Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
Transformational Healing with Ketamine-Assisted Therapy
Ketamine-assisted therapy (KAP) at Brooklyn Somatic Therapy (BST) integrates the transformational power of psychedelic medicine with the personal relationship and scientific grounding of somatic psychotherapy. Working therapeutically with expanded states of consciousness allows us to access the very sources of psychological suffering, offering release from our deepest and oldest traumas and restoring a sense of meaning and belonging that modern life has made increasingly difficult to find.
Rather than just “taking your medicine”, KAP weaves ketamine into the psychotherapy process to deepen and enhance it. At BST, we utilize ketamine only as part of a longer course of therapy - either with one of our therapists, or as an adjunct to a course of therapy you are pursuing with another practitioner. When you fill out our intake form, please indicate whether you are interested in entering therapy with one of our clinicians or if you are seeing someone else and want to involve ketamine to support that process.
Introducing Ketamine
Like every psychedelic medicine, ketamine has its own unique character and set of gifts. Its chemical makeup is that of an anesthetic and anti-depressant, offering deep relaxation to the body and an abrupt release from negative and self-critical thought patterns, even at lower doses. As we increase the dose, ketamine enables a kind of “dissociation” – not the kind of shutting down that happens with trauma, but rather a way of observing our thoughts, feelings, and memories from a bit of distance, rather than becoming fully entangled in them. Experiences vary, but consistently include the following possibilities (Wolfson & Hartelius, 2016):
Deep feelings of peace and joy
Feelings of ego-dissolution
Sense of transcending normal time and space
Reliving important life experiences, trauma reprocessing
Feelings of unity with all, interconnectedness with all people and nature
Sense of sacredness or transcendence
Out-of-body experience
Emotionally intense and meaningful visions
Encounters with archetypal, spiritual, or mythological places and beings
Death and rebirth experiences
How Ketamine's Brief Experience Supports Lasting Transformation
Another unique feature of ketamine is its short duration. Our bodies metabolize ketamine very quickly, meaning that the dissociative effects generally last only up to 1 hour. By 2 hours after dosing, you are fully back in your body, and your cognitive faculties return to normal operation. This makes journeying with ketamine much easier to integrate into daily life and less costly than other medicine experiences.
However, the beneficial effects of ketamine last well beyond the end of the session. For several days after each dose, your brain remains in an enhanced state of neuroplasticity. This means that the brain is less beholden to the default patterns of neuron firing that keep us stuck in old stories and negative beliefs. This is a valuable window of time during which you may experiment with new ways of thinking and behaving about old challenges, and cultivate new, positive beliefs about yourself and the world. This process is supported by continuing to see your therapist for a number of sessions after the ketamine dosing is complete, to help integrate and consolidate the fruits of your work with the medicine.
What is the Cost of Treatment?
The cost of treatment will vary based on the individual needs and treatment plan of each client. The total number and frequency of ketamine sessions are decided collaboratively with your therapist and 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:
$400
Prescription:
Approximately $50–$70 for ketamine lozenges
Let’s Discuss Ketamine-Assisted Therapy
We’re happy to hear from you, whether you’re ready to begin your ketamine journey or simply seeking more information. Fill out the form, and we’ll be in touch soon.
Read Educational Resources About Ketamine-Assisted Therapy:
Please note: Our services are available only to residents of New York State.