+ How do I prepare for a ketamine treatment?

1. Please do not take xanax, klonopin, valium, or any other benzodiazepines at a mimimum of 12 hours before the treatment. Please consult with our doctors if you feel it is necessary to continue with your benzodiazepine treatment throughout the ketamine induction.
2. If you tend to have motion sickness or car sickness, have a history of nausea or vomiting after anesthesia, we recommend you pre treat yourself an hour before each infusion with Meclazine (over the counter). We typically also treat you with Zofran when you get to the clinic. The dual action of Meclazine and Zofran is very effective in limiting nausea during a ketamine treatment.
3. On the day of infusion please do not eat anything 4 hours prior to your infusions and do not drink fluids 1-2 hours before infusions. This will reduce the risk of nausea and vomiting
4. You are welcome to bring a family member or a friend. We encourage bringing in a calming music playlist and headphones (if comfortable). We have bluetooth speakers available in all treatment rooms as well.
5. All service animals are welcome. Please inform us if you plan to bring a service animal as we have to make sure others in the clinic do not have allergies.
6. We do require masks in the lobby but you are welcome (and encouraged) to remove your mask while in your treatment room.

Is there something I should do to prepare for the psychedelic experience/journey?

Ketamine infusions are helping many people with chronic pain disorders, anxiety, PTSD, and depression. This is not only due to the biochemical changes in the brain but also because of its psychotropic experiential effect. In this section, we explain how to maximize your ketamine infusion by adequately preparing for and integrating the experience.

So how do you you prepare for and integrate from a ketamine infusion?

We recommend you prepare both your body and mind prior to the infusion, by sustaining from alcohol, marijuana, and/or trouble images or topics online. The insights gained during the infusion will more likely be retained and integrated in everyday life if one has set an intention and implements a daily personal practice such as meditation and journaling.

The experience on ketamine can potentially alter your perception of yourself and the world around you. Deep truths hidden within your unconscious may be unearthed, trauma buried may be released and let go. So how can you best prepare and take positive action on this experience after the ketamine infusion?

PREPARING FOR A KETAMINE PSYCHOTROPIC EXPERIENCE Ketamine infusion can create a non-ordinary state of consciousness. Some call these types of experiences as “psychedelic” or “psychotropic.” The things you see, hear, and feel are actually YOU having an experience within yourself and ketamine appears to be mediating all of it. Preparation of the body and mind is the key to not only having a good experience during the ketamine infusion, but also for integrating and remembering what you learned during the infusion.

PARTICIPATE IN A PREPARATORY DETOX AND FAST. Ideally you want to come into the experience as “clean” as possible. Ketamine alters your mood and mind. Therefore, you want to detox from substances, activities, and items which can affect both. If possible avoid stimulants as this could alter your experience (if you are on these medications already, do not change how you take them unless you are under the guidance of your medical doctor). Avoid watching TV shows and movies with excessive amounts of violence or other troubling images. Be cognizant of what you drink, eat, watch, and read as all of this can affect your body and mind.

MEDITATION While simple, but not easy, meditation can help prepare to quiet the mind and be open to what you will be experiencing during the ketamine infusion. The skills cultivated in a meditation practice such as grounding and keeping calm when your thoughts race can be very useful during the ketamine infusion. Being able to focus on the breath and center yourself will give you the space to be open to the feelings, experiences, emotions, and insights you may have missed or not been ready to receive otherwise.

JOURNAL AND REFLECT BEFORE YOUR INFUSION Journal about what you hope to learn, experience, and resolve during the infusion. Write out your goals for the infusion, such as “let go of anxiety and depression.” The earlier you start the journaling process the better (at least the day before and definitely no later than the few hours before your infusion!). Consciously create and be in an unhurried, calm mindset before your infusion. Aim to keep the stress levels to a minimum. If possible, spend as much time in a natural environment prior to your infusion. A calming walk or hike before treatment can be beneficial.

SET YOUR INTENTION Based on the reflection and journaling you have done, you can create an intention for your ketamine infusion (or series). Intentions can vary from person to person. For some, intentions are the same as the goals or outcomes they desire to have from the infusion. For others. they are a way of being, or even simply one or two words. Here are some examples:

“Be peaceful”

“Be kind to myself”

Whatever may happen during the infusion, you will want to have a specific intention to anchor you when you may feel challenged. In the event you are experiencing something challenging and potentially frightening, you can take a deep breath and reconnect with your intention and this will help calm you. The intention will also provide a context to deconstruct the things you saw, heard, and felt during the infusion afterwards.

PREPARE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN BEFORE THE INFUSION. BUT HERE’S THE KEY ...DURING THE INFUSION, JUST LET GO. YES, YOU’VE DONE ALL THE PREP AND PLANNING TO SUPPORT A GOOD KETAMINE EXPERIENCE, BUT NOW SIMPLY GO WITH THE EXPERIENCE AND BE OPEN TO WHATEVER IS REVEALED. INTEGRATION: TAKING WHAT YOU EXPERIENCED & CHANGING YOUR LIFE You’ve had a profound experience during your ketamine infusion and you now you are ready to create change in your life to continue to feel better or feel even better. So how do you do that? INTEGRATION!!

WHAT IS “INTEGRATION”? Reflecting and acting upon the insights and lessons learned during the ketamine infusion. As you think about your ketamine treatment, you can take inventory about what you experienced and think of simply even tiny changes you can insert into your daily life, which will ultimately take your life in a new and better direction.

SET AN “INTENTION GOING FORWARD” Immediately after your infusion we recommend setting a new intention, an “Intention Going Forward”. Your mind was wide open and you got a lot of insights or experienced a lot of feelings. Now you get to channel your energy into actionable step setting this new intention will help you focus your integration efforts. Here are some examples:

“Meditate everyday”

“Be patient with myself”

“Do one thing that makes me happy everyday”

“Be grateful”

PRACTICES TO SUPPORT YOUR INTEGRATION: Give yourself some time to reflect and be with yourself. During this time you can do the following:

Immediately or soon after the infusion, express what you experienced through journaling, poetry, art, or music.

Meditate - You may even have found that you have greater insight into meditation after your infusion. Ego dissolution, facing inner turmoil, or experiencing total understanding and connection with all during the infusion - you may now see how meditation can channel a similar experience in your everyday!

Pay attention to your intuition after a profound ketamine experience you may be more aware of your intuition. You may feel like you see or “know” more. That’s your intuition so pay attention to it.

Talk with supportive, trustworthy friends and family - make sure you do your own self-reflection and alone time prior to doing this. As talking about the experience can color and even change what we remember from the experience itself.

Start a new routine - hiking, yoga, add more vegetables/fruits into your diet, or eliminate something unhealthy from your diet. Small or large, you are riding the zeal of change after the experience.

End old routines, habits, and unhealthy behaviors

Have an appointment set up with your counselor or therapist scheduled the day after your infusion to process whatever may have come up.

THINGS TO AVOID AFTER YOUR INFUSION: Take what you saw and experienced literally - sometimes your experience was symbolic.

BE PATIENT WITH YOURSELF BUT TAKE OWNERSHIP OF YOUR LIFE Sometimes you may have not had the most insightful ketamine induced altered state of consciousness or you really did but you can’t remember anything. Or you lost your zeal and motivation to make those changes. That’s okay. Be patient with yourself. As the days go by after your infusion, you may even gain more insights that weren’t present before. The desire and motivation to make the change is the strongest immediately after your infusion. However, as time passes from the experience, so does the activation energy to change. Integration is crucial here and more importantly to have faith in the experience you had and trust you learned what was needed to be learned. Now make steps, however big or small, in the right direction that will add value to your life. We strongly encourage working closely with a trusted therapist to help with integration.