Six Questions to Ask Before Starting Psychedelic Therapy

Therapy is often thought of as a scary and daunting process. Being vulnerable, facing challenges, and other factors contribute to the intimidating nature of therapy. These thoughts are even more extreme when considering a new and innovative therapy regimen. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, or KAP, is an innovative therapy that combines the psychedelic properties of ketamine with the benefits of talk therapy. Here are six questions to consider when seeking a KAP provider.

1. Will someone be with me the entire time?

Any kind of therapy should feel like a safe space. It's very important and reassuring to have a trained psychedelic therapist by your side during a treatment. Almost all psychedelic clinics offer basic levels of monitoring and safety through call buttons or video monitoring during a ketamine infusion session, however the level of attention and support may vary.

At Elument, one of your psychedelic therapists will be in the room with you the entire time. Along with having a supportive presence, there is also benefit to having someone to help process anything that comes up, take notes, provide monitoring of the somatic reactions to ketamine, and curate your experience.

2. How much experience does your psychedelic therapist have working with Ketamine?

Psychedelic therapy is at the forefront of mental health and wellness. As such, it is important to find an experienced provider of psychedelic therapy. At Elument, our therapists have significant experience working with ketamine and psychedelic therapy. We are the first dedicated psychedelic therapy clinic in Tennessee and have been trained to provide ketamine assisted psychotherapy for years. In addition, our Clinical Director Robert DeSalvo has been a therapist for a MAPS-affiliated MDMA therapy trial. Our therapists also have significant prior trainings including a yearlong psychedelic medicine apprenticeship.

3. What training has your therapist received?

Finding out what specific training and certifications the therapists and providers at a clinic or practice have attained is important to help gauge the quality of care you’ll receive. At Elument, all of our therapists have received specific training in Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy, as well as related trainings such as MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy, Psychedelic Somatic Interactional Psychotherapy (PSIP), Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and others.

 4. How do you determine the dosage of ketamine?

Clinics either use a set dosing schedule or some sort of adjustable process. With Elument, dosing is a collaborative decision between you, the therapists, and a trained medical prescriber with experience with ketamine. We have a typical starting dosage; however, it is tailored to the specific client based on their comfort level, previous experience, and desired starting place.

5. What is a ketamine assisted psychotherapy session like?

Different therapists, clinics, or practices have different set ups. Some provide more support, some less. Some have more talk therapy and others less. It can be helpful to ask what the expectation around the actual session is like.

Our ketamine assisted therapy sessions are typically 2.5-3 hours and involve three parts that work together. We begin with a day-of ketamine preparation that can involve settling into the room, going over intentions, and working with any thoughts or feelings that are activated around the upcoming experience. The ketamine portion is next and usually lasts about 60 minutes. Clients typically have comfortable eye shades and customized music that compliments the experience. After the medicine starts fading from your system, we move in to the third portion: integration. This can involve reflecting on the experience, discussing key aspects, journaling, or other activities.

6.  Why did your therapist choose to practice psychedelic medicine?

Finding out the reason someone got into this type of work can be an important indicator about their conscientiousness, training, viewpoint, and passion for this work. Our psychedelic therapists started for numerous reasons, unique to each of us. What we have in common is a strong belief in the benefits of psychedelic therapy, as well as our having experienced the profound transformation ourselves. Asking this question is important to a therapist or clinic you’re thinking about working with, as it will help you find a provider aligned with you and your needs. 

Final Thoughts

Hopefully you found these questions, and our answers, helpful. Having more knowledge and information when going into psychedelic therapy tends to help ease stress or anxiety. If prospective therapists or clinics are not willing or open to answering these, we encourage you to consider what that might mean.

At Elument, although we hope you feel we’re the right fit to support you during a psychedelic experience, we encourage you to do your homework and ask these important questions. Psychedelics are wonderful, powerful tools, and it is critical you find someone who is well-equipped, experienced, and properly trained to lead you through your life-changing experience.