Ketamine-Assisted Therapy Integration for Adults in NJ, PA, FL and TX
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) offering ketamine-assisted therapy preparation and integration to adults in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Texas. I do not prescribe ketamine. I provide the psychotherapy component: preparation sessions before a client's ketamine treatment and integration sessions afterward, within a trauma-informed, IFS and somatic-informed clinical framework.
What is ketamine-assisted therapy integration?
Ketamine is an FDA-approved anesthetic medication used off-label since the 2000s to treat depression, PTSD, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. When used for mental health, ketamine is prescribed and administered by a medical provider, typically a psychiatrist or licensed prescriber. Its psychedelic and dissociative properties can produce altered states that create openings for significant psychological shifts. Ketamine-assisted therapy integration refers to the psychotherapy surrounding that medical treatment. Integration is the process of making meaning from, and anchoring into lasting change, the insights, emotions, and experiences that arise during ketamine sessions. Without integration, the neuroplasticity window that ketamine opens, typically most active in the 24 to 72 hours following treatment, can close without the psychological work needed to consolidate what became available. Preparation therapy, conducted before ketamine sessions, helps the client clarify intentions, address fears, develop psychological resources, and create the internal conditions for a productive experience. In short, ketamine-assisted therapy integration is the clinical work that translates ketamine's neurobiological opening into lasting psychological change.
What ketamine integration sessions look like
Preparation sessions are depth-oriented therapy with a specific focus: understanding what the client hopes to access through ketamine treatment, what internal protective structures might resist that access, what fears or unresolved material might surface, and how to build the psychological stability needed to work with difficult content safely. I use IFS to help clients develop a relationship with the parts of themselves most likely to be present during the altered state. Integration sessions, typically conducted within days of treatment, focus on what actually arose during the experience: strong emotions, images, memories, physical sensations, and insights the ketamine state made available. The work is to bring those experiences into lasting relationship with the client's waking life through IFS, somatic, and psychodynamic frameworks. Some experiences integrate quickly. Others require returning to across multiple sessions. Not every ketamine experience produces clear insight. Some are disorienting or confusing. Integration therapy addresses all of this: the productive and the difficult. In short, preparation and integration sessions are clinical therapy conducted before and after ketamine treatment, not during it.
What ketamine-assisted therapy integration treats
Integration therapy is most indicated for adults using ketamine to address treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, complex trauma, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Research on ketamine's antidepressant effects is among the most significant developments in psychiatric treatment in decades: studies show ketamine can produce antidepressant effects within hours of administration, significantly faster than standard antidepressants, which typically require weeks. The role of integration therapy is to ensure those effects are consolidated rather than temporary. Research on psychedelic-assisted therapy consistently shows that the therapeutic relationship and the quality of preparation and integration support significantly influence clinical outcomes beyond the pharmacological effect of the substance alone. For adults with trauma histories, ketamine can surface material that the nervous system's ordinary protective mechanisms keep inaccessible. Integration therapy within a trauma-informed framework that includes IFS and Somatic Experiencing ensures that material can be processed rather than simply re-encountered without support. In short, integration therapy maximizes the clinical benefit of ketamine treatment by ensuring that what the experience opens does not close without being worked.
Why I provide ketamine-assisted therapy integration
I provide ketamine-assisted therapy integration because my clinical training prepares me specifically for this work, and because integration is where most of the lasting change actually happens. I hold MAPS MDMA-assisted psychotherapy training from the Fall 2021 cohort. MAPS training is among the most rigorous programs in psychedelic-assisted therapy, requiring extensive education in preparation, integration, ethics, and working safely with non-ordinary states of consciousness. While MDMA and ketamine are distinct compounds, the preparation and integration frameworks share significant clinical overlap. Most ketamine integration providers do not carry this depth of foundation. My clinical framework, IFS, Somatic Experiencing, and psychodynamic therapy, is particularly suited to integration work. The states ketamine produces frequently surface internal parts, somatic material, and deep relational memories. Having tools that work directly with those dimensions rather than only talking about them makes integration more effective. I do not prescribe ketamine and work alongside the client's separate medical provider. The preparation and integration therapy I provide are fully independent of the medical treatment itself.
Fees and insurance
Alchemy Psychotherapy is a private-pay, out-of-network practice. The biopsychosocial assessment is $300. Standard 45-minute sessions are $250. A 30-minute session is $185 when clinically indicated. In limited circumstances, a reduced fee is available based on financial need and current caseload availability. I do not bill insurance directly, but I provide a Superbill on the first of each month for clients with out-of-network mental health benefits. Under the No Surprises Act, you have the right to a Good Faith Estimate of expected charges before treatment begins. In short, private-pay therapy removes insurance company involvement from clinical decisions about session frequency, treatment duration, and modality choice.
How to get started
Beginning therapy involves three steps, handled entirely online. First, a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation where we discuss what brings you in and determine fit. Second, intake paperwork through a secure client portal. Third, the biopsychosocial assessment session of 60 to 90 minutes.
If we agree the practice is a good fit during the consultation, you typically begin treatment within one to two weeks. I am currently accepting new clients in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Texas. You can also learn more about individual online therapy or review the full services page.
Currently accepting new clients for ketamine integration therapy.
Frequently Asked Questions About Ketamine-Assisted Therapy Integration
What is ketamine-assisted therapy integration?
Ketamine-assisted therapy integration is the psychotherapy surrounding ketamine medical treatment. It includes preparation sessions before treatment, where the client clarifies intentions and builds psychological resources, and integration sessions afterward, where experiences from the ketamine state are processed and anchored into lasting change. It is distinct from the administration of ketamine, which is provided by a separate medical professional.
What is the difference between ketamine treatment and ketamine integration therapy?
Ketamine treatment refers to the medical administration of the drug, prescribed and overseen by a licensed medical provider. Integration therapy is the psychotherapy surrounding it: preparation before and processing after. The medical component opens a neuroplasticity window. Integration therapy is what determines whether that opening produces lasting psychological change or simply a temporary experience that fades.
Do you prescribe ketamine?
No. I am a licensed psychotherapist, not a medical prescriber. I provide preparation and integration therapy only. Ketamine is prescribed and administered by a separate licensed medical provider. My role is the psychotherapy component: helping the client prepare for the experience and integrate what arises from it into lasting psychological change in their daily life.
How do you work with my ketamine provider?
With your consent, I communicate with your ketamine medical provider to coordinate preparation and integration therapy around your treatment schedule. The clinical work I provide is independent of the medical component and does not require a specific clinic or provider. If you are still exploring ketamine options and do not yet have a provider, I can discuss what to look for during our consultation.
Is ketamine integration therapy covered by insurance?
Integration therapy is billed as standard psychotherapy and follows the same insurance rules as other therapy services. Because Alchemy Psychotherapy is a private-pay practice, I do not bill insurance directly. I provide a Superbill monthly for clients with out-of-network benefits to seek reimbursement. The ketamine medical treatment itself is billed separately by your medical provider.
What should I look for in a ketamine integration therapist?
Look for a therapist with specific training in psychedelic- assisted therapy frameworks, not only general clinical experience. Familiarity with non-ordinary states of consciousness, trauma-informed practice, and comfort working with somatic and parts-based material that ketamine can surface are the most relevant qualifications. A free consultation is standard and allows you to assess whether the therapist understands this work from the inside.