It is a legal, safe and effective medicine used to treat a variety of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety and PTSD. This medicine has rapidly-acting antidepressant and mood-enhancing effects, which can begin to take effect within 1-2 hrs. after treatment and last for up to 2 weeks. It works by blocking the brain’s NMDA receptors as well as by stimulating AMPA receptors, which are thought to help form new synaptic connections and boost neural circuits that regulate stress and mood. It has also been shown to enhance overall neuroplasticity for lasting symptom improvement.

This medicine can be administered in a variety of ways, including IV infusion, intramuscular injection, via nasal spray and using sublingual lozenges.

The effects, which most patients find pleasant, last for about 45-60 minutes. These effects can make you feel “far from” your body, and facilitate shifts in perception that can often feel expansive in nature. Your motor and verbal abilities will be reduced, so you’ll be lying down in a comfortable position during the experience. Once these effects subsided, we’ll spend the remainder of our appointment giving you space to process and discuss your experience. While it may feel hard to articulate what happened during the experience, patients feel like the insights gained are none-the-less clear. Studies have shown that the benefits to mood and neurological growth can last up to two weeks after the experience.

1. Initial consultation

You schedule an initial evaluation with a clinician via zoom. They will go over your medical and psychiatric history with you, provide education on the treatment and determine if you are eligible for KAP.

If the medical team determines that you are eligible for KAP, they will develop a personalized prescription and outcome monitoring plan for you.

The prescriber’s medical staff will write a prescription for you, and a small amount of oral dose will be sent to your home, enough for the first 2 KAP sessions. You will be taught to take your vitals and self-administer the lozenges by the medical team in advance of our KAP sessions.

2. Preparation sessions:

Once you receive your lozenges, we will schedule time together for our KAP preparation, dosing and integration sessions. Preparation session(s) will be scheduled just like regular therapy sessions prior to the KAP dosing session. The goal of a preparation session(s) is to align on the process and set intentions for our KAP sessions together.

3. KAP Dosing Session:

A typical dosing session lasts between 1-3 hours and can take place either in-person at my office, or remotely via telehealth if you have a chaperone present to monitor you.

During a dosing session, you will self-administer your lozenge either in my office or in your home. You will be in a comfortable, reclining position wearing an eye mask and listening to calming music. Although a KAP dosing session may be largely an internal experience, I will be present with you the entire time to hold space and provide support as needed.

4. Integration Sessions:

After our KAP dosing session, we will meet for multiple integration therapy sessions to review the memories, thoughts & insights that arose during your dosing session, and to prepare for the next dosing session.

5. Follow-up consultations:

After our first KAP session, the medical team schedules regular follow ups with you to monitor outcomes and prescribe medicine refills, as appropriate. The frequency of follow ups depends on your unique treatment plan.

In NYC and across the country, there are many treatment centers that focus on administering medications that have been proven to decrease the suffering from expressions of depression, anxiety, OCD, and other symptom clusters.

Unfortunately, many people who go to these clinics are not sufficiently supported, and often feel alone in their unique experiences. I’m happy to help individuals integrate their IV/IM higher-dose medicine journeys.

Some people travel to retreats where different medicines are legal. It is important to not feel alone in these experiences, and I am happy to offer this support.

Although I do not offer sitting services for medicines that are not yet legal in NY, I do offer prep and integration for people who choose them.

Although I am not currently partnering directly with any microdose providers, I do have experience providing therapy for clients who are using Joyous and Mindbloom.