Ketamine Therapy as your portal to deep healing
A Conscious, Heart-Centered Approach to Psychedelic Healing
What is Ketamine assisted TherapY?
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) is a holistic therapeutic approach that combines the use of ketamine with intentional, trauma-informed therapy. For eligible participants, this treatment can accelerate breakthroughs and provide more sustained relief from symptoms like depression, anxiety, and emotional overwhelm.
Ketamine’s unique effects on the brain allow clients to access deeper layers of their inner world—often offering clarity, emotional release, and new perspective on long-standing patterns. In this expanded state of awareness, it becomes possible to explore trauma and life challenges without becoming overwhelmed by them, as can sometimes happen in traditional talk therapy.
While KAP can be profoundly healing, it is not a quick fix. Rather, it’s a powerful tool within a thoughtfully guided therapeutic process—one that honors your nervous system, your story, and your readiness for change.
What is ketamine?
Ketamine is a legal, fast-acting treatment for mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and trauma. Unlike traditional antidepressants, ketamine can create noticeable relief within hours—and its effects may last up to two weeks. With proper therapeutic integration, that relief can extend for months or even years.
Originally synthesized in the 1960s as a dissociative anesthetic, ketamine is still used worldwide in medical and surgical settings. It’s so effective and well-studied that the World Health Organization lists ketamine as one of the safest and most essential medicines for its reliability and safety when used properly.
While ketamine was first created in a lab, emerging research shows certain fungi can naturally produce ketamine, reminding us that this molecule is part of nature’s chemistry—not separate from it.
Today, ketamine is prescribed off-label as a psychedelic tool for mental health healing. It opens access to expanded states of consciousness—helping the mind loosen rigid patterns formed by chronic stress, emotional pain, or early trauma.
At the brain level, ketamine boosts neuroplasticity—your brain’s ability to form new connections and heal. It helps reset long-standing patterns by opening new pathways for thought, feeling, and perception.
Because ketamine is a dissociative, it can create a gentle sense of separation from your usual thought loops or emotional weight. In Ketamine-Assisted Therapy, this altered state allows you to explore your inner worlds with more openness and less overwhelm—making it easier to access stuck emotions and shift long-held beliefs.
It’s not a magic pill—but when used intentionally and with therapeutic support, ketamine can be a profound catalyst for healing. It helps you loosen the grip of old patterns and access new ways of feeling, thinking, and being.
Your psychedelic guide :
hi! I’m Lali Herrera, LCSW
As a licensed therapist (LCSW) in New York and New Jersey and a fully certified psychedelic therapist, I bring both clinical expertise and lived experience to this work. My year-long training with the Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research (CPTR) at California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) provided me with a deep foundation in the ethical, therapeutic, and spiritual dimensions of psychedelic-assisted care.
But this isn’t just professional for me—it’s personal. I’ve had a close relationship with psychedelics for over a decade, and I know firsthand the profound healing, clarity, and reconnection that these medicines can offer when held in a safe, intentional space.
In our Ketamine-Assisted Therapy work together, I’ll walk beside you as both clinician and guide—someone who understands the terrain from the inside out. Whether you’re new to psychedelics or returning with intention, you’ll be met with grounded support, clinical safety, and deep respect for your inner healing intelligence.
the Ketamine therapy Journey
Schedule a Free Intro Call With Me: We'll start with a free 15-minute phone call to see if we’re a good fit and if my trauma-informed/spiritual approach aligns with your goals. I believe our relationship is a key part of the healing process and should not be overloooked. You can schedule that here
Medical Intake & Prescription:
If we decide to move forward, I’ll refer you to my collaborating medical provider for an evaluation. You’ll meet with her virtually to review your mental health and medical history. If you're approved for Ketamine Therapy, you will get your prescription mailed to your home where somebody who is 21+ must sign for it. You will then have your medicine for our sessions.
Preparation Sessions:
Before your first journey session, we’ll meet for 2–3 preparation sessions. These are just like regular therapy sessions, and they help us clarify your intentions, build trust, and prepare your nervous system to enter the altered state safely and meaningfully.
Ketamine Journey Sessions:
Each ketamine session lasts about 90-120 minutes and can be held either in-person in Westchester, NY, or online, depending on your treatment plan. During the session, you’ll take your prescribed dose in a comfortable, supported setting—wearing an eye mask and listening to music. I’ll be with you the entire time, offering grounding presence and therapeutic support
Integration Sessions:
After each dosing session, we’ll meet for one or more integration therapy sessions. This is where we begin to gently unpack the insights, emotions, and imagery that came through—and work them into your day-to-day life in a meaningful, sustainable way
Structure & Commitment to ketamine therpy
Because ketamine helps your brain become more flexible and open to change (a process called neuroplasticity), structure and consistency are key.
When sessions are too far apart, your brain starts to drift back toward old habits and stress patterns. The goal isn’t just to have sessions—it’s to keep the healing momentum going while your brain is most ready to grow and rewire.
Commitment
A full course of Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy usually includes eight journeying sessions, with a minimum of four to build a solid foundation. Studies show that staying consistent during this time helps your brain “lock in” new emotional patterns—so changes last beyond the treatment itself.
If sessions are spaced too far apart (for example, doing two and then taking a month off), the healing rhythm breaks. Think of it like building a bridge—if you stop halfway, the pieces don’t connect. But when you move steadily, each session strengthens the next.
structure
Each ketamine session opens a healing window in the brain that lasts about one to one and a half weeks. During this window, your mind is more open to new ways of thinking and feeling. Scheduling your sessions about a week apart helps those windows overlap—so you stay in that open, receptive state for longer.
This rhythm helps your brain and body learn what calm, safety, and connection feel like—without slipping back into old survival patterns. Structure protects your progress and helps new ways of being actually take root.
Preparation and integration
reparation and integration sessions are what help the healing “stick.” These 45-minute therapy sessions help you ground, process, and apply what comes up during your ketamine journeys.
Preparation – Usually at least 2 therapy sessions before your first journeying session to set intentions and make sure you feel safe and ready.
Integration – Best done within 72 hours after a session, while the experience is still fresh. Integration is where the real magic happens—it’s about weaving the practical with the mystical. You take what you’ve seen or felt in expanded states and translate it into everyday life—through boundaries, relationships, self-care, and new ways of being. At least one integration session is required between each ketamine journey.
FAQs
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Ketamine a transformative tool used to assist the psychotherapy process.
It is for any qualifying persons who is looking to deepen & expedite their mental, emotional, and spiritual healing.
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All of my ketamine clients complete a comprehensive medical assessment with a medical provider. If you are not cleared to take it, we will discontinue our work together.
The WHO recognized ketamine as one of the safest drugs on the market. And many doctors prefer to give ketamine to children as an anesthetic because it is SO safe.
If you have a family history of psychosis, you are not a safe candidate for psychedelic medicine/therapy.I will be by your side throughout the entire process.
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Yes! Online therapy can be equally as impactful as in-person. Energy does not know space and time. You might feel better being in the comfort of your own home, with your pets & personal belongings by your beside you. I completely understand this, and feel confident that we ensure that you feel comfortable and safe.
A hybrid option is always available if you’d like to do some sessions in-person, and some online. -
The effects of ketamine, which most find pleasant, last for approximately 45-60 minutes. These effects can make you feel “far from” your body, and facilitate shifts in perception that can often feel expansive in nature.
Your motor and verbal abilities will be reduced, so you’ll be lying down in a comfortable position during the experience. Your body may feel heavy and deeply relaxed.
It’s very unlikely that you will see or hear something that is not really there. But everyones abilities are different.
For me, the downloads happen in my mind and my body. -
Yes. I do not recommend driving after your in-person session. Uber is possible but it’s best to be with someone who is familiar and safe.
For online sessions, I like when someone is nearby who I can call or text if needed. If the internet cuts out while you’re on ketamine, you’re not going to want to navigate that. That’s why I like to have a chaperone close by!! -
Ceremony or ritual to anchor you with the spirit of ketamine, ancestors, elements, your etc.
Take the ketamine and go into your journey with curated music and an eye mask.
Once these effects subsided, we’ll spend the remainder of our time together giving you space to process and discuss your experience. While it may feel hard to articulate what happened during the experience, many feel like the insights gained are none-the-less present.
Studies have shown that the benefits to mood and neurological growth can last up to two weeks after the Ketamine experience.
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Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy is considered an out-of-network (OON) service and is not covered by most insurance plans. However, you may be eligible for partial reimbursement for the psychotherapy portions of treatment (such as preparation and integration sessions) if your plan includes OON benefits.
I partner with Thrizer, a platform that handles OON claims for you so you can get reimbursed without the paperwork or waiting. They submit claims directly to your insurance and can even apply reimbursements toward your future sessions.
I also accept CareCredit, which offers a 6-month interest-free financing option to make treatment more accessible.
If you’d like help checking your benefits or understanding your options, I can walk you through everything during your intro call.
To fathom hell or to soar angelic, just take a pinch of a psychedelic
— Humphry Osmond
financing available through care credit
I’ve partnered with CareCredit to offer flexible financing options, making hypnotherapy intensives more accessible for you.
With this plan, you can start your healing journey now and pay over time—with no interest if your balance is paid in full within 6 months.
Ready to take the next step? Apply HERE
