Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy for Trauma in Chicago
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) combines a prescribed ketamine lozenge with psychotherapy. Your therapist is with you for the whole medicine session, and the work happens before, during and after it, with ketamine as one tool within a larger therapeutic process.
Who ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is for
People usually come to us for ketamine-assisted psychotherapy when something hasn't shifted with talk therapy alone. Often that's complex trauma or childhood trauma, attachment wounds, childhood emotional neglect, or depression that hasn't lifted. Many have spent years in therapy and understand their history well, and still notice emotional and physical reactions that feel outside their control. If that sounds familiar, our page on when talk therapy isn't working describes it in more detail.
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is most often explored for depression, trauma and PTSD, and anxiety. It isn't right for everyone, and a medical provider decides whether it's safe for you (more on that below).
How our approach is different
Some ketamine clinics focus mainly on giving the medicine and monitoring you medically, and the treatment may not include psychotherapy. Our approach builds ketamine into a structured therapeutic process: preparation sessions before, a therapist with you during, and integration afterward. Some IV clinics also offer psychotherapy and integration, so the real difference is the treatment model rather than whether the medicine is given by IV or as a lozenge. Our page on IV ketamine clinics and ketamine therapy with a therapist compares the two in plain terms.
We don't expect the medicine to do the healing on its own, and we don't promise that one powerful session will undo years of distress. Preparation, a supportive relationship with your therapist, and integration are the work.
You can keep your current therapist
You don't need to leave your existing therapist to do ketamine-assisted psychotherapy with us. An established therapy relationship can be a real support through this work.
With your written permission, we coordinate with your therapist: their understanding of your goals and history, and the areas where extra support might help. We provide the preparation, the medicine sessions and integration, while your therapist continues your ongoing therapy. Your therapist doesn't need to practise ketamine-assisted psychotherapy themselves. They do need to understand the general process, be comfortable working this way, and be willing to support you as you make sense of your experiences. We agree clear roles at the start and keep each other informed about your progress and safety.
Therapists who'd like to refer a client can find more on our page for providers.
How ketamine-assisted psychotherapy works, step by step
1. Consultation and medical evaluation
We start with a consultation to understand what you're hoping for and whether this is a good fit. You'll also need a medical evaluation with a prescribing provider, who decides whether ketamine is medically appropriate for you and prescribes it.
3. The journey (medicine session)
A session usually lasts about two and a half to three hours.
- Arriving and settling in. We check in emotionally and physically, revisit your intention, and answer any last questions.
- The medicine experience. You take the ketamine lozenge yourself while your therapist is with you. Music, an eye mask and a comfortable space support you as you settle in. Your therapist stays present the whole time.
- What happens during it. Some people notice images, emotions, memories, body sensations or a shift in perspective. Others notice very little they can put into words. Either is normal. We let the experience unfold without forcing anything. Depending on your state and what we've agreed, support might be quiet presence, attention to sensations in your body, or talking.
- Coming back. As the effects ease, there's time to reorient. We may talk briefly about what came up and plan the next integration session.
- Leaving. We go over aftercare and confirm you've arranged safe transport home.
2. Preparation
Preparation sessions happen before any medicine. We explore your history, set goals and an intention for the experience, build trust, and talk through what to expect, including anything you're worried about. Together we create a setting that feels comfortable to you, which can include photos, music, objects or words that matter to you. You don't have to share everything at once or push past what feels manageable.
4. Integration
Having an experience and making use of it in your life are two different things. Integration is where we explore what felt meaningful, what emotions or patterns came up, whether anything shifted in how you relate to yourself, and what might need more support. Then we look at how that could show up in your relationships, your boundaries and your everyday choices.
Integration can draw on Internal Family Systems (IFS) to understand protective parts, body-based work to notice how your body responds, or EMDR when it's clinically appropriate to work with distressing memories. Sometimes integration means understanding a profound experience. Sometimes it means making sense of one that felt confusing or hard. Integration usually begins right after a session and continues between medicine sessions.
Individual sessions or a group
Individual ketamine-assisted psychotherapy suits people who want more privacy, their own pacing, or close one-to-one support. Our ketamine-assisted therapy group in Lakeview brings together each person's own medicine experience with the support of a small group of no more than six people: for many people who carry trauma, shame or isolation, being supported and witnessed by others is part of the healing. Neither is better than the other; they're different settings, and we'll help you decide which fits.
Our groups are limited to 6 members. Two KAP trained therapists will be present at every session. Read more about our ketamine-assisted therapy groups pilot in a public HIV clinic.
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy or PSIP?
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is the broader process of bringing ketamine into therapy. PSIP (Psychedelic Somatic Interactional Psychotherapy) is one specific way of doing that work, in which the therapist takes a more active role, paying close attention to body sensations, emotional responses, protective patterns and what happens between you and the therapist.
Which one suits you depends on your history, your goals, how stable things feel right now and how you've responded to therapy before. Someone seeking ketamine treatment mainly for depression may do well with ketamine-assisted psychotherapy without intensive trauma processing. Someone working with complex trauma, dissociation or attachment difficulties may want to explore whether a somatic and relational approach like PSIP is a better fit.
Who it isn't right for, and the medical side
Ketamine is FDA-approved as an anesthetic. It is not FDA-approved for the treatment of any psychiatric condition, so its use in mental health care is off-label. That's why a medical provider screens you, prescribes the medicine and makes the final decision about whether it's appropriate for you.
Before starting, everyone goes through medical and psychological screening. Things that may mean postponing, extra evaluation or a different approach include uncontrolled high blood pressure, some heart conditions, a history of psychosis or mania, active substance misuse, and pregnancy, among other medical and psychiatric concerns. A history of dissociation or complex trauma doesn't rule you out, but it may mean more preparation and stabilization first. We also look at whether you have enough support around you, and whether you can safely follow the treatment and aftercare plan.
Costs and insurance
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy sessions are billed at our hourly rate of $165 for individuals and $225 for couples. A medicine session usually runs 2.5 to 3 hours, so an individual session is about $410 to $495. These sessions aren't covered by insurance.
Related assessments and integration sessions are billed to insurance where your plan covers therapy. See insurance and fees.
The medical evaluation is paid to the prescribing provider, usually about $350 to $450. It's often covered by insurance, and you'll receive a superbill to submit.
The medicine is paid to the pharmacy and usually runs about $5 to $10 per lozenge.
The group has its own fee, listed on the group page.
After the first assessment, we're happy to give you a written treatment plan and a Good Faith Estimate.
Our training and research
Sharon Steckler, MSW, LCSW has trained in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy at the Polaris Insight Center, in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy through MAPS, and in PSIP at the Psychedelic Somatic Institute.
Agi Corona Semrad, M.Ed., LPC has trained in PSIP at the Psychedelic Somatic Institute and provides individual and group ketamine-assisted psychotherapy.
Sharon and Agi were part of the team, with two physicians and a nurse, behind a ketamine-assisted therapy group pilot in a public urban HIV clinic.
Who you'd work with
Your ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is led by Sharon Steckler or Agi Corona Semrad. Medicine sessions take place in person at our Lakeview office; consultations, preparation and integration can often be done by telehealth anywhere in Illinois.
Questions people ask before starting
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No. With your written permission we work alongside them, and they continue your ongoing therapy.
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The medicine sessions aren't. Related assessments and integration sessions are billed to insurance where your plan covers therapy, and the medical evaluation is often covered. See insurance and fees.
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Some people experience very little they can describe, and that's normal. Preparation and integration still matter, and we'll talk together about what you noticed and what you'd like to do next.
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Usually not, and we'd be cautious of anyone who promises that. Ketamine is one tool within a longer therapeutic process. How many medicine sessions make sense is something we decide together as we go.
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Sometimes memories, images or feelings come up during a session, and sometimes very little does. We don't go looking for memories, and we don't treat what comes up as proof of anything. Whatever emerges is explored at your pace in integration.
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For some people it can feel harder before it feels easier, which is one reason preparation and integration are part of every course of treatment, and why screening comes first. If you have a history of dissociation, we spend more time on preparation and stabilization before any medicine session.
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The difference is the role therapy plays. Read our comparison of IV ketamine clinics and ketamine therapy with a therapist.
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Medicine sessions are in person in Lakeview. Consultations, preparation and integration can be done by telehealth for anyone located in Illinois.