Contact us for a free phone consultation, to ensure great fit, for Ketamine Integration Therapy! Click here to submit an Interest Form to our Client Care Specialist or call 303-578-6336.
On this resource page, we will share information on Ketamine, how to know if it is right for you and what the Integration Therapy process looks like at Ignite Counseling Colorado.
WHAT IS KETAMINE?
Ketamine was originally developed as an anesthesia drug in the 1960s and approved by the FDA in the 1970s for that purpose. It is now used to support mental health because it can balance specific neurotransmitters, generate stronger neural connections, and change how the brain regulates mood.
Researchers believe Ketamine works on the neurotransmitter glutamate rather than serotonin, in contrast to many commonly prescribed antidepressants. Furthermore, Ketamine encourages synaptic plasticity in the prefrontal cortex, which increases the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), supporting Ketamine's antidepressant properties.
Trained Practitioner
WHAT IS KETAMINE THERAPY?
We offer a type of therapy known as ketamine integration therapy (KIT), which involves a psychotherapy session with a trained Ignite therapist, in the 1-3 days following your Ketamine session with your medical provider.
The KIT session is an opportunity to explore metaphors, feelings, sensations, ideas, and symbols that arose during or after the session, as well as discuss ways to take your experience into your day-to-day life.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF COMBINING THERAPY AND KETAMINE?
Therapy administered before, during, and after ketamine sessions can optimize and sustain the benefits of working with Ketamine.
Ketamine can enhance the brain’s ability to use different pathways (neural networks). These heightened abilities can encourage ease in learning to engage with your emotions as a source of wisdom about your experiences, connect sensations in the body with emotions, or develop a relationship to your emotional experiences that feels supportive and manageable.
Researchers are exploring how increased connectivity in the brain may allow greater access to traumatic memories as it may encourage enhanced flexibility to understand these memories in new ways and with less anxiety than they may usually elicit.
The combination of Ketamine Treatment and Therapy can feel supportive as symptoms of depression or anxiety are often rapidly reduced, allowing therapy to happen with a focus on the heart of the matter rather than on working to eliminate symptoms. Experiencing relief while simultaneously engaging in therapy can allow more spaciousness for developing insights and plans that encourage more rapid change, a heightened ability to be in the process, and a greater capacity to learn, grow, and change.
Integration is a vital part of working with Ketamine. We can increase the impact of Ketamine sessions with integration therapy, leading to ongoing improvements and building on previous sessions’ work. Ketamine assisted is the part of the process during which we explore what arose during the journey and use it to guide our course of therapy. So many ideas and metaphors arise and offer rich insights after a journey. While the experience of journeying with this medicine can provide antidepressant benefits, there is much more to gain from this work.
HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM READY?
You want to prioritize your growth and feel ready to dive deep
You are seeking a supportive, collaborative therapeutic relationship
You are wondering if combining medication with therapy might give you more relief.
You want to meet weekly and have enough space in your schedule to prioritize regular sessions and the downtime associated with ketamine therapy.
You’re in a place where you can create and receive significant shifts in your life.
NEXT STEPS
Reach out to a Ketamine prescriber to be scheduled for an evaluation for Ketamine and let them know you wish to work with Ignite for Ketamine Integration Therapy.
Contact Mariah, our Client Care Specialist, for additional support and learn more about our trusted Ketamine prescriber referrals: 303-578-6336
Photo credits, from Unsplash:
Video series | Ketamine Integration Psychotherapy at Ignite
