Practical Audacity now offers Psychedelic Therapy

(with Midwest Alternative Treatment Clinic)

Practical Audacity Gender and Sex Therapy is excited to announce our partnership with Midwest Alternative Treatment Clinic (MATC) to provide access to ketamine infusions, treatment, and therapeutic integration for our clients.  

In collaboration with MATC, current clients and new long-term clients at Practical Audacity will be able to add on this powerful, research-backed therapeutic tool.¹ 

Treatment will take place in our exceptionally cozy office space, which is intentionally designed to provide comfort. It also doubles as the familiar space where you already meet with your therapist.

Psychedelic therapy has decades of research supporting its use and is heralded by many as the next frontier of mental health care.² At Practical Audacity, we’re excited to be on the forefront of care for our clients, offering you as many tools as possible to build a life where you feel free, seen, and authentic. 

Ketamine is unique among psychedelic medicines as it’s been legally used since the 60’s for mental health concerns and has relatively few side effects.³

 

who is ketamine right for?

Ketamine treatment is a therapeutic tool that can assist your work in ongoing therapy. 

While ketamine is often highly effective for therapy and medication resistant concerns such as severe depression, anxiety, PTSD/trauma, and suicidal ideation, it is far from being a “last resort” for our clients. 

Rather than only focusing on diagnosis and severe concerns, at Practical Audacity, we believe ketamine treatment can function as a key to unlock the work you’re already doing in therapy and move towards your therapeutic goals with more ease. 

 

+ If you are working on any of the following things, you might be a good fit for Ketamine Treatment and Integration:

  • Examining old patterns
  • Increasing your emotional regulation skills
  • Feeling stuck in your life or therapy progress
  • Feeling connected to yourself and more at home in your body
  • Addressing negative thoughts and feeling about yourself
  • Feeling connected to others and “something bigger”
  • Getting out of your head and into your body (e.g., trying to decrease overthinking)
  • Struggling to implement coping skills because your anxiety or depression symptoms are getting in the way
  • Getting in touch with emotions
  • Struggling to let go of something holding you back
  • Exploring gender identity and expression
  • Exploring sexual orientation and relationships
  • Exploring pleasure and sexuality
  • Wanting a “reset” and sense of calm after an intense time (e.g., breakup, a big life event, increased work or home stress, etc)
  • Decreasing anxiety and overwhelm
  • Decreasing depression symptoms
  • Decreasing trauma symptoms and exploring trauma

+ If these goals resonate with you, ketamine therapy and integration may help you:

  • Increase openness towards emotions and bodily experiences
  • Gain some distance from an overthinking mind
  • Get in touch with emotions
  • Feel more connected to yourself and your body
  • Feel more confident in the person you are
  • Develop self-love and self-compassion
  • Feel a new sense of possibility and hope
  • Feel a sense of releasing something or letting go of something holding you back
  • Feel more connected to others or a sense of belonging
  • Create clarity for better decision making
  • Loosen some fixed or stuck points in your life
  • Gain new, broader perspectives
  • Integrate and apply coping skills discussed in talk therapy in a safe environment
  • Feel a general sense of wellbeing, peace, and calm
  • Discover or re-discover inner resources
  • Feel a sense of expansiveness and awe or connection to something larger (often described as feeling connected to the universe, source, or a mystical or spiritual experience)
    • This connection to larger spiritual or mystical connections to the universe has been explored in many Indigenous communities for thousands of years. This is different from a religious experience.
  • Feel a sense of “expansiveness” in your body which can help with emotional regulation and processing of difficult emotions and experiences.
    • Some have described this as removing a barricade on a highway so they can drive to where they want to go

At Practical Audacity, we believe that talk therapy is effective and life-changing, and also understand the vast wisdom our body and subconscious mind have to help us move towards thriving. Ketamine Therapy is one tool to help you do just that – thrive. 

 
 

what is taking ketamine like?

A ketamine infusion typically runs for 45 minutes. Ketamine is rapidly absorbed, and effects are usually felt in about 2 minutes.

During treatment, you will be in a comfortable recliner in a private office at Practical Audacity, monitored by medical staff. You’ll have eye shades on, personalized ambient music playing through noise canceling headphones specifically designed to enhance the ketamine experience, and blankets wrapped around you. You will be monitored via a video camera system by the MATC team.

Everyone’s experience on ketamine is unique and personal to them and can’t be entirely predicted. 

You will likely feel “out of body,” like you are floating, during a large portion of the ketamine treatment. Many people see shifting visuals of fantasy or colors, or revisit old memories of varying intensities, while some may have a more internal experience without visuals. Some folks describe increased awareness of body sensations and feeling disconnected from intellectual thoughts.

Your emotions during the treatment may vary quite a bit depending on your mood, what’s happening in the rest of your life, and your intentions for the session. Sometimes, ketamine treatment might bring up painful feelings or memories. In these cases, it’s important to remember that ketamine treatment, like therapy, is meant to help us move through the hard things and sometimes that can be challenging. 

Most people feel a sense of calm after treatment and describe the experience as positive and pleasant. 

Usually people describe feeling a shift in their emotions and body immediately during and after treatment. They often describe a sense of openness, with their body, emotions, coping skills, and thoughts feeling “looser” and more available to them. The necessary experience of “letting go” of control in a psychedelic experience can be healing and rewarding in itself, helping folks integrate coping skills and practice feeling safe and supported within themselves.

After the infusion, effects typically dissipate within another 45 minutes. You should not drive, drink alcohol, or operate dangerous machinery on the same day after treatment.

We require all clients to do a therapeutic preparation session and integration sessions within a week of each ketamine treatment. These sessions with a licensed therapist are designed to help prepare you for ketamine therapy and integrate your experience after treatment. 

Please read below for more information on the Ketamine Integration Process offered at Practical Audacity.

 
 
 
 

how do i get started?

Currently, this service is only available to new, long-term clients or existing clients at Practical Audacity.

To begin your Ketamine Treatment journey, please contact our Intake Coordinator at intake@practicalaudacity.com and let us know you are interested in this service. 

We will have you fill out a short questionnaire and connect you with MATC and coordinate scheduling of preparation and integration sessions.

If you are unsure if ketamine is right for you, please talk to your therapist.

In order to provide a more comprehensive experience for those seeking ketamine treatment, we have therapists available to walk alongside you in this process. Before starting ketamine treatment at MATC, you will hold at least one preparation session with a therapist at Practical Audacity in order to set intentions for the ketamine treatment. Set and setting are important prior to treatment; the mindset and the setting in which you receive the treatment will impact results.

You will also hold a pre-treatment evaluation with Dr. Manno and Midwest Alternative Treatment Clinic (MATC) to review your medical history and discuss further what to expect during the treatment experience.

Following each dose of ketamine (administered via infusion, typically 2x a week for 2 weeks with additional boosters arranged after), you will then meet with your Practical Audacity therapist for integration sessions. These are non-concurrent, meaning that they do not take place during or immediately following the ketamine dose. 

Please join the waitlist for any short-term Ketamine Integration Services offered at Practical Audacity in the future.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

+ Do I have to have a therapist at Practical Audacity to access ketamine?

Yes. We believe Ketamine Treatment is most useful when paired with talk therapy to help prepare and integrate the experience. How much does it cost? While your therapy and integration sessions can be billed to insurance (as well as potentially any preparation appointments with Midwest Alternative Treatment Group that do not involve administering Ketamine) the Ketamine Treatment itself is an out-of-pocket expense, paid towards MATC.

The cost for one Ketamine session is $350. Depending on what you are hoping to get out of using Ketamine, the doctor may recommend 4-6 sessions on average to get the full effect. MATC has financing and payment plans options available.

+ Who is not a good fit for ketamine treatment?

If you have experienced a history of mania, there is an increased risk of experiencing hypomanic states after ketamine infusions. If you have a history of psychosis, there is an increased risk of experiencing psychosis after ketamine infusions. There are some medical conditions which might interact with ketamine treatment. Dr. Manno and the MATC team will evaluate your medical history to determine if you are a good fit.

+ What are the risks of using ketamine?

There is also a potential for an increased psychological desire for chronic use. However, this risk is highly dependent on how the substance is framed and introduced into your life. At Practical Audacity, we incorporate ketamine treatment in conjunction with psychotherapy to enhance the effectiveness of your clinical treatment.

For more information on potential physiological side effects, please contact Midwest Alternative Treatment Clinic.

+ What happens if I start feeling off during the infusion?

You will be monitored via a video camera system by the MATC team. They are responsive to any needs you may have during the infusion. If nausea is a concern, they can give you an anti-nausea medication in conjunction with ketamine.

Please discuss during your preparation session with your therapist how to prepare for difficult emotions and challenging experiences. Difficult feelings can and do come up during ketamine infusions–the integration sessions will help you process these experiences.

+ Can I drive myself home or take public transportation after Ketamine Treatment?

It is strongly recommended that folks arrange a ride with a trusted person after treatment, though some folks have had success calling an Uber or a Lyft. We do not recommend taking public transportation. We ask that folks do not drive, or operate machinery the day of treatment.

+ Will I be able to go back to work after a Ketamine Treatment?

We recommend taking the rest of the day off or easy if possible. After the Ketamine Treatment, you will likely continue to feel floaty and might have difficulty with balance, feel sleepy, have trouble articulating thoughts, and feel “slow.” This is all normal, but may interfere with job performance.

To begin your Ketamine Treatment journey, please contact our Intake Coordinator at intake@practicalaudacity.com and let us know you are interested in this service.

¹ Dore, J., Turnipseed, B., Dwyer, S., Turnipseed, A., Andries, J., Ascani, G., Monnette, C., Huidekoper, A., Strauss, N., & Wolfson, P. (2019). Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP): Patient Demographics, Clinical Data and Outcomes in Three Large Practices Administering Ketamine with Psychotherapy, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 51(2), 189-198, https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2019.1587556
² Mathai, D.S., Mora, V., & Garcia-Romeu, A. (2022). Toward Synergies of Ketamine and Psychotherapy. Front. Psychol. 13(868103). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.868103
³ Ibid.