Ketamine and Psychedelic Assisted Therapy (KAP) are not just medical treatments. They are deep emotional experiences that lead to greater hope of healing for those trapped in the tenacious grip of PTSD, Treatment Resistant Depression, addictions, ADHD and other pain and suffering.
Ketamine is an anesthetic administered in low, anxiolytic doses, ideally with the indispensable emotional support of an experienced, compassionate psychotherapist like Andre Moore, LMFT, Certified Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapist by the Integrative Psychiatry Institute.
Ketamine takes people on a deep, gentle, introspective journey. It alters their emotions and helps them discover hidden beauties deep inside themselves, some of them lost long ago, beauties that can inspire them to make profound changes in their daily lives.
Ketamin works like a gentle Buddha. It enhances the mind’s innate neuroplasticity and its capacity to heal. The number of sessions varies depending on your needs and desires. Most people ask for six weekly sessions. The healing power of Ketamine during these sessions lies in its ability to stimulate the brain’s glutamatergic pathways, causing tiny emotional excavations that result in fresh ways of seeing things, enhanced optimism and hopefulness. Imagine the greater hope you’ll feel in your life after each Ketamine session when you explore your thoughts and feelings with a compassionate psychotherapist.
Using Ketamine with Andre Moore, LMFT, Certified Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapist by the Integrative Psychiatry Institute includes three stages:
- One or more preparatory psychotherapy sessions in which a therapeutic alliance is created with Andre. During these sessions Andre will learn about your current life stresses, early childhood attachments, past and recent traumas and other painful states you may be struggling with such as Treatment Resistant Depression, Generalized Anxiety, Attention Deficits, Obsessions, Bipolaritaies, Anorexia or Dyslexia.
- Working with Andre, in each ketamine psychedelic therapy session, you take a tiny Ketamine capsule sublingually under your tongue and let it be absorbed into your bloodstream. You’ll take the Ketamine wearing eye shades, listening to music chosen from a playlist provided by Andre in previous sessions. Andre will sit with you during the entire time you are on the medicine which generally lasts from 1½ to 2 hours.
- After you’ve taken the medicine, in psyhotherap sessions with Andre, you’ll explore the thoughts and feelings that came up for you while you were on the medicine.
- Ways in which you might use them to bring more meaning, satisfaction and serenity to your everyday life.
At Marriage Couples Counseling, Andre Moore, LMFT now offers Ketamine Assisted Pscychotherapy to deepen the emotional impact of three older therapies he’s been practicing for years with individuals, families and couples: Emotionally Focused Psychotherapy, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and Eye Movement Desensitization. and Reprocessing (EMDR). It has been both gratifying and exciting for Andre to witness how Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy can deepen and enhance the emotional impact of these three traditional psychotherapies.
The Psychedelic Renaissance
The resurgence of Psychedelic Assisted Therapy marks a renaissance in psychotherapy. This revival of interest in psychedelics such as MDMA Ecstasy, Psilocybin Mushrooms and Ayahuasca Plant Medicine and their therapeutic benefits have been extensively and safely studied on thousands of patients in the mid-20th century.
Anxiolytic (small dose) Ketamine is approved by the FDA. Although Ketamine is not a psychedelic like MDMA Ecstasy, Psilocybin Mushrooms and Ayahuasca Plant Medicine, it augurs well for the greater psychedelic renaissance that offers hope to individuals and couples who seek greater happiness and contentment in their everyday lives and have built a solid therapeutic alliance working with a compassionate psychotherapist like Andre Moore.
The increased interest in psychedelics not only reflects a shift in societal attitudes towards once stigmatized drugs like Psilocybin Mushrooms, MDMA Ecstasy and Ayahuasca plant medicine, it also highlights the potential for positive changes in treating a spectrum of human suffering from:
- Treatment-resistant depression
- Post-Traumatic Stress
- Anorexia
- Bulimia
- Generalized Anxiety
- Bipolarities
- Addictions
- Obsessive-Compulsions
- Chronic pain
- Throughts of suicide, and
- End-of-Life Anxiety
Psychedelic-assisted therapy with MDMA Ecstasy, Psilocybin Mushrooms and Ayahuasca Plant Medicine has shown promising results in clinical trials with many patients reporting profound and lasting emotional improvements in their daily lives. As research continues, these three psychedelic therapies – always working with an experienced, compassionate therapist – have the potential to become increasingly important therapeutic tools in mental health. As with Ketamine, the unique, non-ordinary states of consciousness induced in psychedelic therapy can result in profound emotional healing in everyday life.
How Ketamine Works Differently from Traditional Antidepressants
The magic of ketamine lies in its unique mechanism of action that is different from traditional antidepressants like Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro, Paxil and Celexa. By blocking NMDA receptors in the brain, ketamine ignites a cascade of rapid-acting antidepressant effects, offering a lifeline to those struggling with treatment-resistant depression and the other conditions described above. Ketamine profoundly impacts mood, cognition, and pain perception
Ketamine can reduce defensiveness and lead to transformative experiences in everyday life. Its impact on the glutamate system and its potential to forge new synaptic connections underlie its lasting antidepressant effects that have eluded so many people taking Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro, Paxil or Celexa for years.
Addressing Suffering from Trauma with Ketamine Therapy
In the painful struggle with PTSD, Ketamine has been proven to soften the emotional impact of traumatic memories and provide dramatic, lasting relief. Also, rapid symptom reduction after use of Ketamine has been reported by patients struggling with Treatment Resistant Depression, Generalized Anxiety, Attention Deficits, Obsessions, Bipolaritaies, Anorexia, Bulimia and Dyslexia
Clinical trials and patient testimonials have also proven the efficacy of Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy in decreasing anxiety and depression, particularly among those struggling with severe depression. The positive response rates of these clients after taking Ketamine offer a beacon of hope for many who have struggled with more conventional treatments.
Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy at Marriage Couples Counseling NYC
Andre Moore, LMFT, Certified Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapist by the Integrative Psychiatry Institute, uses Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy for individuals and couples in several structured phases to ensure safety, efficacy, and emotional integration. Here is a detailed overview of how Andre ensures safe, comprehensive treatment:
Screening and Assessment: Before starting Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy, a thorough and sensitive evaluation is conducted to determine if this treatment is suitable for you. This includes understanding your current life circumstances and mental health status. Conditions such as Generalized Anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress, Attention Deficits, or Treatment Resistant Depression are carefully considered. Additionally, any history of very early trauma or Complex Post Traumatic Stress is taken into account to with the goal of providing more meaningful treatment.
Emotional Integration Support: The emotional impact of Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy extends beyond the ketamine sessions themselves. It includes the integration of the emotional experiences you had during each session. This means processing and making sense of your deepest, often confusing, and sometimes terrifying feelings working with an experienced, trusted psychotherapist. Andre will always be respectful, empathic, compassionately curious and do everything he can to help you explore and make sense of your feelings.
Safety and Monitoring: Ensuring a safe setting is crucial. If you choose to take Ketamine sublingually with a small tablet absorbed under your tongue in Andre’s home office, he will be present throughout the entire session that typically lasts between one to two hours. Andre will give you all the time you need to feel calm and stable after you’ve come out of the medicine before you leave him for the noise and bustle of Manhattan.
A Personalized Treatment Plan: Your treatment plan will be developed in a close consultation with Andre in which you discuss your unique needs and goals. This collaboration will help you decide your dosage and the frequency of your ketamine sessions.
Informed Consent: Andre will give you comprehensive information about the potential risks and benefits of Ketamine Assisted Therapy. You’ll receive an informed consent document before he refers you to a trusted medical provider. The medical provider can be your own Primary Care Physician, a Nurse Practitioner or a Physician Assistant consulting with Andre with your consent. The provider will conduct a complete medical examination and prescribe the optimal dosage of sublingual Ketamine for your treatment.
Medical Examination
The medical examination conducted by your medical provider will:
- Identify your current medications
- Medical conditions if any
- Measure your vital signs
- Lung sounds and respiratory function
- Reflexes, motor skills and sensory responses
- Include an Electrocardiogram, if indicated, to assess your heart rhythm and any cardiac issues.
- Blood tests, if indicated, to check your liver and kidney functions and electrolyte levels.
- A urine drug screen, if indicated.
- An important goal of your medical examination will also be to identify any cardiovascular concerns or respiratory issues you may have.
Ketamine Dosage
For a protocol of 5 weekly administrations of anxiolytic sublingual ketamine, a typical dosing schedule includes:
Week 1: 100 mg
Week 2: 150 mg
Week 3: 200 mg
Week 4: 250 mg
Week 5: 300 mg
These doses should be considered starting points as your response to ketamine can vary. Andre will be collaborating with your medical provider throughout your entire course of treatment and encourage you to check in by telephone or virtually with your provider once a week to briefly share your reactions to the medicine and possibly adjust the above dosage levels to suit your specific needs. For example, you could decide to ask for an increase to 200 mg at week 2, an increase to 250 mg at week 3 or a decrease to 250 mg at week 5. You could also decide to stay with the above dosages.
Emotional Support:
Having a network of friends or family who provide emotional support can significantly enhance the benefits of ketamine therapy. In the absence of such support, the therapeutic alliance with Andre becomes crucial. His respect, empathy, and compassionate curiosity will enhance the therapeutic effects of the medicine. Emotional support – from whatever source – is absolutely indispensable when engaging in treatments involving ketamine or psychedelics like Psilocybin Mushrooms, MDMA Ecstasy, or Ayahuasca plant medicine.
You can embark on a transformative journey of self-discovery with Andre Moore, LMFT, Ketamine and Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapist Certified by the Integrative Psychiatry Institute. Andre is dedicated to giving you the emotional support you need to navigate your ketamine journey, helping you uncover – in the words Leonard Cohen – the beauty lost to you yourself, just as it may also be lost to those around you.
True self-understanding can only be experienced in the presence of a trusted, empathetic person – a dear friend or loved one if we’re lucky – but if we don’t have such people in our lives, a trusted, compassionate therapist like Andre can make a tremendous difference.
Don’t wait to find the deeper understanding of yourself you’ve been yearning for. Call Andre at 212 673 4618 or email him at andremoore@mindspring.com.
Take the first steps toward discovering the beauty lost to you yourself.
