Options and Benefits of Ketamine Therapy in Los Angeles

Patient and therapist during ketamine therapy in Los Angeles

Ketamine Assisted Therapy (KAT) is an evidence-based treatment for various mental health conditions, including sexual dysfunctions linked to physical and psychological health. The use of ketamine in therapeutic settings, with the guidance of trained professionals, has shown promising results in treating major depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD, chronic pain, OCD, and more.

These mood disorders are experts at creeping into our lives and relationships with loved ones. It's not uncommon or shameful to have struggles that interfere with a fulfilling sex life. There are many options for seeking support and guidance to overcome a past traumatic event or mental health issue, and using ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) is one option.

Ketamine Infusion Therapy vs. Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy

There are a few different ways to use ketamine for healing. All rely on this safe drug to help your brain heal by boosting the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF). This BDNF increases your brain's neuroplasticity, allowing you to change previously static thoughts and behaviors. Ketamine essentially helps your brain cells evolve in new ways.

For a few hours or days after dosing, your brain experiences the opportunity to transform and experience the many antidepressant benefits of ketamine.

What is Ketamine

Ketamine is a legal, safe, and effective medicine used to treat a variety of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Ketamine has rapidly-acting antidepressant and mood-enhancing effects, which can begin to take effect within 1-2 hrs. after treatment and last for up to 2 weeks. It works by blocking the brain's NMDA receptors and stimulating AMPA receptors, which are thought to help form new synaptic connections and boost neural circuits that regulate stress and mood.

Infusion therapy (IV therapy) and other dosing methods

Ketamine can be administered in various ways, including IV infusion, intramuscular injection, nasal spray, and sublingual lozenges. In my work with Journey Clinical, we only use the sublingual lozenge form.

Ketamine Infusion Therapy

This model of therapy relies on the positive neuropharmacological effect of ketamine. It's given intravenously (IV) into the bloodstream, and a medical team is there to monitor your progress. These sessions are considered a standalone modality for treating mental health and happen in a ketamine clinic.

This infusion therapy is helpful for sudden and severe conditions like suicidal thoughts but may offer more benefits when paired with psychotherapy.

Sexual health therapist and client during ketamine therapy in Los Angeles

Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy 

I offer a therapeutic modality called Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) in partnership with an organization called Journey Clinical.

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) is a holistic modality in which ketamine is used as a complement to psychotherapy to help eligible patients experience more frequent breakthroughs and sustained improvement in symptoms. I take on the psychotherapy portion of the experience, while Journey Clinical's medical team supports you on all medical aspects. This includes determining eligibility, developing a custom treatment plan, prescribing the medicine, and monitoring outcomes.

I will guide you through this experience, helping you to organize and understand your insights during this ketamine treatment. Your inner healer is the true expert; I am present to support its unfolding and integration.  Throughout the treatments, your brain will find new, positive ways of being.

How does ketamine feel?

The effects of ketamine, which most patients find pleasant, last for approximately 45 minutes. These effects can make you feel "far from" your body and facilitate shifts in perception that can often feel expansive. Your mobility and verbal capabilities will be reduced, so you'll be lying down in a comfortable position during the experience.

Once these effects subside, we'll spend the remainder of our appointment giving you space to process and discuss your experience. While it may feel hard to articulate what happened during the experience, patients feel like the insights gained are nonetheless clear. Studies have shown that mood and neurological growth benefits can last up to two weeks after the Ketamine experience.

There may be short-term side effects with ketamine. You could have a feeling of strangeness or nausea, or you may feel sleepy or hallucinate. These usually fade in a few hours, and attending professionals are there to help.

The Benefits of Ketamine Therapy for Sexual Health and Healing

The root of many sexual dysfunctions and struggles is often trauma, a change in physical health, addiction, or a mental health challenge. It's not always beneficial to seek help without unpacking and understanding past experiences and how they impact your sexual health and relationships. Many roads lead to overcoming your past to brighten the future, including talk therapy, EMDR, trauma-based therapy, and somatic therapy. Using ketamine combined with therapy is another option to consider. Your mind and being can find freedom and a new outlook on your sex life. 

Get Started with Ketamine Therapy in Los Angeles

These steps will get you started:

1. Initial consultation with Journey Clinical

You will schedule an initial evaluation with a clinician from the Journey Clinical medical team. They will review your medical and psychiatric history with you, provide education on the treatment, and determine if you are eligible for KAP.

If Journey Clinical's medical team determines you are eligible for KAP, they will develop a personalized ketamine prescription and outcome monitoring plan for you.

Journey Clinical's medical staff will write a ketamine prescription for you, and a small amount of oral ketamine will be sent to your home, enough for the first 2 KAP sessions. You will be taught to take your vitals and self-administer the ketamine lozenges by Journey Clinical's medical team in advance of our KAP sessions.

2. Preparation sessions:

Once you receive your ketamine lozenges, we will schedule time for our KAP preparation, dosing, and integration sessions. Preparation sessions (s) will be scheduled just like regular therapy sessions before the KAP dosing session. A preparation session(s) aims to align the process and set intentions for our KAP sessions together.

sound healing during ketamine assisted therapy

3. KAP Dosing Session:

A typical ketamine dosing session can take place either in person at my office in Los Angeles or remotely via telehealth. The entire process is usually 1-2 hours.

During a dosing session, you will self-administer your ketamine lozenge either in my office or in your home. You will be in a comfortable, reclining position, wearing an eye mask and listening to calming music via headphones if you like, much like a mindfulness exercise. Although a KAP dosing session may be primarily an internal experience, I will be present with you the entire time to hold space and provide support as needed.

4. Integration Sessions:

After our KAP dosing session, we will meet for multiple integration therapy sessions to review the memories, thoughts, and insights that arose during your dosing session. We will also prepare for the next dosing session.

5. Follow-up consultations with Journey Clinical:

After our first KAP session, Journey Clinical's medical team schedules regular follow-ups with you to monitor outcomes and prescribe ketamine lozenge refills as appropriate for medication management. The frequency of follow-ups depends on your unique treatment plan, which is at least once per quarter.

Request a free 15-minute phone consultation to see if ketamine assisted psychotherapy is right for you?

Other Sex Therapy Services By Cindy Michel, M.A., LMFT, CST in Los Angeles, California, FL and NM

Ketamine Assisted Therapy may not be the only service that you're looking for. I also offer other types of therapy services online such as Individual and Couples Sex Therapy, Online Sex Therapy in California, New Mexico, and Florida,  EMDR Therapy, Sexual Trauma Therapy, and Brainspotting. I also provide Sex Coaching Services. Please reach out if you want to learn more about my other services and explore if therapy or coaching is right for you.

Is ketamine therapy safe and legal in Los Angeles?

Ketamine therapy is safe and legal in Los Angeles. It is administered in licensed clinics by healthcare professionals and can be used with guidance from a psychotherapist. Depression, anxiety, PTSD, chronic pain, and other mental health conditions benefit when done under medical supervision. 

How does ketamine therapy differ from traditional psychiatric treatments available in Los Angeles?

Ketamine therapy in Los Angeles stands out from traditional psychiatric treatments due to its rapid effects. Unlike conventional methods, which might take weeks to show results, ketamine can provide relief from severe depression and other mental health conditions in just a few hours.