Ketamine-Assisted Therapy | Oakland, CA
A powerful, science-backed treatment to help you heal.
Living with unresolved trauma can leave you feeling stuck, disconnected, and overwhelmed. For many, traditional therapeutic methods may not provide the relief they need.
Ketamine-Assisted Therapy (KAP) offers a unique and effective solution for trauma healing, depression, anxiety, and more.
If you’re ready for a breakthrough, Ketamine-Assisted Therapy might be the transformative treatment you need to heal more profoundly and quickly than you ever thought possible.
What is Ketamine-Assisted Therapy (KAP)?
Ketamine is a medically recognized, FDA-approved anesthetic that has shown remarkable promise in treating trauma, depression, and anxiety.
When used in a therapeutic setting, Ketamine facilitates deep healing by helping to rewire neural pathways and unlock emotional blocks that traditional therapy may not address.
Through a controlled, guided experience, Ketamine helps you access subconscious emotions and memories, often leading to rapid breakthroughs and lasting change.
This method promotes neuroplasticity, enabling the brain to form new connections, reduce trauma responses, and foster emotional resilience.
Hi, I’m Mary (she/her)
I am a licensed therapist, Certified EMDR Therapist, and trauma recovery specialist in Oakland, CA.
I specialize in supporting anxious adults to release what's holding them back, find their inner confidence, set boundaries, and calm down those self-critical thoughts.
My clients walk away from a therapy intensive with me feeling more deeply connected in their relationships, more confident, and with a better ability to flow through difficult emotions with ease.
The Key Benefits of Ketamine-Assisted Therapy
(According to research studies)
Access Deep Emotional Healing
Ketamine creates a unique brain state that makes it easier to access and process unresolved trauma. Studies show that when combined with psychotherapy, ketamine allows people to move through emotional blocks that often feel unreachable in traditional talk therapy. In one large multi-site study, clients experienced significant improvements in depression and anxiety symptoms when therapy was included. (Dore et al., 2019)
Increase Emotional Resilience and Flexibility
Ketamine promotes neuroplasticity, your brain’s ability to form new connections. This increased flexibility helps you adapt to stress more easily and shift out of survival patterns that once kept you stuck. A systematic review highlights that this neurological reset is one of the main reasons ketamine-assisted therapy supports deeper emotional change. (Drozdz et al., 2022)
Promote Positive Behavioral Changes
By interrupting old loops of fear, shame, or self-criticism, ketamine creates an opportunity for new perspectives and healthier emotional responses. Clients in a large multi-clinic outcomes study reported sustained improvements in depression, anxiety, and PTSD for up to six months after treatment. (Yermus et al., 2024)
Safe and Supported Healing Environment
In Ketamine-Assisted Therapy, you’re not navigating this alone. Sessions happen in a safe, therapeutic setting with an experienced therapist who helps you prepare beforehand and integrate afterward. Research shows this therapeutic support is what transforms ketamine from a temporary relief into lasting healing. (Drozdz et al., 2022)
Accelerate Your Healing Process
Unlike the slower pace of weekly talk therapy, ketamine can create noticeable shifts in just a few sessions. Clients often describe a sense of relief, calm, and clarity, even when other treatments haven’t worked. These rapid changes are supported by research showing ketamine’s unique ability to quiet fear responses and open a window for deep therapeutic processing. (Dore et al., 2019)
Experience Lasting Relief from Trauma
Ketamine-Assisted Therapy has been shown to reduce the emotional intensity of traumatic memories and relieve persistent symptoms of PTSD, complex trauma, and treatment-resistant depression. In real-world clinical studies, many clients reported feeling more emotionally settled and less overwhelmed by triggers after treatment. (Yermus et al., 2024)
How Does Ketamine-Assisted Therapy Work?
Initial Consultation
We start with a free 20-minute video or phone consultation to discuss your goals, trauma history, and any questions you may have. This helps us determine if Ketamine-Assisted Therapy is the right fit for your healing journey.
Consultation With A Medical Prescriber
Before beginning Ketamine-assisted therapy, you'll have a consultation with a medical prescriber to assess your suitability for treatment. This meeting ensures that ketamine therapy is a safe and appropriate option for you based on your medical history and current health status. The prescriber will answer any questions you may have and work with you to create a personalized treatment plan that aligns with your goals.
90 Min Preparation Session
We’ll prepare you for your Ketamine dosing sessions, discussing expectations and the therapeutic process to ensure you feel informed and comfortable.
3 Hour Ketamine Dosing Session
During your session, you’ll receive a dose of Ketamine in a controlled, comfortable environment. You’ll relax and allow the therapy to guide you through emotional material, with your therapist supporting you every step of the way.
50 Minute Integration Session
After each dosing session, we’ll work together to process your experience and integrate any insights you gained. This is an essential part of the therapy, ensuring the benefits are carried into your daily life.
Ketamine + EMDR Therapy
While some clients choose to complete the traditional treatment course (intake, 8 dosing sessions + 8 integration sessions), most clients transition to at-home dosing once they feel comfortable with the medicine.
In session, we use a very low dose of ketamine alongside active IFS-informed EMDR therapy to help you work through trauma and persistent symptoms more efficiently, while you continue at-home ketamine meditation sessions.
This approach is often more budget-friendly than traditional ketamine therapy and highly effective.
Together, we will customize a treatment plan tailored to your unique healing goals. We will take a flexible approach to customize the frequency of treatment based on recommendations from your prescriber and your personal preference.
Is Ketamine-Assisted Therapy Right for You?
Ketamine-Assisted Therapy is ideal for those struggling with:
Complex trauma, childhood trauma, or unresolved emotional wounds
PTSD, depression, and anxiety
Emotional numbness, dissociation, or a sense of being “stuck.”
Persistent negative thought patterns, self-criticism, or self-limiting beliefs
Feeling easily overwhelmed in traditional therapy when processing difficult emotions or memories
The Science Behind Ketamine-Assisted Therapy
Ketamine has been extensively studied and is known to have rapid effects on both the brain’s neural circuits and emotional regulation. It helps reset neural pathways, encouraging the brain to reorganize and respond differently to trauma, stress, and negative thought patterns. This powerful effect helps reduce symptoms of trauma, anxiety, depression, and more.
By fostering neuroplasticity, Ketamine encourages new ways of thinking, feeling, and responding, which is why it’s such a valuable tool in trauma therapy. Its use in psychological healing is supported by decades of research, with promising results in treating trauma-related conditions.
Ready to Experience Ketamine-Assisted Therapy?
Take the first step toward transformative healing with Ketamine-Assisted Therapy. Schedule your free 20-minute consultation today to learn more about how this unique, science-backed therapy can help you feel better faster and more deeply.
Frequently Asked Questions
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This will vary based on the length of your treatment and whether you elect for self-guided at-home ketamine meditation sessions.
The Psychotherapy cost:
90-minute intake: $450
8 ketamine meditation sessions are billed at $900/ 3 hours
8 integration sessions following the meditation sessions, billed at $250/ 50 minutes
Most clients choose 1–3 ketamine meditation sessions, then transition to at-home meditation sessions alongside in-office low-dose ketamine + EMDR sessions.Ketamine + EMDR sessions are 2 hours, billed at $600, and do not require a separate integration session.
Medical treatment cost:I work with a separate medical prescriber who you will pay directly for your medical consultation and the ketamine lozenges. Cost varies depending on the provider selected.
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You will be given a superbill for all direct therapy contact hours. Depending on your insurance, you may be eligible for out-of-network reimbursement.
Some insurance plans do provide coverage for the medical costs. You can discuss this with the prescriber and your insurance plan directly.
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Yes, Ketamine is FDA-approved and administered in a safe, controlled environment with close monitoring by a licensed therapist.
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Low-dose ketamine is a gentle, sub-anesthetic dose of ketamine that can help your nervous system soften and become more open to healing—without fully “checking out.” Most clients feel calm, slightly floaty, or more emotionally spacious, while still able to stay present and engaged in therapy. This often allows us to access harder to be emotions with more ease and less overwhelm.
In my practice, we use low-dose ketamine intentionally to support focused trauma work (including EMDR and IFS therapy), not just symptom relief.
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I work closely with a licensed ketamine prescriber who offers both Spravato and IM ketamine. If either option feels like a better fit for your needs, we can explore that together as part of your treatment plan.
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Traditional ketamine therapy often uses higher doses and focuses primarily on the medicine experience, followed by a separate integration session. My approach is different: we use a low dose of ketamine while doing active EMDR therapy in the session, so we’re actually working with the material in real time. It’s more focused, more efficient, and more cost-effective than the standard ketamine treatment model.
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We will begin with checking in, setting your intentions for your experience, and then you will take the ketamine lozenge as prescribed by your medical provider.
The acute effects last for about an hour, where you will be focusing more internally on your experience, with the support and guidance of the therapist.
Towards the end of your session, we will engage in more active psychotherapy.
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The number of sessions depends on your specific goals and the depth of healing needed. The standard course of treatment recommended to get the full benefit of KAP is 8 sessions.
Many clients choose a combination of self-guided at-home meditation sessions and with therapist low-dose ketamine + EMDR sessions. This brings down the cost of treatment significantly while boosting the effectiveness of the treatment.
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Yes, Ketamine can complement other therapies like EMDR, IFS, or talk therapy, creating a more integrated and holistic approach to your healing.
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I get it. Ketamine treatment can be a big investment. We can talk through a few ways to make it more doable, like working with one of my trained associate therapists at a reduced rate, shifting to 50-minute sessions when appropriate, or spacing sessions out in a way that still supports progress without overwhelming your budget. I also offer CareCredit financing with 24 month payment plan option.