Ketamine-assisted Psychotherapy (KAP)

I offer remote ketamine-assisted psychotherapy anywhere in California or Hawaiʻi, and in-person on Hawai'i Island.

What Is Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy?

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) is an evidence-informed treatment that brings together the neurological effects of ketamine — a legal, FDA-approved medicine — with trauma-informed psychotherapy to support healing from treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, PTSD, and trauma.

Ketamine works by creating a neuroplastic window — a period when the brain becomes unusually receptive to change. New synaptic connections form more readily, old patterns loosen their grip, and the insights, felt shifts, and new ways of being that emerge in therapy have a real chance of taking root. Our brain and nervous system are always capable of creating change and neurogenesis- and KAP can accelerate the process of softening rigid protector parts so that we can get to what lies beneath and resolve symptoms.

The research is clear: ketamine alone produces temporary symptom relief. Ketamine with psychotherapy produces lasting transformation.

My work is primarily shorter to mid-term and focused on resolving specific issues — we move with intention and depth for a period of 6 to 9 months or so, checking in as we go, and continuing as needed. KAP fits naturally into this approach, offering a structured arc with a clear beginning, middle, and integration phase, while remaining responsive to what you actually need as we go.

An important note on roles: as your therapist, I provide the psychotherapy component of KAP — preparation, dosing presence, and integration. The medical side of care — eligibility assessment, prescribing, and safety monitoring — is handled entirely by a licensed medical provider. I work with a network of vetted prescribers in California and Hawaiʻi, and I’ll help connect you with the right provider for your situation.

KAP can be remote via telehealth, where you are in your own home with a trusted person in the building as your chaperone and helper in the event you need something, while I am in the room with you on the screen. Or you can work with me face to face in a personal healing retreat in Hawai'i.

Is KAP Right for You?

KAP may be a good fit if you:

Have tried therapy, medication, or both — and are still struggling
Are living with treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, or PTSD
Feel stuck in patterns that talk therapy alone hasn’t been able to shift
Are curious about psychedelic-assisted approaches and want a medically supervised, legally sanctioned option

I can work with you if you already have a ketamine prescription and are looking for a therapist to support the psychotherapy side.

KAP is not appropriate for everyone. A medical evaluation is required before any treatment begins, and there are contraindications that will be carefully assessed. We’ll have a thorough conversation about your history and goals before any next steps.

How I Work: IFS, EMDR, and Somatic Approaches

My primary modality in KAP work is Internal Family Systems (IFS) — an evidence-based, SAMHSA-recognized approach that works with the different “parts” of us: the parts that carry depression or anxiety, the parts that developed to protect us, and the deeper Self beneath them all.

IFS and ketamine are a natural pairing. Ketamine’s ability to soften psychological defenses and expand the window of tolerance creates ideal conditions for parts work — allowing access to material that is often walled off in ordinary states of consciousness. Research supports IFS as highly effective for resolving trauma and transforming our relationship with the parts of us that carry pain.

Depending on what serves you best, we may draw on EMDR resourcing, mindfulness, somatic approaches, or other tools from an integrative toolbox. In our work together, we may try on different tools and keep the ones you find most effective.

All KAP work is held within a somatic, trauma-informed frame — honoring your entire being and tailored to your needs, history, and preferences.

What to Expect: The KAP Arc

Every KAP experience follows a three-phase arc. The dosing session is one part of a larger, carefully held container.

1. Preparation

Before any medicine is involved, we meet for 1–3 preparation sessions. This is where we:

Explore your intentions and what you’re hoping to heal or understand
Review your history and assess readiness together
Establish safety, trust, and a shared therapeutic framework
Address fears or questions about the experience

Preparation is not administrative — it is clinical. The quality of preparation shapes the quality of everything that follows.

2. The Dosing Session

The dosing session is an invitation inward. The medicine creates the conditions — softening defenses, quieting the inner critic, opening access to parts of yourself that are usually harder to reach. My role throughout is to hold the space, track what emerges, and be fully present with whatever arises, without directing or interpreting before you’re ready.

The medicine used in remote and in-home sessions is sublingual ketamine — troches or rapid-dissolving tablets, held in the mouth using a swish-and-hold protocol before spitting. Ketamine is self-administered by you, never handled or administered by me. It is prescribed and managed by your medical provider.

For remote sessions, a trusted person must be present in the same home or building throughout — not necessarily in the room, but available to support you physically if needed. They are your support on the ground; I am with you on screen.

Dosing sessions are typically 2–3 hours and can take place in several ways:

Remotely via telehealth:

You are at home in your own space, with a trusted chaperone present in the home. I am with you on video throughout the entire session — before, during, and through the landing period afterward.

In person during a Hawaiʻi personal healing retreat or at your Hawai'i home on the Big Island.

I come to your rental or Airbnb in the Pāhoa / Puna area or your home on the Big Island. We begin with a grounding ritual and intention-setting, and I hold the space through the journey and the landing that follows.

At a ketamine clinic on the Big Island:

For clients who want intramuscular (IM) or intravenous (IV) ketamine, I can connect you with Kilauea Ketamine Clinic, located in Pāhoa on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. The clinic’s medical team handles all administration. I provide preparation and integration, and may be present as a sitter depending on the clinic’s protocols and your preference.

3. The Neuroplasticity Window

Understanding the timing of ketamine’s effects helps you make the most of the experience:

During and immediately after the session — the opening hour:

As the journey begins to settle, there is a period of heightened openness and receptivity — a golden window when reflection, somatic awareness, music, and gentle presence land especially deeply. We honor this time rather than rushing past it.

Within 72 hours — peak neuroplasticity:

This is when the brain is most receptive to new learning and lasting pattern change. Integration sessions are scheduled within this window to make the most of it.

1–2 weeks — the broader effects:

Mood lift, reduced depression and anxiety, increased psychological flexibility — these effects typically persist for one to two weeks after a session, sometimes longer. This is the window in which therapy, new practices, and life changes do their most effective work.

4. Integration

Integration sessions take place within 72 hours of each dosing session, while neuroplasticity is at its peak. This is where lasting transformation takes root.

In integration we:

Process and make meaning of what emerged during the journey
Work somatically and through IFS parts work to anchor new insights
Translate peak experiences into embodied, practical change
Look at what wants to shift in your daily life — and make an actionable plan for it

The neuroplastic window is also an ideal time to explore new habits, practices, and ways of being that may have felt out of reach before. In integration we might look at:

Movement, rest, or body-based practices that support what emerged
Spiritual or contemplative practices — meditation, time in nature, ritual, ceremony
Relational patterns or ways of communicating you want to try on
Creative expression as a form of continued processing
Practical life changes that align with new insight and intention

The neuroplastic window helps you access emotional healing through unburdening the parts of you that have been carrying pain, updating them to the present, and coming home to a more alive, authentically expressed version of yourself — one where the whole, grounded part of you is leading. Integration is where that becomes real.

If applicable, we also use integration sessions to prepare for the next round of KAP.

KAP Offerings

KAP is available in flexible structures. Whether you want a full protocol or a single round, there is a way in that fits your life and your healing.

Full KAP Protocol (4–8 rounds)

Research consistently supports ketamine as most effective for treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, and trauma when delivered across a series of rounds — typically 4–6, sometimes up to 8. For those who need momentum early on, rounds can be clustered closer together to accelerate the neuroplastic shift. Pacing is always collaborative and adjusted based on your response.

Individual Rounds of KAP

Not everyone needs a full protocol. A single round — or two or three — may be right if you have prior ketamine experience and want a focused reset, you're integrating a psychedelic experience from another context, or you want to explore KAP before committing to a longer arc. Each round includes preparation, dosing, and integration.

Low-Dose (Psycholytic) KAP

For some clients, a low-dose approach fits best — staying present and engaged while we do EMDR resourcing or parts work directly in the medicine space. The ketamine softens defenses and expands your window of tolerance without taking you fully inward. These sessions run 50–75 minutes and are billed as standard or extended therapy sessions. We figure out together which container serves you.

Psychedelic Preparation & Integration (Standalone)

If you're preparing for — or returning from — a psychedelic experience in another context, I offer preparation and integration without the KAP arc: non-judgmental, harm-reduction oriented, and held with the same depth and care. These are billed as standard therapy sessions.

Current rates for all KAP offerings are on my Services & Fees page.

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