FAQ’s
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything You Need to Know
Find answers to the most common questions about our services, process, pricing, and support.
If you can’t find the information you’re looking for, feel free to get in touch with us.
Who Is Suitable For Ketamine Treatment?
Studies show that Ketamine can be effective in treating mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, addiction, OCD, chronic pain, and PTSD. Some people also seek KAP for deeper psychological and existential exploration. Others turn to KAP when feeling “stuck” and seeking direction, when navigating life transitions, when processing grief and loss, or simply to gain a broader perspective on life.
What Does Ketamine Feel Like?
Ketamine produces a relaxing, floating, dissociative effect that many describe as being “out of” their body. Many experience shifts in perception of both inner and outer worlds that often feel expansive in nature. People’s experiences range from a restful, sleepy feeling to a full-blown mystical experience. A minority may not have any conscious response to Ketamine at all – and while this can feel disappointing, it is often just as therapeutically rich and important as the “bigger” experience one was perhaps hoping to have.
Under the influence of Ketamine, people commonly experience reduced control over motor functions such as speaking or walking. These phenomena are often experienced with relief or amusement. You’ll be lying down in a comfortable position during the experience.
While you may be accessing deep and painful psychological material while on your journey, Ketamine is an “anxiolytic,” meaning it reduces anxiety and keeps you feeling calm and relaxed. In this regard, Ketamine can allow safe and supportive access to parts of oneself that may feel too painful or too scary in the context of regular talk therapy.
What Are The Risks And Side Effects Of Ketamine?
Ketamine is regarded as extremely safe with minimal risks of cardiac issues or respiratory depression and is widely used as an anesthetic agent in medical practice, both in the US and around the world. However, as with any medication, there are also potential risks and side effects to consider. These include nausea and elevated heart rate or blood pressure. These are typically mild and transient, wearing off within a few hours following treatment. You will be carefully screened for underlying medical concerns prior to taking Ketamine to ensure you are a good fit for this treatment. Patients must have a pre-arranged transportation from our office as driving is not allowed on the day of the dosing session.
What If I Have A “Bad Trip”
We encourage our patients to take a nonjudgmental stance towards everything that might arise in a KAP session. Ketamine therapy can open a wide variety of doors during a session, including ones that are pleasurable and sometimes ones that are a bit disturbing. We have found that “challenging” experiences can be extremely therapeutically valuable and ultimately catalyze important breakthroughs that may lead to significant improvements in perspective, mindset, and relationships. Regardless of whether you saw your medicine session as “good” or “bad,” we work with you to utilize your experiences to facilitate insight, awareness, and growth.
Is Ketamine Addictive?
In the dosages and frequency of administration we utilize for treatments, Ketamine does not pose any concerns for addiction. To further insure there are no abuse issues all patients ketamine lozenges (troches) are stored on site in a locked refrigerated safe. The only access our patients have to their ketamine lozenges is during their ketamine session. The dosage and administration of the ketamine is only by a staff member, a California Licensed Psychotherapist (LMFT) or a Registered Nurse, RN. Drug abuse data suggests that Ketamine’s abuse potential is equivalent to other hallucinogenic compounds that do not meet criteria for chemical dependence. This is because they do not cause tolerance and withdrawal symptoms. However, cravings and abuse have been reported by individuals with the history of heavy use of recreational psychedelic drugs. Repeated high-dose, chronic use of Ketamine has been known to cause urinary tract symptoms in some individuals, and even permanent bladder dysfunction. This is not a risk within the structure of KAP work at the Marin Ketamine Therapy Center. We carefully monitor all patients for tolerance and continually assess responses to treatment to optimize the benefits of Ketamine in your care.
- We discourage the use of online ketamine pharmacies and at home ketamine treatment due to the risk of abuse in a non therapeutic home setting.
How Quickly Does Ketamine Work?
Ketamine’s rapid response rate is one of its most significant advantages over SSRIs and other mental health treatment approaches. Our bodies metabolize Ketamine very quickly, meaning that the effects begin to appear after about 5 minutes, and last only up to 1-1.5 hour. By 2 hours after dosing, you are fully back in your body and your cognitive faculties are back to normal operation.
People will often notice benefits in a matter of hours, as opposed to weeks or months for other pharmacological treatments. Studies show that Ketamine can facilitate acute reduction of depression, suicidality, and anxiety symptoms in patients within a day or two of treatment.
What Is The Difference Between Our Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) Center And Ketamine Infusion Clinics?
As Ketamine grows in popularity as a mental health treatment, Ketamine infusion centers have become very common. These settings are often medicalized, providing Ketamine in sterile environments without incorporating sufficient therapeutic or psychological support. Oftentimes people are left to “trip” alone, disoriented and confused, and are not given proper preparation and integration to make sense of their experiences. Instead, Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) emphasizes the importance of safety and intentionality above all else, prioritizing “set and setting” which have been shown to promote greater healing and lasting change.
Where Can I Lean More?
What you need to know about Ketamine-assisted Therapy from Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers (Podcast episode)
“How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence,” by Michael Pollan (Book)
“Ketamine Therapy is Going Mainstream. Are We Ready?” The New Yorker (article)
“My Ketamine Journeys, or Ketamine and the Enchantment of Other Worlds,” by Stanislov Grof