Can Ketamine Help My Anxiety?

It isn’t easy to face anxiety on your own. Perhaps we weren’t meant to. When your judgment is clouded by the fog of anxious depression, it’s all too easy to fall into patterns of behavior that leave us worse off today than we were yesterday. Talk therapy can help provide insights into the details of our psyche, but sometimes we need a more radical shift in perspective. More and more patients are accessing that radical shift when they undergo Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy. But how will you know if KAP is right for you? Can ketamine really help with your anxiety?

“You are an explorer, and you represent our species, and the greatest good you can do is to bring back a new idea, because our world is endangered of the absence of consciousness.” 

Terrence McKenna

Can Ketamine Help My Anxiety? 

Ketamine works by increasing the presence of the neurotransmitter glutamate in your brain. Glutamate basically sends signals throughout your brain that are important for things like learning and memory. So some medical doctors prescribe Ketamine as a form of off-label treatment, often with a counselor present to manage the psychological aspect of ketamine therapy. Many patients have found relief from their symptoms of anxiety after undertaking a session of ketamine assisted psychotherapy. Dayna Wood, Integrative Counsel’s founder and one of our KAP therapists, explains that Ketamine helps us because it takes us out of the mind, out of “thinking” and into “experiencing.”

How Does Ketamine Therapy Work? 

In Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy, Here are the answers to some common questions about Ketamine Therapy: 

• What Can You Treat With Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy?  KAP has helped many patients work through deep-seated, treatment-resistant issues like anxiety, OCD, depression, trauma, chronic illnesses, and even addiction. 
• Why Try Psychedelics? There are times where talk therapy isn’t enough. Our brain cells actually become damaged by depression and severe stress. What ketamine does is it triggers the release of a neurotransmitter called “Glutamate” which helps our brain grow new synaptic connections between brain cells. Basically, prolonged stress and depression kill our brain cells, and ketamine can help quickly grow those brain cells back.  Dayna Wood, Integrative Counsel’s founder and one of our KAP therapists, explains that Ketamine helps us because it takes us out of the mind, out of “thinking” and into “experiencing.” This experience helps your emotions not be  repressed in the same way, and therefore it is not hijacking or burdening other parts of you.
• How Do Expansive Therapies Work? Many people have tried Ketamine by itself and have noticed its healing potentials, however, typically that healing does not stick without the help of psychotherapy. That’s because it’s a journey that requires preparation and integration in addition to the dosing. A therapist will guide you through the process, helping you decide where you want to go, how you want to get there, and what to do once you’ve arrived. They are not the expert, the client is. The therapist is there to hold the lantern and to help you shine light on the feelings you may have put on the back burner and create a safe environment for you to explore those feelings. This process is expansive because it is not fighting the mind with the mind, rather, it is a holistic approach that incorporates the mind, body, and spirit. 

“The only way to deal with this life is to immerse oneself in it. Use it to the hilt. And don’t be afraid of it or what other people think of it.” 

Ram Dass

Where To Get Ketamine Assisted Therapy In St. Petersburg

Integrative Counsel offers Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy in partnership with Journey Clinical. Journey Clinical takes care of the medical portion of treatment, like prescribing the medication and determining medical eligibility, while we take care of the therapeutic portion of the experience, giving you the space to set intentions before you take the ketamine, and to help you work through and integrate what comes up during your dosing session. The process begins with a medical intake from the Journey Clinical team, and a psychological intake from the Integrative Counsel team. If you are eligible, you will get prescribed the medication through Journey Clinical, and start your preparation session with Integrative Counsel to set your intentions and determine what you want to work on during the dosing session. Then, you will have a 3-hour long dosing session which will mostly be an internal process, however, your therapist will be there in case anything needs to be processed in the moment. After the dosing session, you will have an integration session where you will integrate everything that came up during the dosing session.

Want to see if you are eligible for Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy? Click here to schedule a consultation.

Starting with a creative written voice and a BA in English from ASU, Alli Cravener has become so much more than Integrative Counsel’s voice! Not only is she a writer who is passionate about connecting concepts and content, Alli is also currently a grad student working towards her Master’s in Counseling. She is also the editor-in-chief, office manager, AND intake specialist at Integrative Counsel. When you call us, you’ll talk to Alli! Alli’s interests include painting, history, learning about other people, and wearing the color pink. She likens herself to a “mouse in a palm tree”, and she loves it that way.