EMDR + Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
Exploring Deeper Patterns. Creating New Possibilities for Healing.
Sometimes understanding where our struggles come from isn't enough to change how we experience them.
You may recognize the origins of your fears, insecurities, or relationship patterns, yet continue reacting in ways that leave you feeling disconnected, overwhelmed, or frustrated with yourself.
EMDR combined with Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (EMDR-KAP) offers an integrative approach that may help some individuals explore these deeply rooted emotional experiences from a different perspective.
What Is EMDR-KAP?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based psychotherapy designed to help individuals process distressing memories and experiences that continue to influence their emotions, beliefs, and behaviors.
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) incorporates ketamine, a medication that temporarily alters perception and may create opportunities for emotional exploration and psychological flexibility.
When thoughtfully integrated, these approaches may complement one another. EMDR provides a structured framework for understanding and processing distressing experiences, while ketamine-assisted sessions may offer opportunities to explore emotions, memories, and perspectives in a different state of awareness.
Although both approaches have clinical applications, their combined use remains an emerging practice, and research has not yet established that EMDR-KAP is more effective than either approach alone.
EMDR-KAP and the Experiences of Gay Men
For many gay men, experiences of rejection, shame, emotional disconnection, or pressure to conceal aspects of ourselves can leave lasting impressions on how we experience relationships and our sense of worth.
These experiences may contribute to beliefs such as I'm not enough, I'm not important, or I can't trust others, even when we intellectually recognize that those beliefs don't reflect who we are today.
EMDR-KAP may offer a way to explore the experiences underlying these beliefs while developing greater emotional awareness, self-compassion, and capacity for connection.
The goal isn't to change who you are, but to examine the experiences and protective patterns that may be limiting how freely you can be yourself.
My Approach
My approach integrates attachment-focused EMDR principles with the preparation, medication-assisted exploration, and integration components of KAP.
Depending on your individual needs, treatment may include:
Preparation and Resourcing: Strengthening emotional regulation, internal safety, and supportive resources before deeper therapeutic work.
Ketamine-Assisted Sessions: Exploring emotions and experiences with therapeutic support in a structured setting.
EMDR Processing and Integration: Using clinically appropriate EMDR interventions to address distressing experiences, strengthen adaptive beliefs, and integrate insights into everyday life.
EMDR trauma reprocessing is not necessarily conducted during ketamine dosing sessions. The timing and use of EMDR interventions are determined by your readiness, clinical needs, and response to treatment.
My Partnership With Journey Clinical
I partner with Journey Clinical, a medical provider specializing in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy.
Journey Clinical's licensed medical team conducts medical evaluations, determines eligibility, prescribes ketamine when appropriate, and provides medical oversight. I provide the psychotherapy component, including EMDR-informed preparation, therapeutic support during dosing sessions, and integration.
Ketamine is prescribed off-label for KAP and carries potential risks and side effects. Medical eligibility and treatment suitability are assessed individually.
Moving Beyond Understanding
Recognizing our patterns is an important step. Learning to experience ourselves and our relationships differently is often where the deeper work begins.
EMDR-KAP may provide an opportunity to approach familiar emotional experiences with greater curiosity, flexibility, and compassion—not by erasing what happened, but by changing how we relate to its lasting impact.
Interested in exploring EMDR-KAP? I invite you to schedule a consultation to discuss whether this integrative approach may be appropriate for you.
THERAPY