What is Ketamine?
Ketamine is a medication commonly used as an anesthetic during surgery and outpatient procedures. However, when given in low doses, it has been shown to reduce symptoms associated with psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. This can greatly improve a person’s ability to interact with the world around them.
While the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ketamine, it is often used off-label to treat these conditions. This simply means it is being used for something other than its original intended use. Although this may sound concerning, off-label use is a common and legal practice. Ketamine has also shown promising results in the field of couples psychotherapy and has the potential to be a transformative treatment.
Why Couples Ketamine Assisted Therapy (KAT)?
Benefits of Couples KAT:
- Enhancing Communication and Emotional Connection: Couples KAT provides a unique platform for discussing emotionally charged issues with emotional distance. This dynamic allows you to dive deep into the heart of your relationship challenges and build a stronger emotional connection.
- Deepening Trust and Intimacy: The dissociative qualities of ketamine offer a break from reactive communication patterns. Couples experience increased empathy, better understanding, and enhanced intimacy, making it easier to reconnect with the feelings that brought them together.
- Exploring and Resolving Relationship Challenges: Through ketamine-assisted therapy, couples can uncover the root causes of discord and envision a more fulfilling relationship. It's a journey that offers a fresh start and the tools needed to overcome old patterns.
- Building a Shared, Transformative Experience: Couples KAT takes you and your partner on a shared journey of self-discovery, healing, and growth. It's an opportunity to create a profound, transformative experience you can both carry forward.
- Cost-Effectiveness Compared to Traditional Couples Therapy: Couples KAT offers an efficient and affordable way to address your relationship challenges.
- Facilitating Personal and Relational Growth Through Shared Experiences: The ketamine experience goes beyond the session itself. In the days following, you'll both benefit from increased neuroplasticity, enabling you to adopt new habits of relating and growing individually and as a couple.
Couples KAT Process
Embark on the transformative journey of Couples Ketamine Assisted Therapy (Couples KAT) at Illumma. Our program is designed for rapid personal growth and lasting transformation of your relationship.
Our Couples Therapists
Laura Evans, LMFT-S, Lead Therapist at Illumma, specializes in ketamine therapy with extensive training from PRATI. She supports individuals, groups, couples, and adolescents, focusing on various concerns including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and relational issues, catering to diverse backgrounds including neurodivergent and LGBTQ individuals. Laura hosts ketamine-assisted therapy retreats and emphasizes collaborative partnership with clients, utilizing therapeutic modalities like Internal Family Systems and Polyvagal Theory. She prioritizes trust and safety in therapy, emphasizing integration rituals for maximizing benefits. In addition to her clinical role, Laura manages the therapy team, develops programs, and offers training and supervision. She's also trained in MDMA-Assisted Therapy and psilocybin facilitation, anticipating offering these services in the future.
Laura Evans M.A., LMFT-S
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.
Hannah Shaper, LCSW
Couples KAT Progam Pricing
Phone Consultation (45-60mins): $100 per person
Evaluation Talk Sessions (2hr): $550
Couples KAT Ketamine Sessions (2hr): $1100
Couples KAT Integration Session (1hr): $375
Couples KAT 3 Session Bundle*: $5000
The Couples KAT Program includes two 2-hour Preparation Sessions, three Couples Ketamine-Assisted Therapy sessions, and three Couples Integration sessions. The total program investment is $5,000 and may be paid in three installments: $1,000 for both Preparation Sessions, $1,300 for Couples KAT Session #1 and Couples Integration Session #1, and $2,700 for the remaining two Couples KAT sessions and two Integration sessions.
This payment structure allows you to complete the preparation phase before beginning ketamine treatment, then experience your first medicine and integration sessions to ensure the process and therapeutic relationship feel like the right fit before committing to the remainder of the program.
Your Couples KAT journey includes thirteen hours of therapist-guided sessions, including two preparation sessions, three transformative ketamine experiences, and three integration sessions designed to help you turn insight into meaningful change within your relationship.
As part of your program, you’ll also receive access to the Illumma Lighthouse Integration Group, our weekly virtual community offering ongoing support, connection, and integration throughout your healing journey.
At the conclusion of the initial program, you and your therapist will review your progress and determine whether additional sessions would be beneficial in helping you achieve your relationship goals. If you choose to continue, additional Couples Ketamine Sessions are available for $1,000 per session, and Couples Integration Sessions are available for $300 per session.
Whether you’re looking to deepen connection, improve communication, heal old wounds, or rediscover one another, Couples KAT offers a powerful opportunity for growth, understanding, and transformation.
Couples Ketamine Assisted Therapy is your opportunity to revitalize your relationship, gain fresh insights, and create a more profound and lasting connection. While the journey may start with ketamine, the real transformation comes from your commitment to change and growth.
Take the first step towards a brighter future together. Schedule a call with our team and explore how Couples KAT can reignite your relationship, providing you with a powerful vision of what a better, more fulfilling relationship can look like.