Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) Explained: How It Works, Types, Safety, and EMDR Integration

What happens when two EMDR practitioners who trained together start comparing notes on ketamine? Amanda Baker, LCSW, a clinical social worker at Mindful Springs Counseling in Colorado Springs, joins the conversation to break down ketamine-assisted psychotherapy from the ground up. We explore the striking overlap in neural mechanisms between ketamine and EMDR, walk through the preparation and integration framework, and discuss the virtual group model Amanda ran to make CAP more accessible. She also addresses safety, contraindications, the prescriber relationship, what the training landscape looks like for therapists who want to get started, and why the answer to helping people is rarely about holding on to every client.0:00 - Intro and Amanda's background1:21 - Amanda's varied social work career and path to therapy3:07 - Arrival at Mindful Springs and first exposure to ketamine5:06 - EMDR training origins and how both modalities connect9:28 - Moving past skepticism about psychedelics12:24 - The neural mechanism behind ketamine and how it mirrors EMDR14:13 - Types of ketamine delivery methods explained18:00 - What preparation and integration look like in practice24:21 - Building partnerships with prescribers28:10 - The virtual ketamine group model33:08 - The role of chaperones and reparative attachment34:04 - Conditions the research supports treating with CAP35:44 - Safety, contraindications, and the high-profile misuse case40:37 - The history of psychedelics and ketamine's pharmaceutical origins46:27 - Training resources and how to get started49:51 - The social work mindset and connecting clients to the right provider53:32 - Amanda's self-care and ethics-based consultation practiceEpisode Highlights:Ketamine and EMDR appear to share a neural mechanism, both promoting new neural development and activating overlapping brain regions associated with relaxation and healing.The types of ketamine treatment range from IV infusion and intramuscular injection to oral lozenges and esketamine nasal spray, with differing levels of psychedelic intensity and varying degrees of therapist involvement.Preparation and integration are not optional steps surrounding the dosing session. They are the therapeutic architecture that makes the experience meaningful and the outcomes lasting.A 24 to 48 hour window after a dosing session is the most active period for neural growth and integration, making timely follow-up a clinical priority.Low-dose psycholytic ketamine keeps clients alert and conversational, making it highly compatible with active therapeutic work during the session itself.A prescriber who is willing to write a prescription without speaking with the treating therapist first is a significant red flag.Contraindications include active psychosis or schizoaffective conditions, unregulated hypertension or thyroid disorders, significant cardiac irregularities, and pronounced rigid personality disorder features.The virtual group ketamine model supported four clients at a time through preparation, dosing, and integration, increasing accessibility by reducing individual session costs.The chaperone role during dosing sessions carries potential for reparative attachment, as clients often choose someone close to them who then shows up in a way the client may not have previously experienced.Training resources include Journey Clinical and Fluence, IPI, and Proddy; Sunny Strasburg's Panther model connects the EMDR eight phases directly to the CAP treatment structure.Website: The Self Careapist Therapist Podcast is a biweekly conversation with Lorain Moorehead, LCSW a therapist in private practice.  With guests ranging from expert psychologists, therapists, researchers and authors, each episode offers a deep dive and keeps listeners from intern to advanced supervisor  in mind while dropping gems and aha moments for everyone who loves to learn! If you love learning and want to keep track of some future learning opportunities, grab your personal curriculum here!If you liked this episode, feel free to subscribe and leave a review! Your support helps us be a top mental health podcast and resource.  See you next week!