Ketamine | Essential Medicine
Getting Started
Congratulations on taking the first step toward a better life.
Once you have contacted us through the website or by phone, you will be called by one of our staff. This is an opportunity to ask questions about ketamine and to help you decide if it is the right treatment for you. There is no charge for this consultation.
Referral: If you decide to move forward, we’ll ask that you provide a referral from your primary care doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist or therapist for the ketamine treatment. The referral should have the indication for treatment: depression, PTSD, chronic pain, or substance abuse. If needed we can refer you to a psychologist for evaluation.
Medical Evaluation
When you are ready, we can schedule an appointment with Dr. Stewart or Dr. Anderson, for a complete history and physical examination. This gives us a chance to see if there are any medical issues or medications that might be of concern. It also gives you a chance to meet your physician-guide and go over any questions or concerns that remain. A treatment plan (dosing regimen) based on your experience and needs will be developed at this time, and we‘ ll also discuss how to prepare for and what to expect during your ketamine experience.
If it is more convenient for you, the history taking part of this session can be scheduled as a telemedicine (video) visit.
Intention Setting
Once your first session is scheduled, you will receive information on how to put yourself into the right mindset before the session. We will also go over setting intentions for your treatment.
Setting intentions is about providing some language and foundation for why you sought out this therapy and what you are hoping to gain from it. Don’t worry about “getting it right”. The intentions are just a starting place for the experience.
The Treatment Overview
After arriving, we will get you settled into a recliner in one of the private treatment rooms.
Your physician will go over the plan and answer any questions you may have while one of our excellent technicians places your IV and checks your vital signs.
When you are ready, your eye mask and noise cancelling headphones will be placed. Unless you have particular requests, we will choose one of the playlists we have curated. The music is meant to be soothing but not distracting.
The Ketamine Experience
The experience is dependent on the dose and the patient. It is most commonly described as a pleasurable, dreamlike state. There may be new perspectives and often deep and meaningful insights. Often patients will feel a sense of distance from the body and sense of self, replaced by an experience of connection with something larger – an expansion of the boundary of conscious awareness that can be a powerful and positive transformative experience. The sessions can at times be temporarily challenging as different emotions are processed, but we will be there for support throughout this process.
Re-entry
After the infusion is complete, we will sit with you until you are fully recovered. During that time we can discuss your experience and begin the integrative process.
We do recommend working with your therapist for further integration in the days and weeks that follow the treatment. We work closely with guides and therapists and can help you set that up if needed.
Note that you will need a ride from the ketamine session. Do not plan to drive a car for at least 4 hours afterwards.
