How to Prepare for a Ketamine Therapy Session
Prepare Yourself to Maximize Results
As you prepare for your first ketamine therapy session, you may be feeling a wide array of emotions—excitement, uncertainty, hope, and curiosity. This article will address how you can effectively prepare yourself for ketamine therapy by setting yourself and your environment up for maximum integration.
Define Your “Why”
It’s important to take time before you begin your ketamine therapy treatment to understand what is bringing you to this work. What’s your “why”? Why embark on this journey? What internal compass guided you to this decision and what are you hoping to explore and discover through the process? Why now?
Sometimes our innate healing intelligence steers us toward endeavors without explicit conscious rationale. However, articulating your intentions and aspirations with clarity and coherence is usually helpful. Consider dedicating time to introspection—engage with a confidant, journal your thoughts, sit in contemplation, connect with nature, daydream.
The endeavor of voicing your “why” instigates a translation of internal impulses, images, or disjointed thoughts into articulate language. Your therapist will be part of this process as well. Feel free to bring your questions, fears, concerns, hopes, and dreams to your preparation sessions leading up to the ketamine session.
Consider Your “Set and Setting”
The term “Set and Setting” emerged from the early psychedelic science pioneers in the 1950s and 60s. “Set and Setting” refers to the environment and intention in which you do psychedelics, and can make all the difference between a therapeutic, healing experience and a “bad trip.”
Your mindset, or “Set,” serves as the precursor to the experience. Cultivating a calm, open, and trusting mindset for your inaugural session proves advantageous. A frenetic state induced by a hectic day before your ketamine session, overwhelming doubt, or external conflicts can impede an optimal mindset. To prepare, consider:
Prioritizing restful sleep
Engaging in calming activities like journaling and spending time in nature
Eating a balanced diet
Practicing meditation or other contemplative practices (e.g. yoga, chanting, prayer) to quiet the mind
Considering your intentions for your ketamine therapy session
The “Setting” in which you do your session refers to the physical environment where the experience unfolds, which will most likely be your therapist’s office. A serene, secure, and undisturbed ambiance is the most conducive environment for a transformative experience. If you plan to be at your therapist’s office for your session, you can count on them to create a soothing environment with dim lights and privacy. In our office, we provide eye masks, blankets and pillows, tarot/oracle cards, candles, and other items to create a comfortable and ceremonial space. You may wish to wear comfortable clothes and bring any additional items such as pictures of loved ones, precious objects, and a favorite blanket and/or pillow.
Identify Your Intentions
The intention you set before your ketamine session will delineate the mindset with which you enter the session, the themes you wish to explore, and the emotional and psychological terrain you may cover.
Intentions are distinct from expectations—an intention is an aspiration, whereas an expectation might turn into an egoic and forced agenda, which is usually uncomfortable and can feel unhelpful. Entering your ketamine session with spaciousness, curiosity, and a willingness to be surprised is often more supportive, allowing space for your experience to unfold organically.
Intentions, inherently personal and fluid, might shift from one session to the next. Embrace the uniqueness of each experience, recalibrating intentions in tandem with evolving needs. Engage in private introspection, and collaborate with your therapist to refine your intentions as you move through your sessions.
Clear Your House
If you find that you tend to ruminate, you may try, adopting the “clear house” approach before embarking on a ketamine therapy journey.
This concept advocates for addressing lingering tasks or unresolved matters—a figurative or literal tidying up of one's life canvas. Whether it entails tidying your living space so that you can return to a beautiful and tranquil environment after your session, or tending to overlooked errands, resolving these elements pre-session cultivates calm and presence. And, of course, remember to turn off your phone and plan to take the afternoon or evening off work following your session. You may return to work the following day.
The “clear house” method serves as a supportive preparatory avenue, ensuring minimal mental distractions and enhancing a conducive “Set and Setting.”
Trust, Let Go, and Embrace Openness
“Trust, Let Go, and Be Open” is a time-honored mantra derived from extensive psychedelic science and early clinical research—and normalizes the concerns and doubts that may precede ketamine therapy.
Trust is the foundational pillar—cultivate trust in the therapeutic journey, your safety, and the expert guidance offered. Letting go catalyzes a complete immersion in the experience, relinquishing preconceived notions and expectations. Openness fosters receptivity to the experience's nuances and insights.
With clarity on your “why,” an aligned “Set and Setting,” spacious intentions, and “Trust, Let Go, and Embrace Openness” in your awareness, you will be more prepared for the transformative potential of ketamine therapy.
Next Steps
If you are interested in learning more about ketamine therapy and would like to schedule a consultation to see if it’s a fit for you, please reach out.