I came into working as a guide for Ketamine Therapy during the start of the pandemic in 2020. I heard about how ketamine is a legal, short acting form of psychedelic therapy that is safe to do remotely in client’s homes. I was immediately curious. Curious and also judgmental but definitely curious. It makes sense that psychedelic therapy was on the rise during the pandemic as many of us were awakening into our purpose and confronting mortality. Ketamine can, in fact, be a guide that offers a gentle glimpse into our own relationship to death, but I will expand on that in another blog…
Hearing about remote psychedelic therapy surprised me because I always equated psychedelic experiences as being a long, messy, complex journey that needed in-person containment and vigilance around safety. The idea of an online psychedelic therapy legally used with licensed therapists seemed strange, dangerous, complicated.
Three years later, I feel confident in writing about how in most cases, remote Ketamine therapy can be a safe and rich experience with lasting effects. With a thorough medical evaluation, a series of preparation psychotherapy sessions and a comprehensive outline of logistical safety measures, remote Ketamine Therapy can offer a deep transformation that can manifest a new relationship with your inner resources that simply remind you that “everything is ok.”
It’s like the internet
Something was calling me to study with ketamine specifically. It was as if it was already decided. Not only is it the only legal psychedelic to be used with psychotherapy, it has a unique character, a unique personality. “It feels like the internet”, my colleague Olivia Clear said one day. “It shows you the vast interconnected psychic network we exist in while also holding fresh, new, forward thinking possibilities.” Ketamine shifts you from stuck patterns and can show you what is possible, which is a particular aspect of the glutamate neurotransmitter it activates in the brain. It expands your limited beliefs, connects you to transpersonal resources, and can remind you of your essential self outside of the capitalistic, patriarchal program of shame and judgment we exist within.
Though the ketamine itself does not stay in your system very long, when it is woven with psychotherapy it can wire in new versions of yourself in powerful ways. It’s like a door that is opened into new pathways of hope. It can send a deep and true message of “it’s ok”, a deep existential Trust which allows for more presence and levity in life.
It’s ok
In 2015, I remember standing in line for 4 hours to get a hug from Amma, the hugging saint. Sweet, fragrant, loving, voluptuous. She is pure giving, she is the archetype of the luscious mama that you can crawl into and feel like everything is ok. Millions of people have and continue to wait in line just for that hug. Just for that reminder from an incarnation of the divine mother that you are loved, you are ok, you are holy, you are blessed. I find the experience of Ketamine Therapy can also embody that essence. It shows up as a heart-centered, feminine, loving guide who just keep whispering to your soul- “you are enough and it’s ok”
In my almost 20 years of being a psychotherapist, I find that what creates the most dis-ease in people is worrying if they are enough, if what they are doing is ok, if they are accepted, and if what they are doing has purpose. We all often have a critical monitor that compares us to others and causes worry and anxiety. Finding self acceptance, an “ok-ness” allows for trust that no matter what you will be ok, regardless of external circumstances. Ketamine therapy is like a shift towards befriending yourself as an ally, and towards a trusting openness to life.
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