How to Prepare for a Ketamine Session: What to Do Before Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP)

Preparing for your first KAP session? Learn how to get your mind and body ready for ketamine-assisted therapy for couples and what to expect before your session.

What Should I Do Before My Ketamine Couples Retreat

These are some of the most common questions my clients ask while we're preparing for ketamine therapy North Carolina:

"What should I eat and drink?"

"Should I meditate?"

"What should I bring? What if I can't relax?"

It's completely normal to have all of these questions, and plenty of others, especially if this is your first experience with ketamine.

So let me tell you one thing right away: preparation is about much more than fasting or arranging a ride home. Before anything else, it's about trust and safety.

Before we talk about what you should eat that morning or what you should bring to your session, I want you to feel safe. I want you to trust the process. We'll talk about what scares you, what you hope for, and what you need from me while you're in a more vulnerable state.

You might also find helpful: Marriage Counseling Wake Forest NC: How Ketamine Therapy Helps You Reconnect When Traditional Therapy Isn’t Enough

Ketamine Couples Retreat: First, We Create the Right Set and Setting

I don't expect you to arrive perfectly calm to marriage counseling Wake Forest. That's not the goal. What I do expect is that we create a supportive state of mind (the Set) and the environment around you (the Setting) together, so you can feel safe and your nervous system can finally relax.

The room we're doing our ketamine retreat in matters.

The therapeutic relationship matters.

What you bring emotionally matters. I want us to create enough safety that you can connect with yourself and each other as you experience this non-ordinary state of consciousness.

You may also find helpful: Is Ketamine Therapy a Good Fit for Your Marriage? What Couples Should Know

Why Setting an Intention in Ketamine Assisted Therapy for Couples Matters

Setting an intention before your ketamine session can help things feel clearer. It can add depth to your experience and give you direction on your journey.

Intentions can be very simple, like:

Help me feel calm.

Help me slow down.

Help me soften.

Help me be present.

Help me feel safe.

They can also be more complex and emotionally layered, such as:

Help me understand what I am afraid of.

Help me see my blessings more clearly.

Help me understand why it's so hard for me to trust people.

Help me reconnect with the part of myself I've lost.

Help me let go of something I've been carrying for years.

I will encourage you to take a moment to connect with your intention before the session. You can do this by placing your hands over your belly, taking a few slow, deep breaths while listening to intention-setting music. You can also imagine yourself receiving the medicine with openness, allowing the experience to unfold in whatever way feels healing for you.

Sometimes the experience seems to respond directly to the intention. Other times, it takes you somewhere you never expected.

Both are valid.

You might also find helpful: Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy for Couples: 6 Common Myths About KAP That Keep People Confused

Give Your Nervous System Some Quiet Before the Session

You want to give your nervous system some time to slow down and clear some of the mental clutter before your ketamine-assisted marriage counseling session Wake Forest.

If your brain is running through your to-do list, work emails, the kids' schedules, and the 16 things you forgot to do, write them down. They're not going anywhere. You can come back to them later.

This time is for you.

To help yourself slow down and quiet your mind, use whatever feels right. Box breathing. Meditation. A little quiet time.

Aftercare: Prepare Your Real Life, Too

Childcare.

Meals.

Work.

Commitments.

Transportation (This one is non-negotiable. You cannot drive for the rest of the day, so make sure to arrange for someone to drive you home safely after your ketamine retreat).

You don't want to come out of a vulnerable, inward experience and immediately hear:

"What are we having for dinner?"

"Who's picking up the kids?"

"Can you answer this email?"

Think of it a little like a birth plan. Will everything go exactly as planned? Probably not. But you'll be very glad you thought about these things beforehand and made the necessary arrangements.

You might also find helpful: Balancing Act: Navigating Demanding Jobs, Little Kids, and Stress with Marriage Counseling Raleigh NC Magic!

Support Your Body Before KAP

This can mean different things for different people. Some of my clients enjoy massage, acupuncture, or a sauna. Others say gentle movement helps them arrive feeling more settled in their bodies.

But you do not need to spend the day at a wellness retreat to prepare properly. Sometimes a walk, a quiet morning, and five minutes of deep breathing are enough.

These are optional, not requirements.

However, you should fast from food for 4 hours before your treatment, and reduce liquid intake for 2 hours.

Bring Your Faith, Culture, and Spirituality into the Room If They Matter to You

If prayer, cultural or spiritual rituals help you make meaning, we can discuss incorporating them into your preparation for your KAP session. or make sure you bring this up in our sessions prior to doing the first medicine session.

Follow the Medical Instructions Carefully

On the days of your ketamine retreat, you must follow the specific instructions from your treatment team:

·       Follow the prescribing provider's instructions about medications.

·       Avoid alcohol, cannabis, and benzodiazepines for the period specified by the treating team.

·       And most importantly, do not change or stop prescribed medication on your own.

Trust, Let Go, Be Open

For some people, ketamine may temporarily change how they experience their body, thoughts, emotions, and surroundings. Some moments may feel peaceful or meaningful. Others may feel strange. Uncomfortable. Overwhelming.

If that happens, try not to fight the experience right away. Do not immediately decide that something has gone wrong. Stay curious about what is coming up, knowing that I'm there with you and that the experience will pass.

Try to let go of expectations, too. Your session may connect directly to the intention you set, or it may take you somewhere completely unexpected. You may have a profound insight. Or... you may not.

Neither means you did it right or wrong.

The goal is to stay as open as you can to whatever unfolds and allow us to make sense of it together afterward.

You might also find helpful: How Does a Marriage Retreat in North Carolina Work?

Quality Marriage Counseling and Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy in Wake Forest NC

At Marriage Counseling Wake Forest NC, I offer the best marriage counseling I can, using the most empirically validated modality, Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT), and, when appropriate, Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, to expedite results.

This is not your typical weekly kind of therapy. I am here to help couples and individuals in relationships do what has been proven to help them heal their relationships. Through marriage counseling Wake Forest NC, marriage retreat in North Carolina, individual counseling, and Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, there is something for every couple who wants to heal their relationship.

Hi, I'm Irina Baechle, LCSW, in Raleigh, NC. I believe in the power of healthy relationships and write about them.

Whether you and a partner are co-creating a healthy marriage or you are single, navigating healthy relationships, my content is for you.

Let's make healthy, trustworthy marriages the norm, not the exception!

Topics I write about include marriage, infidelity, roommate marriages, sexless marriage, ketamine assisted psychotherapy, healthy second marriages, and healing after toxic or unfaithful marriages.

Have questions about marriage counseling? Visit the FAQ to find out more.