The cost of ketamine therapy
What other clinics are doing
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) is expensive, and I think you deserve an honest explanation of why, and what we've done to try to bring the cost down without compromising the quality of care.
Most of the expense in ketamine therapy comes from the structure of the work itself. A medicine session requires a therapist to be fully present for an extended period of time, usually about two to two and a half hours, during which they aren't seeing other clients. On top of the therapist's time, many KAP providers work with ketamine infusion clinics where the medication is administered intravenously by medical staff in a clinical setting. Those infusions can cost anywhere from $400 to $800 per session on their own, and you’ll often be in the presence of medical staff, not a licensed professional counselor. When you add the preparation sessions, the medicine session, and integration work, the total cost of a full KAP series at many practices can land somewhere between $3,000 and $5,000 or more, and many require upfront payment
What we’re doing
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) is expensive, and we think you deserve an honest explanation of why, and what we've done to try to bring the cost down without compromising the quality of care.
Rather than working with an infusion clinic, we collaborate with a psychiatric nurse practitioner who can prescribe ketamine in the form of rapid dissolve tablets. These are picked up directly from a compounding pharmacy, which brings the medication cost down significantly. For the full series of six to eight sessions, the medication typically runs around $70 total. That's a meaningful difference from IV ketamine, and it makes the medicine portion of the process much more approachable financially.
The medicine sessions themselves are two hours long and priced at $500. That reflects the clinician’s time and training through Integrative Psychiatry Institutes 256 hour psychedelic therapy program, and the level of presence and care that goes into creating a safe set and setting. The work you’ll do after a medicine experience is processed in an integration session, billed at our standard therapy rate of $150. These sessions are where a lot of the lasting change takes root, and keeping them at the standard rate means that the follow-through part of the process doesn't become a barrier on top of everything else.
No contracts or lump sum payments
One of the things we’ve tried to be thoughtful about is not front-loading the financial pressure. Denver Therapy Collective doesn’t require payment for all six to eight sessions upfront. You're charged the day of each session.
Sliding scale pricing is also available. If the standard rate is a barrier, we'd rather have that conversation openly than have cost be the reason someone doesn't get to explore whether this could help them. Reach out and we can talk through what might be workable.
Session frequency is another place where there's flexibility. Some people move through their medicine sessions more quickly, others need more time between them for financial or personal reasons. We structure the pace around what actually fits your life and your budget, because a series that creates financial stress is working against the very thing we're trying to do together.
What’s included
Over the course of the process, you'll have approximately 20-25 hours of one on one time with a therapist. That covers preparation sessions, the medicine sessions themselves, and integration work afterward.
Every medicine session is set up with care. Fresh sheets, a sleeping mat, pillows, a weighted blanket, and a regular blanket are all provided. Sleeping masks are available if you'd like to use one. Curated playlists are prepared for each session, and headphones are an option if you prefer something more immersive. You will receive an intention candle just for you, to light and relight at the beginning of each session. Our space is cozy and meant to hold you as you journey. You'll also receive an integration workbook to use between sessions, which many find useful to guide your experiences and document progress.
What a full series actually looks like financially
If you complete six sessions with integration support after each one, you're looking at the medication cost of around $70, the medicine sessions at $500 each, and the preparation and integration sessions at $150 each. A standard 6-session series, with two prep sessions and 6 integration sessions will cost around $4,270 over the course of 2-4 months. There are many other ways for us to structure ketamine therapy, so this estimate is on the higher end of what we can do for clients in need or more affordable options.
If you'd like to learn more about what the actual experience looks like from the beginning, check out this post from our founder about what to expect from your first ketamine therapy session. If you're ready to talk through whether KAP makes sense for your situation, you're welcome to reach out here.