Have you been hearing more about ketamine therapy lately? Well, you are not alone. As interest in psychedelic-assisted approaches to mental health grows, ketamine has become an increasingly discussed option, particularly for those navigating depression, anxiety, emotional distress, or seeking new ways to process difficult emotions. However, the terminology can be confusing. What actually happens in a session? How is this different from receiving ketamine in a medical setting? Is it just like traditional therapy? To take the mystery out of the process, it is important to understand the distinction between general medical ketamine treatment and Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP), specifically in a group context. Ketamine may offer an opportunity to step outside familiar ways of thinking, feeling, and relating to ourselves. But meaningful change is not simply about having an altered state of consciousness. It is about how we engage with the experience and what we carry forward.
Ketamine Treatment vs. Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP)
While these terms are often used interchangeably, they are not the same.
Medical Ketamine Treatment: This is primarily a medical intervention, often focused on the physiological effects of the medicine and limited psychotherapy.
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP): This is a therapeutic model. The medicine is only one part of the equation. KAP includes thorough preparation before the experience, intentional support during the session, and dedicated integration afterward.
In this approach, ketamine is not viewed as the therapy itself, but as a potential catalyst within a supportive therapeutic container.
The relationship matters. Feeling safe enough to become vulnerable, explore difficult emotions, and encounter unfamiliar parts of ourselves can be an important part of the process.
Ketamine is not appropriate for everyone. Careful medical and psychological screening, including consideration of medications, cardiovascular health, psychiatric history, and other potential risks, is an essential part of responsible care.
What Does a "Ketamine Journey" Feel Like?
There is no "one size fits all" ketamine experience. Because the experience is deeply personal, it is best approached with curiosity rather than a desire to reach a specific state. You might feel a sense of spaciousness or distance from your usual, repetitive thoughts. Some people experience vivid imagery, memories, or heightened emotions. Others report changes in their perception of time, physical sensations, or a sense of observing their lives from a different perspective. There may also be moments of confusion, vulnerability, fear, or discomfort. Ketamine can also produce dissociative effects, including feeling detached from the body or surroundings. These experiences can feel meaningful to some people and unsettling to others.
One of the most important things to understand is that there is no particular experience you need to have.
It is important to remember:
A meaningful session doesn't need to be mystical, profound or highly visual. Sometimes, the experience is subtle, or even challenging.
Difficult material can arise. Psychedelic experiences may bring you into contact with fears, grief, or memories you usually avoid. A trauma-informed approach focuses on pacing and nervous-system regulation to help you navigate these moments safely.
Less can be more. Sometimes very little seems to “happen" during the journey itself, but significant shifts begin to emerge in the days that follow.
Rather than trying to achieve a particular state, we encourage curiosity toward whatever arises.
Before, During, and After: The Larger Therapeutic Process
We think of good ketamine-assisted psychotherapy as a cycle, not a one-time event.
Before: Preparation
The work begins well before the medicine is administered. This phase includes medical and psychological screening, understanding the potential benefits and risks, building a therapeutic relationship, exploring intentions, and building internal resources that can support the experience. We also place importance on connecting with the body.
Many of us have learned to approach difficult emotions by thinking, analyzing, controlling, or avoiding. Preparation can help us become more aware of what is happening beneath the thinking mind: sensations, emotions, impulses, tension, openness, and the ways our bodies respond when something feels difficult. It is important to come into this experience with a calmed mind and body state.
The goal is not to control what happens during the journey, but to develop a greater capacity to notice our experience and remain in relationship with it.
During: The Journey
The specifics of a session vary based on the provider and the therapeutic model, but generally, you are encouraged to move your attention inward.
You will settle into a comfortable position, often using an eye mask and music.
Depending on the dose, route of administration, and your individual response, your awareness of your surroundings and your ability to communicate may change.
Your therapist is present to hold the space.
There may be long periods of silence, allowing the experience to unfold through internal associations, images, or emotions.
We encourage you to meet the experience with curiosity rather than feeling that you need to understand or interpret everything while it is happening.
After: Integration
This is where the real work happens. Integration is the process of bringing what you discovered during your journey into your lived experience. It might involve journaling, movement, art, therapy, or simply spending time in nature. The goal is to translate the insights gained under the influence of the medicine into tangible, lasting change in your daily life.
Sometimes an insight feels immediately clear. Other times we are left with an image, a sensation, an emotion, or simply the feeling that something has shifted without knowing exactly what it means.
There is no need to rush into interpretation. Integration is not about holding onto an extraordinary experience. It is about allowing what we encountered to become part of how we live, relate, and care for ourselves and others.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy in a Group?
For some people, the idea of exploring vulnerable emotional territory in a group can initially feel intimidating. Yet group work can offer something that individual therapy alone cannot: the opportunity to experience ourselves in relationship with others… The group adds a layer of community. You prepare together, are witnessed without the need to "perform," and return to a community of people who have also moved through an altered state. At Our House, we create a community where people can show up as they are, without needing to perform, fix themselves, or have a particular kind of experience.
Is Ketamine Therapy a "Quick Fix"?
No. While research suggests ketamine can create a rapid interruption in familiar patterns of thought and feeling for some people, an altered state is not the same as long-term change. The medicine may open the door, but the therapeutic work is learning how to walk through it.
We are interested not only in what happens during the medicine experience, but in what happens afterward: how you relate to yourself, your emotions, your relationships, and your life.
What If I Have a Difficult Experience?
Not every ketamine experience is peaceful or pleasant.
Anxiety, disorientation, uncomfortable sensations, difficult memories, or strong emotions can arise. A trauma-informed approach does not assume that discomfort is necessarily therapeutic or that you should simply “push through” it.
Instead, we focus on pacing, choice, grounding, and helping you remain connected to your own sense of agency. Sometimes the most important therapeutic movement is not overcoming something difficult, but learning that we can approach our experience differently. With greater curiosity, compassion, and support.
How Many Sessions Do I Need?
There is no universal number. We are cautious about promising that a specific number of journeys will produce a certain outcome. A more useful question than "How many sessions should I have?" is: "How am I working with what is emerging between sessions?"
Finding the Right Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Program Fit in NYC
Choosing a provider is an important decision. When looking for a provider in New York City, beyond the medicine itself, look for a model that is relational, trauma-informed, and integrative.
You should feel that the process is collaborative and that you maintain agency. A good therapist is not there to interpret your journey for you, but to help you develop the curiosity and resources to explore your own emotions, relationships, and protective patterns.
When interviewing clinics, consider asking:
What is the medical and psychological screening process?
How are preparation and integration handled?
What is the training and experience of the clinicians?
Who will be present during the session, and what support is available if difficult material emerges?
If you are considering group KAP, also ask how participants are screened, how confidentiality and boundaries are handled, and how individual needs are supported within the group. Most importantly, you should feel informed, respected, and actively involved in decisions about your care.
Beyond the Medicine
At Our House, we believe ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is about more than the medicine or the altered state it produces. It is about creating conditions where we may encounter ourselves differently, become more aware of familiar patterns, reconnect with parts of ourselves we have lost touch with, and explore new possibilities for how we relate to ourselves and others.
And we believe this work does not always have to happen alone.
There is something deeply human about coming together, being witnessed, and discovering that even our most personal experiences can connect us to a shared humanity.
The relationship and the container matter. The medicine can open the door. The therapeutic work is learning how to walk through it, and how to bring what you discover back into your life.
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