The Wild West of Mental Health – 10 Considerations When Choosing a Qualified Ketamine-Assisted Therapist

First of all, as I allude to in the title, ketamine and psychedelic-assisted therapies are currently the wild west of the mental health field. I have no doubt there will eventually be a governing psychedelic-assisted therapy board that provides oversight, standards, and best practices, but currently such a board doesn’t exist. This means that anyone can hang their shingle saying they are a KAP therapist and offer this work without adequate training or oversight. 

This is happening in the Baltimore/Washington area and nationally, and it is of great concern. As a KAP practitioner, trainer, and owner of a large practice that specializes in ketamine and psychedelic therapies, I am committed to making sure these treatments are offered safely by therapists that receive extensive training and ongoing consultation. 

This field is new and we are all learning, but I believe there are minimal training standards and experience that any therapist who is offering KAP should have. I have been working in the field of psychedelic-assisted therapy for over a decade and have seen firsthand what can go wrong when basic standards of training and safety are not considered. These therapies have great potential to heal, which is why I have made it my life’s work to support the spread of the safe and ethical use of psychedelic substances for healing. But anything that has the power to catalyze such great healing and transformation also has the power to cause great harm. It is my hope that the following considerations will support mental health professionals and their clients when choosing a qualified Ketamine/ Psychedelic-Assisted Therapist.

What to Consider:

1. (The most important!) Has the therapist received a foundational training in the medicine they will be providing for you, i.e. a foundational KAP training?
   These trainings typically range from a 5-day intensive to 1 year programs. I personally recommend PRATI, Fluence, Polaris, and the Ketamine Training Center among others. I am currently co-creating a 40-hour 6-month training that will provide a full foundational training, as well as including all the basics of KAP, working with marginalized populations, ethics and harm reduction in the psychedelic space, 12 hours of KAP experientials, and ongoing small group consultation. 
   

2. Is the therapist receiving ongoing supervision or peer consultation? As I said earlier, the field of KAP/ PAT is new. I believe it is unethical to provide these therapies without a pathway to continually learn and check one’s own biases and blindspots. 
   

3. Will the therapist be with you throughout the session? This is very important and not the case at Ketamine Infusion Centers. The difference between Ketamine-Assisted Therapy and Infusions could be the topic of an entire other blog.
   

4. Does the therapist have extensive training in Trauma-Informed Care? This is crucial because whether or not it is the intention of the session, these therapies can unearth unresolved trauma. If the practitioner does not know how to navigate this territory, this could lead to re-traumatization. 
   

5. Has the therapist personally had their own experiences with KAP/PAT? This is a topic that is up for debate. However, I personally believe you cannot lead a person into territory where you have not been yourself. 
   

6. Do you feel safe with this person? Healing happens in the context of safety, and KAP/PAT is a deep dive into a vulnerable expanded state. 
   

7. Does the therapist come from an integrative perspective where the body, mind, and spirit are considered? This is essential because these therapies downregulate the default mode network, allowing verbal processing to take a back seat and giving way to increased emotional, somatic, and transpersonal awareness.
   

8. Does the therapist allow you to co-create the KAP session and protocol? You are the expert of yourself and intuitively know what you need to heal. If your voice and perspective are not considered in the process, then reconsider the therapist and practice.
   

9. Does the therapist prioritize integration? Anyone who does this work knows that the true transformations happen following the dosing session. When the dosing session ends, the real journey begins!
   

10.  Is the therapist trained in complementary modalities? This one is the least important here but still a consideration. There are several modalities that fit beautifully with KAP/PAT. Some of these modalities are Internal Family Systems (IFS), Somatic Modalities such as Somatic Experiencing, Creative and Expressive Modalities, EMDR, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Jungian and Transpersonal Modalities, among others. Because KAP/ PAT allows us to access more of ourselves beyond our thinking minds, bottom-up integrative approaches that work with the whole person can be an important ingredient.
    

I hope this list is helpful to those looking for a KAP/PAT therapist. I believe when offered safely and by a thoroughly trained therapist, psychedelic medicines have the ability to catalyze deep transformation for ourselves, our communities, and our planet. Let’s work together to keep this work safe and effective for generations to come.