KetamineAssisted Therapy

What is Ketamine-Assisted Therapy?

Ketamine-assisted therapy (KAT) is a unique therapeutic method used to address various mental health conditions, including depression, post-traumatic stress, chronic pain, addiction, and some forms of anxiety. It involves using the psychoactive substance ketamine to enhance and deepen the therapeutic process and the use of psychotherapy and other integrative forms of treatment to amplify and prolong the curative effects of ketamine.

We offer KAT as part of our comprehensive and holistic approach to wellness. We have found that this unique type of treatment is most effective when paired with other forms of therapy that complement and deepen the work. In addition to integration counseling, we may recommend diet, lifestyle, and bodywork therapies to support opening to the experience, moving blocked energy, and integrating the therapeutic effects.

Who should consider KAT?

Ketamine is used off-label for various mental health struggles, including depression, chronic pain, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and addiction.

Some medical and psychiatric conditions need to be treated before you can safely work with ketamine. These include hallucinations, untreated mania, forms of cardiovascular disease, uncontrolled hyperthyroidism, increased intracranial pressure, cystitis, evidence of liver disease, or addiction recovery that could be jeopardized by IV medication administration.

A medical and psychological intake will help you determine if you are an appropriate candidate for this work.

What is Ketamine?

Ketamine is a psychoactive drug with psychedelic effects first synthesized in 1962. It has been used in the United States as an anesthetic in medical settings since 1970. Ketamine is considered safe for most people and is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines.

Ketamine has been used off-label in sub-anesthetic doses in psychotherapy for more than 20 years to treat chronic pain, depression, and a variety of other mental health concerns, thanks to its rapid onset antidepressant effects, sometimes providing nearly immediate relief from emotional and physical pain. While the antidepressant effects tend to be temporary after a single ketamine treatment, multiple treatments have proven to have a cumulative impact, successfully alleviating symptoms in up to 60% of individuals 60% of individuals with treatment-resistant depression.

In low doses, ketamine can serve as a supportive adjunct to psychotherapy. It provides an opportunity for the temporary softening of the psychological defenses, allowing for deeper self-reflection and psychotherapeutic processing.

In moderate doses, ketamine has psychedelic effects, which have been shown to facilitate profound transpersonal experiences. These types of incidents can help people in various ways, offering important clarity and insight into one’s struggles, adding a spiritual/transcendent dimension to ongoing therapeutic work, and facilitating a sense of meaning and interconnectedness.

What to Expect?

We will start with an educational call to discuss your symptoms and determine whether KAT might benefit you. If so, you will meet with our medical providers for an initial consultation and psychiatric assessment. If cleared by the medical intake, you will be scheduled for two therapy sessions allowing you to get to know the therapist and create intentions, goals, and a focus for treatment. There will be a minimum of two preparatory sessions before your first KAT session. In some cases, more than two initial sessions are indicated.

During a 2 hour KAT session, clients first meet with medical staff that will administer the ketamine. Before the ketamine is administered, clients meet with their KAT therapist for 20 minutes to prepare. Ketamine is then given through an IV with onset around 5-10 minutes and duration around 60 minutes. The therapist will be present and engaged throughout the experience and help the client begin integrating their insights after the medication has stopped being administered.

During the peak of the ketamine experience, clients often find themselves in a realm of consciousness described as “cosmic,” “ego dissolved,” “boundless,” or “ineffable.” Due to the intensity of these experiences, it is helpful for clients to be well prepared and supported during their journeys. KAT practitioners seek to do this first by intentionally preparing the environment (setting) to foster a sense of safety, trust, and relaxation; second, by preparing the client’s mindset (set) psychologically and emotionally to navigate the trip before inducing this altered state; third, by being present with clients throughout the experience so that they always have an experienced, knowledgeable person to assist them in navigating any challenging parts of the journey; and fourth, assist them in deriving meaning and creating change from their experience.

Upon reentering waking consciousness, there will often be much to process, and not all of it will make immediate sense. This initial stage of returning and remembering is a vital aspect of KAT, where insights can be brought back, processed, and digested into takeaways that can be implemented into one’s daily life. Having a therapist familiar with these journeys can significantly enhance the long-term impact of the ketamine experience along with helping find one’s equilibrium and sense of feeling grounded after coming back from such a profound journey.

After your KAT sessions

You may wish to participate in stand-alone integration sessions in which we will help you integrate your experience during the ketamine session, discuss how you responded to the medicine, and determine an individualized course of treatment moving forward. Generally, multiple ketamine sessions are required to experience lasting effects. We recommend a commitment to a minimum of 3 sessions, as this medicine tends to have a cumulative effect and is most beneficial after multiple treatments. You and your care team will determine the exact number of KAT sessions based on need. Please contact us directly for more detailed information and to answer any questions you might have.

Our Therapists

Laura Evans, Lead Therapist

M.A., LMFT-S

Laura Evans is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist-Supervisor and the Lead Therapist at Illumma who has extensive training in ketamine, including both individual and group ketamine certificates from the Psychedelic Research and Training Institute (PRATI).

Laura supports individuals, groups, and couples, as well as adolescents and their families across a wide range of presenting concerns (such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, relational and existential issues, and more), identities, and backgrounds, including neurodivergent and LGBTQ folks. Laura is passionate about working alongside those who have experienced developmental trauma as well as other therapists who are struggling. She hosts ketamine-assisted therapy retreats in addition to her sessions at the clinic.

Laura partners collaboratively with her clients, believing that they are the experts of their lives and that ketamine is like a key that unlocks the door to regain access to the innate healing capacity that exists inside all of us. Laura utilizes Internal Family Systems, Interpersonal Neurobiology, Polyvagal Theory, Attachment Theory, and more, and she is currently completing certification in Somatic Experiencing and Embodied Imagination. Laura’s strengths as a therapist are her curiosity, compassion, warmth and humor. She believes that trust and safety are the most important ingredients in the therapeutic relationship.

Laura emphasizes the importance of integration with clients and helps them craft these integration rituals and practices to maximize the benefits of ketamine-assisted therapy and the duration of these benefits. Laura believes that we are all on a journey of remembering our wholeness, and uses PRATI’s purpose of “restoring connection to the sacred: self, community, nature and spirit” to guide her work.

In her role as Lead Therapist, Laura manages the therapy team, develops programs and projects for the clinic, and offers training, supervision, and consultation to other professionals.

Laura is trained in MDMA-Assisted Therapy and psilocybin facilitation, and she looks forward to offering these services when they are available in the future.

Hannah Shaper

LCSW

Hannah is a licensed clinical social worker with a master’s degree from UT Austin. She is committed to providing a safe, welcoming, and judgment-free space from which to navigate the KAT journey. With an approach rooted in attachment, mindfulness, and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Hannah guides teens, adults, and couples in discovering their own version of wellbeing. Operating from the standpoint that lasting change stems from radical self-compassion, Hannah helps clients foster a loving relationship with their inner world. She is an adamant believer in the brain’s innate capacity to heal, and has found Ketamine to be an invaluable asset for cognitive and emotional growth.

Brenna Ansley

LMFT, LPC

Brenna Ansley is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Licensed Professional Counselor. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master’s in Professional Counseling from Texas State University. With roots in studio art and a long-standing passion for understanding human experience, her early creative training continues to shape her reflective and attuned approach to therapy.
Brenna is a relational trauma therapist who helps individuals heal from painful experiences and build more connected, fulfilling lives. Her approach is warm, collaborative, and grounded in evidence-based methods. She has advanced training in trauma treatment, sex therapy, and psychedelic-assisted therapy. Her specialties include couples work, EMDR, Brainspotting, parts work, and other experiential modalities. She is especially passionate about supporting clients with marginalized identities, including LGBTQIA+ communities and neurodivergent individuals.
She works with adults who are seeking to recover from trauma, improve emotional regulation, and deepen their relationships with themselves and others. Her intention is to help clients shift from surviving to thriving by restoring balance, confidence, and trust in their own capacity to heal. Brenna believes in ketamine’s potential to support this process and holds deep respect for medicine work, offering a safe and grounded space for preparation, integration, and transformation.
Originally from rural Texas, Brenna values the perspective that comes from both small-community roots and expansive life experiences. Her background in art has supported a lifelong practice of curiosity and inner exploration. She became a trauma therapist after beginning her own healing journey and developing a lived understanding of what supported her own growth. She believes that healing can be both beautiful and challenging, and that each person’s path unfolds in a meaningful way that is right for them.

Ketamine-Assisted Therapy Pricing

Onboarding Session, 2-hrs – $360

KAT Ketamine Sessions (2hr) – $800

Integration Session – $180

Six KAT Bundle Package – $4960**

**Total package amount for Onboarding Session and six KAT sessions. Paid for in three payments of $360 (onboarding), $800 (single session) and $3800 (package remainder), which allows you to insure that you are paired with the right therapist and ready to commit to the KAt process fully.

KAT sessions include approximately one hour of IV ketamine, with approximately 30 minutes of pre-therapy and 30 minutes of session processing.

Clients are required to have a credit card on file with Illumma while receiving KAT.

Illumma has a cancellation policy around missed appointments. Please get in touch with staff to learn more.

Find Your Light at Illumma

Schedule your complimentary consultation today.

Schedule Now

On This Page