Synopsis: Maximize your ketamine therapy success by avoiding these 10 common mistakes that can derail your healing journey. From proper preparation and intention setting to integration and choosing the right clinic, learn what to do instead of what not to do for transformative results.
No treatment is perfect. No healing journey is a straight path. Ketamine therapy and your healing journey with us is no different. Just like a journey into the wild, having a guide or someone ahead who has taken this path can support a more successful outcome or maximize your chances of success.
In this blog, we're going to cover mistakes that derail your journey and what to do instead. If you are considering ketamine therapy, see this as an opportunity to map out your journey.
If you are currently being treated with it or considering retrying this therapy, we welcome you to check out these mistakes as a way to course correct or reflect on why you may be having a difficult time.
Take heart where you may find yourself - you can take action on each of these mistakes. So let's dive in.
Table of Contents
2. Consuming Chaotic Media Beforehand
3. Using Mind and Mood-Altering Substances Before Your Session
4.Using Medications That Reduce Ketamine's Effectiveness
5. Keeping Your Eyes Open and Scrolling Mid-Session
6. Skipping Integration and Not Leveraging Neuroplasticity
8. Getting Ketamine Therapy at a Clinic That Doesn't Feel Right
Save this guide! These 10 common mistakes can derail your ketamine therapy journey, but they're all preventable with proper preparation and mindset. The key to success isn't perfection - it's showing up prepared and doing the integration work between sessions.
1. Skipping Intention Setting
This should be no surprise coming from us. Ketamine therapy can open doors - doors to explore things you have repressed or created unsupportive, limiting beliefs. These treatments can reveal trauma that you long ago forgot. So if you don't know what you're going to do once you go through that door, you can get lost.
We advise our patients to set an intention to help ground and guide them. Keep it simple - one you can easily repeat to yourself and can even just be a couple of words. So take time before each ketamine session to ask yourself, "What do I want to understand, heal, or explore today?" and from there create that intention.
2. Consuming Chaotic Media Beforehand
What you watch, read, or listen to before a ketamine infusion matters. The media you consume gets filed away into your brain - whether that was a scary movie you accidentally saw as a kid, and especially anything right before your treatment. If you're doom scrolling or watching violent or stressful content, that energy and imagery can actually carry into your experience.
That is why it is key to mentally and emotionally prepare for your treatment. You can do so by limiting watching or reading the news, listening to peaceful and calming music, and reading inspirational books or podcasts. This time leading up to your infusion is a good time to lean into or start a mindfulness or simple meditation practice.
For more on this topic, check out our What You Watch Can Influence Your Ketamine Treatment blog post.
3. Using Mind and Mood-Altering Substances Before Your Session
Alcohol and cannabis can alter how ketamine works and can influence your ketamine therapy experience. Avoiding these mood-altering substances under the guidance of your ketamine therapy specialist isn't about judgment - this is about safety and effectiveness.
Clinics and specialists can vary on how long, and even if, any avoidance of these substances is necessary. Therefore, it is important to be honest and upfront about any substances you use with your specialist prior to treatment.
4. Using Medications That Reduce Ketamine's Effectiveness
Some medications like benzodiazepines and lamotrigine can reduce ketamine's effectiveness, depending on dose and frequency of use. Each ketamine therapy specialist's approach to addressing these medications can be different and dependent on your unique medical history.
Therefore, it's always important to let your specialist know all the medications you are taking, and they can guide you on the safest approaches to making adjustments to best benefit you and your treatment.
5. Keeping Your Eyes Open and Scrolling Mid-Session
Watching Netflix on your phone or scrolling through TikTok during the treatment is a no-go. And yes, this really does happen. Similar to mistake #2, what you are looking at can alter your treatment experience. It short-circuits the whole point of the process.
Ketamine therapy is not a passive experience. Part of the treatment is to go within yourself, being an open, compassionate observer of what comes up. Not avoiding the repressed memories or feelings by distracting yourself with an Instagram story.
You want to close your eyes and go inward. Find that intuition and wisdom and connect with it during the experience.
6. Skipping Integration and Not Leveraging Neuroplasticity
You can get much relief from the treatment alone. However, what really moves the needle in personal healing and transformation is the integration of the experience and leveraging the neuroplastic effects of ketamine. The reality is most people don't want to do the integrative work of making changes in their everyday life between treatments. Just like as a kid, we didn't enjoy doing homework.
Yes, ketamine can do so much alone, but after a ketamine session, the brain is much more open - flexible and ready to create new pathways. This is the prime time for reflection, journaling, therapy, and real-life action. Don't waste this window of opportunity. And for some, you may find that you are actually more inspired to take action and make changes!
For practical integration tools, check out our Mindset Mnemonics For Calm and Ketamine Therapy Integration blog post.
7. Ignoring Set and Setting
Your mindset and your environment shape the experience. If you walk in anxious, rushed, or in a chaotic mind space, that could be the journey you experience during that treatment. This is why we stress the importance of preparation so much. Like we discussed in mistakes #1 and #2, setting an intention and watching what you put in your mind supports a mindset that is more healing going into a treatment.
While your specialist handles the physical environment (setting), you can evaluate whether they understand its importance. Look for providers who are psychedelically or trauma-informed, as they're more likely to create healing spaces that support your journey.
8. Getting Ketamine Therapy at a Clinic That Doesn't Feel Right
You have to trust your gut and intuition. First off, you have to want to get this treatment (and yes, there are some folks that try ketamine therapy to appease a concerned significant other or worried adult offspring).
Secondly, the therapeutic alliance and relationship between you and the ketamine specialist is equally important. If you don't feel like they have your best interest or you don't feel safe, this is not the way to start off your healing journey. If something feels off - whether it's the provider, the space, their approach - listen to that. Healing truly requires safety.
For guidance on choosing the right provider, check out our How to Find the Right Ketamine Clinic For You blog post.
9. Oversharing Your Experience With the Wrong People
During ketamine therapy, you can become vulnerable and feel very open. Sharing with people who don't understand the treatment or who might judge you or minimize your experience can sometimes lead to confusion or shame.
Talking about and processing your experience can be part of your integration and healing journey. The key is to share with those who are supportive or are professionals (like a therapist or integration specialist). Please choose wisely who you share your process with.
10. Thinking Ketamine Is a Magic Fix
Ketamine therapy can catalyze healing, but it's not a shortcut. The real work happens between the sessions - returning to or starting therapy, journaling, making lifestyle changes. That is what really moves the needle in your healing journey. Sometimes it results in uncomfortable growth.
Ketamine therapy is powerful, but it's not passive. Approach it like it's a sacred appointment with yourself. Set the stage, do the work, and watch what unfolds.
If you enjoyed this blog post, check these out too:
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Maximize your ketamine therapy success by avoiding these 10 common mistakes that can derail your healing journey. From proper preparation and intention setting to integration and choosing the right clinic, learn what to do instead of what not to do for transformative results.
