A Conversation with Donna - Part 2
We Are All Messy, Scared, and Human
Meet Donna - Part 2
You describe KAP as offering ‘a glimpse into full integration, bridging thoughts, emotions, physiology, and spirituality.’ Can you unpack that? What does integration actually look like for a client who gets there?
It certainly looks different for everyone. However, I think that talk therapy works well with supporting a person thinking or acting differently. The hard problem though, is that emotions don’t always follow the cognition and behavior and it can take a long time for those to be linked. With Ketamine, people are able to access the felt sense of emotions that have previously been inaccessible to them. The felt sense of emotions and spirituality are similar -it a way of ‘knowing’ that is not thought. Ketamine can occasion an integration of thought, emotion, behavior and spirit in a way that is awe inspiring.
You said that traditional therapy sometimes ‘leaves clients unable to see over the next hill.’ What does KAP make visible that talk therapy can’t always reach?
One of the clear themes I have seen emerge from this practice is the sense of perspective that one can glean. A common visual is the sense of soaring which can cause a ‘zoomed out’ view of our lives. When we are struggling, we can get stuck in nt only just seeing the tree and forsaking the forest, but looking so closely out our problems that all we see is an ant on the bark of a tree. Ketamine can help people to gain a wider perspective with a focus on what is really important (hint-usually things like love, connection, compassion, etc).
The preparation phase of KAP tends to be underestimated. What actually happens in those sessions? What are you doing with a client before they experience ketamine for the first time?
Well, it's not really what happens in the sessions, it's what happens as a person prepares themselves. The preparation sessions help to guide a person into setting their intentions in the direction of what they want, rather than what they don’t want. The mind just works better when we are moving toward something rather than running for something. So for example, if someone says that they would like ‘to stop being so self critical’ we might reframe that to “I want to be more self compassionate’. IThe type of therapy I do (ACT) and KAP really seem to work well together. If we have an intention or direction, we need to make space for it in the present moment and accept and open up around it. We help people to begin thinking about how to make their lives bigger rather than their problems smaller. During the preparation phase, we are helping people set intentions, reflect on them and begin actually integrating them into their daily lives.
We also tell people how to prepare their bodies on the day of dosing including what they consume through media, medication, food or substances. Some of these can blunt the effects of Ketamine. We talk about creating a calm and peaceful environment for when they get home. We talk about what to expect..including the unexpected.
You wrote that helping clients connect to their shared humanity — ‘we all have flaws and fears, yet we are all deserving of love’ — is at the heart of your work. Where does that belief come from for you personally?
I discovered the benefits of following Buddhist principles when I was in graduate school. I think they point us all in the right direction and are consistent with many other beliefs: Trying to be as present with the goodness and connect, accept and be open within ourselves and to others. Be compassionate. Be loving.
