What Is KAP Therapy?
Explore what this particular branch of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is, the benefits it can offer to participants, and learn more about our amazing PAP partners at Journey Clinical.
Let’s Start from the Beginning…
The practice of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy combines the use of psychedelics with psychotherapy to support deep healing and growth.
By working with the unique effects of these medicines, clients can enter altered states of consciousness that encourage self-reflection, emotional release, and powerful insights, enhancing the benefits of traditional therapy.
At Heart Wide Open Therapy, we specialize in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy— or KAP— with a medical prescription.
How Does KAP Work?
KAP pairs medically-prescribed psychedelics with dedicated psychotherapy sessions to create a deeper form of therapy that results in frequent breakthroughs and better clinical outcomes.
Imagine your brain like a forest.
Over time, certain paths are worn away by countless years of use: worry, self-criticism, fear, hopelessness. Eventually, these trails become wide and easy to follow.
KAP helps clear the forest so that new pathways can be formed. What use to be thick brush becomes a way through, and with therapeutic guidance new paths begin to appear.
Suddenly, instead of being stuck on the same trail, the brain can begin to explore new directions.
Our KAP Partner: Journey Clinical
Heart Wide Open Therapy is proud to collaborate with Journey Clinical— the largest Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy platform in the United States— so that all of our clients have access to this particular therapeutic modality.
Since its inception, Journey Clinical has designed its business around a patient-centered collaborative care model with rigorous patient safety policies and procedures in place to safeguard patient health and support their journeys toward improved clinical outcomes.
If you are curious and want to learn more about Journey Clinical, or about the benefits and details of KAP, please visit the official Journey Clinical website.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
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 hours after treatment and can last up to 2 weeks. It works by simultaneously blocking the brain’s NMDA receptors while stimulating AMPA receptors, which are thought to help form new synaptic connections and boost neural circuits that regulate stress and mood.
Ketamine has also been shown to enhance overall neuroplasticity for lasting symptom improvement.
We use ketamine with a medical prescription.
-
Yes, it is completely safe when administered in a supervised clinical setting.
Ketamine is a widely-used, FDA-approved medicine prescribed off-label for mental health with a long track record of clinical safety. We partner with Journey Clinical— the largest Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy platform in the United States— and adhere to their rigorous patient safety policies and procedures to safeguard our patients' health and sense of support.
-
Ketamine can be administered in a variety of ways, including IV infusion, intramuscular injection, nasal spray and sublingually via lozenges.
At Heart Wide Open Therapy, we only use the sublingual lozenge form.
-
For those who have experienced KAP, the effects are often described as pleasant and 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 in nature.
During KAP sessions, your motor and verbal abilities will be reduced, so you will likely be guided to lie down in a comfortable position for the duration of the experience. Once these effects subside, you will spend the remainder of your appointment discussing your experience and being given the space you need to process it.
While it may feel hard to articulate what happened during your experience, most patients who participate in KAP feel as though the benefits they have gained are undeniably clear. Studies have shown that the benefits to mood and neurological growth can last up to two weeks after their experience.
Every two weeks, we schedule a designated KAP call from 7:00pm-7:30pm. This call is free to attend and open for all who wish to participate.
This 30 minute call takes place over Zoom and allows our therapists and associate therapists time to share information, explain what to expect, and provide space for any questions you may have.
Visit our KAP Call page to learn more about our next meeting date and how to register your attendance.