Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP)

Service Description

Ketamine has received FDA approval as an anesthetic medication, and it is widely used "off-label" in subanesthetic doses to treat certain forms of mental illness or psychic distress. Dr. Alpert primarily offers ketamine treatment for the mental health indications with the strongest evidence base, namely: depression (both unipolar and bipolar), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or pain-related mood disorders. A KAP session begins with 45-60 minutes of preparatory talk therapy to help set your intentions and prepare for the ketamine journey. You will then receive ketamine via intramuscular injection or sublingual troche. For the duration of the ketamine's acute effects, you will lie down on a sofa wearing eyeshades and headphones while listening to a curated musical playlist. You can emerge from the ketamine experience at your own pace, and Dr. Alpert will help facilitate your initial process of integration. Dr. Alpert remains in the room for the entirety of your session and monitors your vital signs. In the unlikely event that it is needed, Dr. Alpert has "rescue" medications on hand to address any major physical or psychological effects of the ketamine. Typically, a course of KAP treatment involves three or more KAP sessions, each of which is preceded by 2-3 preparatory or integration sessions lasting 45 minutes each. In order to ensure adequate support for this process, patients receiving KAP need to be engaged in long-term psychotherapy with either Dr. Alpert or another provider.