disorders, Adjustment Disorders, and Primary Addiction Disorders.
Medical and Psychiatric Contraindications include…
Uncontrolled hypertension/high blood pressure, unstable medical condition, ketamine allergy or hypersensitivity, uncontrolled glaucoma/pressure in the eye, severe breathing problems, active ketamine use disorder, acute mania or mixed state, history of primary psychotic disorder, active suicidal ideation or severe decompensation.