Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP): A Grounded Approach to Healing and Growth
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, or KAP, is a form of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy that combines prescribed therapeutic lozenges with psychotherapy before, during, and after each session. At Strong Skies Therapy in Denver, Colorado, KAP offers a structured and supportive way to explore emotions, release long-held patterns, and experience meaningful healing and growth, both in person and online across Colorado and Idaho.
During a KAP session, the medicine helps quiet habitual thought loops and opens space for new awareness. The goal is not to escape or bypass pain but to explore it from a softer, more connected place that can lead to meaningful self-understanding and relief.
How Clients Describe the KAP Experience
Many clients describe KAP as a more immersive form of therapy that helps them feel deeply connected to their inner experience. Some say the medicine allows them to view their life or relationships from a new angle, gaining clarity they had not reached in regular talk therapy. Others share that it helps them connect with emotions, memories, or body sensations that once felt blocked or unreachable.
It is not about intensity or dramatic visions. It is about depth, curiosity, and allowing the mind and body to communicate more freely.
How KAP Differs From Traditional Therapy
In traditional therapy, progress unfolds gradually through conscious exploration and dialogue. In KAP, the medicine can temporarily quiet mental defenses, allowing deeper material to surface naturally.
What arises during a dosing session often becomes the focus of later integration sessions, where meaning is explored and lasting change begins to take shape. This combination of psychedelic experience and psychotherapy creates a bridge between insight and action.
What the Research Shows
Ketamine has been safely used in medicine for more than 50 years and continues to show promising results in mental health treatment. Research from Yale Medicine and the National Institutes of Health highlights ketamine’s rapid antidepressant effects and its potential to promote neural growth. Emerging studies, including a systematic review in Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry, suggest that combining ketamine with psychotherapy may enhance long-term outcomes.
Because KAP is currently the only legally available form of psychedelic-assisted therapy in the United States, it offers a unique opportunity for clients to access the transformative aspects of psychedelic work within a safe and structured therapeutic container.
A typical KAP dosing session lasts around two hours, allowing time for preparation, the active medicine experience (about 40 minutes), and space afterward for gentle reflection. When paired with thoughtful preparation and integration, clients often report improvements in mood, perspective, and overall well-being.
What to Expect in the Process
Every KAP journey is unique, but it generally includes:
Medical screening: Conducted with a licensed prescriber to ensure safety, dosage, and appropriateness.
Preparation sessions: Setting intentions, learning grounding techniques, and clarifying what to expect.
Dosing sessions: The client self-administers prescribed ketamine lozenges in a calm, supportive setting, with their therapist present for safety and guidance.
Integration sessions: Reflecting on insights, emotions, and themes from the experience, then translating them into everyday life.
Integration is where most of the growth occurs. It is the process of weaving new awareness into how you live, relate, and make meaning of your experiences.
Who Might Benefit from KAP
KAP can be helpful for people who have done significant therapy work yet feel stuck in recurring emotional patterns, depression, or anxiety that remain resistant to change. It may also support those navigating relationships, trauma, or burnout, who feel ready for a different kind of therapeutic process.
Because safety and collaboration are central, every KAP process begins with a thorough medical evaluation and ongoing communication between therapist and prescriber.
A Different Kind of Healing
KAP is not about chasing extraordinary experiences. It is about reconnecting with yourself in a deeper way. It creates space for insight, self-compassion, and healing that feels both grounded and expansive.
If you are curious about KAP or psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and wondering if it might be a good fit for your journey, you can learn more about Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy here or reach out to schedule a consultation.
