Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy | Boulder, CO

Sublingual Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) to support deep, lasting change when talk therapy alone hasn't been enough.

A different way in, when you've done "the work" and still feel stuck:

You've read the books. You've done years of talk therapy. You understand your patterns intellectually. You could even explain them to someone else. And yet. . . something in you still feels stuck, protected, or just out of reach.

This is often where ketamine-assisted psychotherapy becomes relevant. Ketamine, used in a therapeutic and legal medical context, can temporarily soften the usual grip of the analyzing, self-protective mind. For many people, this creates an opening: old defenses relax, emotions and memories that have felt too overwhelming to approach become more workable, and insight can arrive somatically and experientially rather than just cognitively. Paired with skilled psychotherapeutic support, that opening becomes a doorway for real integration — not just a novel experience, but a catalyst for change that carries forward into daily life.

We offer sublingual Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, working alongside a partnering prescribing medical provider, for adults who are looking for a well-supported, body-based, and trauma-informed way to move through what's felt stuck.

What is Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP)?

KAP pairs a legally prescribed, low-dose sublingual (under-the-tongue) dose of ketamine with the relational safety and skill of psychotherapy. It is not "getting high with a therapist in the room," and it is not a replacement for ongoing therapeutic work — it's a tool that, used intentionally, can accelerate and deepen the work you're already doing.

Sublingual KAP differs from IV or intramuscular ketamine treatment (often used for medication-resistant depression in a medical setting) in a few important ways:

• Gentler onset and dosing. Sublingual administration tends to bring on a milder, more gradual, and more manageable experience than IV or IM routes.

• Therapist-present, relationally held. You're not alone with the medicine. Your therapist is present throughout the dosing session to help you stay oriented, resourced, and safe as material arises.

• Integrated into an ongoing therapeutic relationship, not a stand-alone medical procedure. Preparation and integration sessions are just as important as the dosing session itself.

Because we don't prescribe medication ourselves, KAP at True Essence involves partnering with a licensed prescribing medical provider, who conducts the required medical screening and writes the prescription. We coordinate closely with that provider so that the medical and therapeutic pieces work together rather than in silos.

How we approach it

Our approach to KAP reflects the same values that shape all of our work: trauma-informed, somatic, and paced to what your nervous system can actually integrate. Not rushed toward an experience for its own sake.

Preparation. Before any dosing session, we spend time together getting clear on your intentions, building safety and trust, and making sure your nervous system has enough resourcing and grounding skills to meet whatever arises. We'll also talk openly about what to expect physically and emotionally.

Dosing sessions. During the session itself, you're supported in a calm, private setting as the medicine takes effect. We draw on somatic and mindfulness-based tools to help you stay in relationship with your experience — whether that's stillness, emotion, insight, or sensation — rather than being swept past it.

Integration. This is where the real work often happens. In the sessions that follow, we help you make sense of what came up, connect it to your history and current life, and translate insight into concrete shifts. In how you relate to yourself, your relationships, and your choices. Without integration, even a powerful experience can fade without lasting change; this is a core part of the process, not an optional add-on.

We often draw on somatic and attachment-informed frameworks (and, when it's a good fit, somatic or art trauma processing) in the surrounding sessions to help nervous-system-level material actually land and integrate.

Who this can support

People come to KAP for a range of reasons, including:

• Depression or anxiety that has been resistant to other approaches

• Trauma or stuck patterns that feel "known" intellectually but inaccessible emotionally

• Rigid self-protective patterns, perfectionism, or chronic self-criticism

• A desire for deeper self-understanding and connection to one's inner wisdom

• Feeling foreclosed, numb, or disconnected from meaning, creativity, or aliveness

KAP is not the right fit for everyone, and that's determined collaboratively and medically, not just by preference. Certain physical and mental health conditions, medications, and histories (including some cardiovascular conditions, active psychosis, certain substance use patterns, and pregnancy, among others) are contraindications that our partnering prescriber will screen for.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you prescribe the ketamine? No. As psychotherapists, we don't prescribe or dispense medication. We work alongside a licensed medical provider who conducts your medical screening and writes the prescription, and we coordinate with them throughout your treatment so your care is unified rather than split across separate providers who don't talk to each other.

Is this legal? Yes. Ketamine is FDA-approved and legally prescribed off-label for this use by licensed medical providers. What we offer is the psychotherapy component of a coordinated medical-and-therapeutic treatment model.

What does a dosing session feel like? Experiences vary widely — some people feel a sense of expansiveness, ego-softening, or altered perception; others feel more subtly relaxed or introspective. Sublingual dosing tends to produce a gentler, more grounded experience than IV or IM administration. We'll talk through what's common (and what to do if it feels like a lot) well before your first dosing session.

How many sessions does this typically involve? This varies by person, but a typical course of KAP includes several dosing sessions interspersed with preparation and integration sessions — often over the span of a few months. We'll talk about pacing that fits your goals, budget, and nervous system rather than a one-size-fits-all protocol.

Is this covered by insurance? We don't contract with private insurance, but we provide Superbills that some clients use for out-of-network reimbursement or FSA/HSA. The prescribing medical provider's fees and the medication itself are typically billed separately by them.

I'm nervous about trying this. Is that normal? Very. Most people feel some combination of curiosity and apprehension, and that's welcome here — it doesn't need to be resolved before we begin. Part of preparation is making sure you feel resourced enough to approach the process, at a pace that respects your own readiness.

If you're curious whether KAP might be a fit for you, we invite you to reach out for a complimentary 15-minute consultation to talk it through.