What happens in the experience?
Most people will feel a little nervous or apprehensive prior to their first journey, whether or not they have experience with psychedelics, this is normal. Just remember we will take care of all the details on the day off and we are here to support your experience. When you arrive for your first treatment we will review your physical medical status, we will explain how the experience will go for the day, and then spend some time speaking about your intentions for your experience and have some time for individualized rituals or spiritual components. You will be in a comfortable reclined position for the journey, you will be provided with an eye-mask to block out light, and you will have on headphones which will play a curated list of music to support the experience.
You will never be alone! The therapist and my self will be with you in your experience. Everyone will have a different experience and journey and it will be exactly the way it is supposed to be. You may experience feelings of heat or cold, vibrations in your body, a sense of disconnection from your physical body, visions and colors in a way you haven’t experienced, you may visit past experiences, and a connection to something bigger than yourself to name a few. Remember you are here to learn and heal and with this can come some difficult work. there may be an uncomfortable or difficult situations that you experience in your ketamine treatment and know that we are trained to support you through that process. The healing and benefit comes from going through and coming out the other side. Anything that comes up in the mind is meant to show you how to heal and not to harm you and knowing that feelings of sadness, fear, or anger are ok. Know that you are safe, the medicine is being provided by a licensed physician and you are under the care of a licensed psychotherapist as well, both of which are trained specifically in the use of ketamine as a psychedelic medicine.
A commonly used mantra with psychedelic medicine is “trust, let go, be open”. Repeating this during a journey can help support more difficult experiences.
Trust that you are prepared. Trust that the medicine is here to guide your healing. Trust your own inner healing intelligence and that your mind will show you what you need. Trust that you are safe and being taken care of.
Let go. This is crucial to psychedelic medicine and can be the most difficult. Let go of the expectations of what the experience should be, how you should feel, what you should experience. Let go of the fear of not knowing. Let go of the judgements and control. Let if flow the way it is supposed to flow. Confront and face any challenging situations.
Be open to whatever the journey brings. Be curious and explore. The journey may be centered around your intentions and it may not. Be open to the fact that everything that you are experiencing is completely OK and perfect for you!