Ketamine Treatment
I already know a lot about ketamine. Please just take me to your ketamine service offerings.
What is Ketamine?
Ketamine treatment is a cutting-edge mental health treatment that utilizes ketamine, a well-established FDA-approved anesthetic, in an “off label” use for mental health conditions. Low (sub-anesthetic) doses of racemic ketamine are administered to alleviate symptoms of various mental health conditions. Unlike traditional psychotropic medications, ketamine can work rapidly, often providing relief within hours to days. It has been shown to be particularly effective in treating conditions such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD.
At Wily Wellness, we specialize in ketamine treatment for mental health offering this innovative treatment via intramuscular injection. Our approach is designed to provide a safe, supportive environment that enhances the therapeutic potential of ketamine, helping you to achieve a rewarding and transformative experience.
How Does Ketamine Work?
Ketamine works by modulating the brain’s neurotransmitters, particularly glutamate, which plays a key role in mood regulation. By disrupting negative thought patterns and creating new neural connections, ketamine can provide rapid relief from symptoms of depression and other mental health disorders. The experience during a ketamine session often includes a dream-like state, which can offer new insights and perspectives that are further explored during integration therapy.
How Might Ketamine Help Me?
Ketamine Therapy has shown promise in treating a variety of conditions, including:
Depression: Particularly treatment-resistant depression
Anxiety: Generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
End-of-Life Distress
Who Should NOT Have Ketamine?
While ketamine is a powerful therapeutic tool, it is not suitable for everyone. You should not undergo ketamine therapy if you:
Have a history of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders
Suffer from bipolar disorder and are currently in a manic phase or in the process of titrating your medication
Are currently pregnant or breastfeeding
Have uncontrolled high blood pressure or uncontrolled heart rate/rhythm disturbances
Have severe liver or kidney disease
Have a history of substance abuse without proper management
Our team will conduct a thorough assessment to ensure that ketamine therapy is safe and appropriate for you.
Wily Wellness takes a different approach, integrating medically-supervised ketamine with psychotherapy to maximize its therapeutic benefits.
Other Models of Ketamine Treatment
The Medical Model
This approach is offered in clinics run by anesthesiologists, CRNAs, or ER physicians—providers with strong medical backgrounds but little psychiatric training. Treatment is highly medicalized: sessions take place in a clinic room, often with remote monitoring. Dosing is weight-based and adjusted as needed. Patients recline in a quiet, dimly lit room while receiving treatment, with vitals monitored but minimal therapeutic support. They may be alone or separated from others by a curtain. A medical assistant ensures comfort, but no psychotherapy is provided.The Psychotherapy Model
At the other end of the spectrum, this model starts with a psychotherapist who collaborates with a prescribing medical professional. The “prescriber,” whom you may meet briefly over telehealth, prescribes ketamine but has little direct involvement. Sessions take place in the therapist’s office using oral or sub-lingual ketamine. Patients check their own vital signs, and dose adjustments rely on therapist feedback. Finding the right dose can involve significant trial and error.The At-Home Model
This option provides minimal medical oversight or psychiatric support. After a brief telehealth consultation, ketamine is mailed to the patient. Sessions are self-administered, with the expectation that a designated support person is present—though verification is rarely enforced. While convenient, this model lacks structured monitoring and therapeutic guidance.
How Wily Wellness Is Different
At Wily Wellness, we offer a medically supervised, yet warm and supportive approach to ketamine treatment. Unlike traditional clinics, we blend medical expertise with psychiatric insight, ensuring both safety and a deeply therapeutic experience. Our team is specially trained in psychedelic science and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, having guided over 2,000 sessions. We create a comfortable, non-clinical environment where you are fully supported—medically, emotionally, and therapeutically—so that ketamine is not just administered, but thoughtfully integrated into your healing journey.
The Power of Set and Setting
At Wily Wellness, we know that your mindset and environment shape your ketamine experience.“Set” is your inner state—your thoughts, emotions, and expectations—while “setting” is the space and support around you. Both are essential for meaningful healing. That’s why we’ve created a warm, calming environment where you’re fully supported—medically, emotionally, and therapeutically. From the moment you arrive, our compassionate team is by your side, ensuring that every session is safe, intentional, and transformative.
Ketamine and Psychotherapy: Can They Work Separately?
While ketamine can be effective on its own, research shows that combining it with psychotherapy—during the session, in the days after, or both—significantly enhances both its antidepressant effects and their long-term durability.
This is where integration therapy plays a crucial role. It helps you process insights, navigate emotional shifts, and solidify positive changes from your ketamine experience. At Wily Wellness, we incorporate psychotherapy during your session to deepen the therapeutic process and ensure that ketamine is not just administered but meaningfully integrated into your healing journey. Additionally, engaging in deeper psychotherapy in the days following treatment can be especially powerful, as your brain remains highly receptive to change during this period.
By combining ketamine with psychotherapy, we help you transform insights into lasting, meaningful growth.
You MUST have a designated driver to take you home after your ketamine session.
How to Prepare for Your Ketamine Session
Preparation is essential to getting the most out of your ketamine therapy. We encourage you to approach your session with an open mind and a clear intention for what you hope to explore or achieve. Before your session, our team will provide personalized guidance to help you feel mentally and emotionally ready.
To optimize your experience, we recommend:
Avoiding alcohol and recreational drugs in the days leading up to your session.
Prioritizing rest and hydration to support your body and mind.
Following the detailed care instructions we provide for both the morning of your session and the evening after.
By preparing thoughtfully, you create the best conditions for a meaningful and transformative experience.
Ketamine Services at Wily Wellness
A Word About Qualifications
Ideally, ketamine providers offering treatment for mental health should have training in both psychiatry and medicine. Managing ketamine treatment requires not only medical expertise but also a deep understanding of mental health conditions to ensure the safest and most effective care.
At Wily Wellness, our nurse practitioners hold doctoral degrees and are dual-certified as Psychiatric Mental Health and Family/Acute Care Nurse Practitioners. This unique combination of medical and psychiatric expertise allows us to comprehensively manage both the medical and mental health aspects of your treatment, ensuring that your ketamine therapy is safe and tailored to your individual needs.
We offer two types of ketamine sessions to support individuals experiencing depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other mental health conditions.
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) – A guided experience with psychotherapy during your ketamine session ($595 per session)
Ketamine Treatment (KT) – A supervised medical-only session, only for experienced ketamine patients who do not require in-session therapy ($495 per session)
Both options are medically supervised, in-office treatments conducted in accordance with the best practice guidelines of the American Society of Ketamine Physicians, Psychotherapists, and Providers and the Arizona Board of Nursing Advisory Opinion on Ketamine Administration . Each session includes comprehensive medical and psychiatric oversight to ensure your safety, comfort, and the most therapeutic experience possible.
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP)
KAP sessions may be conducted with a Wily Wellness PMHNP or you may invite a Cathexis Psychedelics therapist. If you bring your Cathexis Psychedelics therapist, a Wily Wellness PMHNP will handle the medical aspects of treatment and remain available for support throughout the session.
KAP combines ketamine with psychotherapy in a 2-hour session to enhance treatment for depression, anxiety, PTSD, trauma, and other mental health conditions.
Who is KAP for?
KAP is ideal for individuals who:
Are struggling with depression, anxiety, PTSD, trauma, grief, or other mental health conditions.
Want professional therapeutic support while undergoing ketamine treatment.
Are looking for a structured approach to working through mental health challenges.
What to Expect in a KAP Session
Preparation & Intention-Setting
Each session begins with a brief medical and psychiatric assessment by a Wily Wellness PMHNP. Anti-nausea medication will be offered and vital signs measured.
We will discuss your symptoms and treatment goals and use breathwork or mindfulness techniques to help you reach a comfortable mindset.
Ketamine Administration & Experience
You will be comfortably reclined with a weighted blanket and an eye mask to promote a sense of safety and help prevent nausea.
The PMHNP will administer intramuscular ketamine (typically 2 doses about 10-15 minutes apart) and remain by your side throughout the session.
Music is carefully selected to create a therapeutic environment and help your thoughts flow.
As you transition into an altered state of consciousness, you may process your emotions aloud, or you may focus inward on your thoughts.
Post-Session Integration & Reflection
As the ketamine wears off, we will gently guide you back to baseline with grounding techniques.
We take notes during your session so you can revisit key insights without struggling to recall them.
We will discuss how the experience relates to your mental health symptoms and treatment progress.
Ketamine Treatment (KT)
Starting Summer 2025
Ketamine Treatment (KT) is a medical-only session for individuals who have already completed an initial series of ketamine treatments and are continuing ketamine therapy to maintain progress in treating depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other mental health conditions.
Who is Ketamine Treatment (KT) for?
This option is suitable for individuals who:
Have previously completed 3-6 ketamine sessions (at Wily Wellness or another clinic).
Are on a stable dose and have had no adverse effects.
Do not require in-session psychotherapy but still benefit from ketamine’s effects.
Are using ketamine to support mood stabilization, neuroplasticity, and long-term symptom relief.
What to Expect in a KT Session
Medical Preparation
The session begins with a brief medical and psychiatric assessment by a Wily Wellness nurse practitioner. The nurse practitioner remains onsite throughout your session.
Anti-nausea medication will be offered and vital signs measured.
Ketamine Administration & Experience
You will be comfortably reclined with a weighted blanket and an eye mask to promote a sense of safety and help prevent nausea.
A Registered Nurse (RN) receives orders from the nurse practitioner and administers intramuscular ketamine (typically 2 doses spaced 10-15 minutes apart) and remains present to provide continuous medical monitoring.
There is no in-session psychotherapy, but the RN will take notes if you wish to speak.
You are free to silently focus your thoughts inward or verbalize any thoughts related to your mental health symptoms.
You may bring your own headphones and music or you may ask the RN to play one of our playlists.
Post-Session Monitoring
The RN will check your vital signs and overall well-being as you return to baseline.
If you choose, you can bring the RN’s notes with you to a later therapy session (either at Wily Wellness or with your own therapist).
Ketamine Treatment is best for those who already know how ketamine works for them and are seeking continued symptom relief without guided psychotherapy during the session.
Although psychotherapy is not included in KT sessions, we encourage you to schedule psychotherapy—either with a Wily Wellness PMHNP or your own therapist—during the window of increased neuroplasticity in the days following each session. Your therapist does not need specialized training in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy to help you process insights and reinforce the therapeutic benefits of ketamine.
How Many Ketamine Sessions Will I Need?
The number of ketamine sessions needed varies based on individual needs, diagnosis, and treatment response. At Wily Wellness, we follow an evidence-based approach that typically includes two phases:
Induction Phase (KAP)
New patients generally begin with an initial series of 3 to 6 KAP sessions over 2 to 3 weeks. This structured approach helps establish a strong therapeutic foundation and allows us to assess how you respond to ketamine.
Some patients experience improvements after 1 or 2 sessions, while others need more sessions to see significant benefits.
Research suggests that completing an induction series helps maximize ketamine’s effects on neuroplasticity, mood regulation, and symptom relief.
Maintenance Phase (KAP or KT)
After the initial series, many patients transition to a maintenance phase, with sessions scheduled every 4 to 12 weeks depending on their response.
The longer you continue ketamine treatment, the longer the benefits tend to last.
Research evidence shows that both the anti-depressant effects and the durability of those effects improves with concurrent psychotherapy, either in the ketamine session itself (KAP) or a day or two after each session (for example, a KT session with separate psychotherapy appointments a day or two afterward)
Some patients continue maintenance sessions for long-term symptom relief, while others gradually reduce frequency as their symptoms improve.
Each person’s treatment plan is personalized, and we will work with you to determine the optimal number of sessions based on your progress and goals.
Click here for a Good Faith Estimate of costs of ketamine treatment.
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