What to expect for your first ketamine assisted psychotherapy (KAP) session

If you've been curious about psychedelic-assisted therapy but aren't sure what the actual process looks like, this is meant to give you a clearer picture. Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, or KAP, is structured around three phases: preparation, the medicine session, and integration. Each one matters, and none of them are just formalities.

Preparation

Before anything else, we spend time getting to know each other. That might sound obvious, but it's doing real work. It builds enough trust that you can walk into an unfamiliar experience feeling at least somewhat grounded. We talk about what brought you here, what you're hoping for, and what emotional territory might come up along the way.

A big part of preparation is what's often called set and setting. Set refers to your internal state going into the experience: your intentions, your relationship to uncertainty, how you might approach something difficult if it surfaces. Setting refers to the physical environment: what the room looks and feels like, what music is playing, what scents are in the space. We talk through all of it ahead of time so that when you arrive, nothing feels completely foreign.

We also talk about practical things, like what to wear. Layers are a good idea since ketamine can affect body temperature, and comfort genuinely matters here.

The goal of preparation is that by the time you sit down for your first medicine session, you feel ready to enter something unknown. Not fearless, just grounded enough.

The Medicine Session

In our office, ketamine is administered as a rapid dissolve tablet, taken orally and absorbed through the tissues of your mouth over about 10 to 15 minutes. After that, you rest on a mat on the floor with fresh sheets, a pillow, and blankets available to you. I stay beside you throughout the session.

Eye shades are available if you'd like them. A lot of people find they help turn attention inward, but they're completely optional. There will be music playing in the room, and headphones are also an option if you prefer something more immersive. We figure out what feels right before we begin and adjust from there.

My role during the session is to be present and hold the space. People often describe vivid imagery, emotional shifts, or a felt sense that something that has been stuck is beginning to move. I'm there to offer grounding if you need it and to help you stay with what's arising rather than away from it.

Integration

Integration is where a lot of the real work happens, and I think it's the phase that gets underestimated most. In the sessions following a medicine experience, we look at what came up, what it might mean, how it connects to your life, and what, if anything, feels different now.

That can look like a lot of things. Sometimes it's processing a specific image or memory from the session. Sometimes it's noticing a pattern in your relationships that suddenly feels more visible. Sometimes it's just sitting with something that surfaced and hasn't fully resolved yet, which is okay too. The preparation we do together on meaning-making and self-trust doesn't stop being useful after the medicine session. If anything, it becomes more relevant.

The through line in all three phases is that you're the one doing the work. My job is to support that process and trust where it leads.

If you'd like to learn more about how KAP might apply to what you're working through, you're welcome to reach out here. Our office is in Denver, Colorado, with evening and weekend appointments available.