Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
Currently, Ketamine is the only legal psychedelic available outside of research settings, in the state of Minnesota. As more psychedelic medicines are made available for clinic use, INTERO will incorporate them into practice.
This is one of our most frequently asked questions, and totally understandable! In a therapy setting, we like to differentiate between "bad trips" and "challenging trips". It's our belief that "bad trips" can be avoided, with attention to set and setting and through trusting relationships with your therapist. For some people, the Ketamine therapy experience can still be challenging.... but, it's often the challenging experiences that are most rewarding. For many people, psychedelics in therapy can help them to confront and deal with things that they've struggled to address in the past. This is similar to "regular" therapy, in that it too can also be challenging at times!
In the above section "Our Approach" there is a question about Set and Setting, which is the mindset of the individual and the environment the experience takes place in. We put a lot of intention into helping with both of these- to prepare you for having the right mindset and in providing an optimal environment for your experience. Set and setting are the absolutely most important things we can control or influence, and almost always are the cause of "bad trips", when not properly cared for.
When used recreationally, without proper attention to set and setting, psychedelic experiences may be scary or unsafe- because you're senses and perceptions are so heightened and "different" with psychedelics, "normal" environments can be very overwhelming (ie. at a party, in a public space, with someone you don't know well or have had conflict with, in a space with bad lighting, outside noises, or anything that is unclean or disorganized, etc.).In our clinic, we design the setting to help facilitate a "letting go", which is very difficult to do in settings where you do not feel safe enough. We can also provide additional preparation sessions for anyone that has fears about it- this allows you to develop your confidence and form a trusting bond with your therapist.It's normal to have worries about this experience, and we welcome you to reach out to us and discuss any concerns that you may have.
Traditional therapy is generally described as a conversation between therapist and client, and happens while you're in an "ordinary" state of waking consciousness. During KAP treatment, you may experience drastic changes in consciousness, and sense of being, while having a therapeutic experience in the presence of your therapist. Both the pharmacological impact and the subjective experience of a non-ordinary state of consciousness can allow for rapid positive changes in mental state and perception. These effects, combined with the support and knowledge of a trained psychotherapist, work to maximize the healing potential that Ketamine allows.
Psychedelic Therapy can help a variety of people, with anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), grief, depression, hopeless and loss of purpose or difficulty coping with life events, among other things. Some people may not be a good fit for psychedelic therapy due to current life circumstances, mental health or medical conditions. At INTERO, we'll work with you to determine if psychedelic therapy is an appropriate course of treatment, working with your therapist and medical provider. Safety and support is the number one priority of INTERO.
Sometimes traditional “talk” therapy approaches can reach an impasse, where verbal and other “skills”-based work are inadequate in terms of reaching core sources of pain, suffering and conversely, inner-healing. The use of psychedelics can allow someone to experience a lifting of their defenses, a connection to self-compassion and empathy, and a softening of the barrier between the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind. This essentially allows someone to “go deeper” into their own experience, story and psyche, to find and strengthen their connections to their core sources of meaning, resiliency and strength.
A term often used in psychedelic medicine is Inner Healing Intelligence, which means each person has an innate inner drive towards healing and wholeness (just as a seed has an inner drive to become a flower). Non-ordinary states of consciousness, produced by psychedelics, can allow for increased access to our innate drive towards wellness and wholeness, and offer distance from the self-stories that aren’t serving us well.
Treatment Plan + Care
Yes! INTERO also provides more traditional talk therapy using a variety of integrated approaches. Each of therapists brings their unique skillset, training and background to the process. We emphasize the importance of trusting relationships and using creativity and collaboration to personalize your experience.
Because of the dissociative effect of Ketamine, we require that you have transportation set up after your appointment. We ask that you provide us with the name and contact information for the friend or relative that will be driving you home.
Visit our Aftercare guide to learn more. If you have specific questions or concerns, please feel free to contact your provider at any time.
The importance of music to INTERO and personal experiences cannot be overstated. Music as a form of expression is critical to Psychedelic Therapy. Music allows nonverbal ways of communication and evokes emotional responses that words often are not able to. The playlist is curated to help clients move through challenging life experiences, memories, or trauma in ways that traditional psychotherapy is not capable. Music is meant to allow the clients that ability for further introspective thought and insight into issues they are wanting to work on.
Music is an immensely important part of the experience and provides a framework for how the experience unfolds. Music is a vehicle to assist in the experience of medicine-psychotherapies. Often times music is equated to the ship that one rides on, through the oceanic experience provided by the medicine. Medicine-psychotherapies often have a degree of being ineffable; music assists in the narration of that experience that words cannot.
The more immediate antidepressant effects of Ketamine typically last 2-4 weeks (called the “window of opportunity”). Without psychotherapy Ketamine’s effects will wane in a few weeks, however the KAP approach emphasizes preparation and integration, which both aim to maximize the effects, and to water the seeds planted in the psychedelic experience. With active participation in integration, we utilize the “window of opportunity” in order to build new habits and ways of being that can be sustained long after the immediate effects dissipate.
Each person responds a little bit differently in how fast they metabolize the medicine. Typically the entire session lasts 2.5-3 hours, sometimes a bit less or more.
During the medicine session, your medical provider will administer the Ketamine, and then the therapist will be present in the room for the duration of the session. You will be provided a very comfortable chair that reclines, with pillows, blankets and other amenities to ensure optimal comfort. You will be provided with eyeshades and headphones with a music playlist designed specifically to help support your healing experience. The therapist will be available for whatever support is needed and bases their responses off of your individual needs. For example, if you have something you want to process, talk about or engage with, the therapist will be there to help. Or, if you prefer to listen to music the whole time, the therapist will support this as well. Beyond the basic measures taken to ensure your safety and that of the therapist, there’s no right or wrong way to do this. The therapist may offer you some recommendation/options based on their experience and knowledge and they will support you in determining what direction makes the most sense for you.
Intramuscular Injection
IM Ketamine can produce a range of experiences, from mildly dissociative to a full "out of body trip". Part of determining this is the dose that someone receives. At INTERO, we explore how you respond to Ketamine during your first treatment session, so that you can get familiar with the space and the medicine. If it's safe for you to receive a higher dose, you may go deeper in your Ketamine experience. At lower doses, Ketamine tends to intiate mild to moderate changes in perceptions, while allowing someone to feel communicative and present in the room. At higher doses, Ketamine often leads to the sense of one "leaving" the room/space, and having consciousness expand beyond the limits of one's body. This sense of expansion, has been associated with a sense of unity with one's environment and felt sense of connection, and place in the Universe. For someone who may suffer from a sense of meaninglessness, this sense of connection to reality can be tremendously restorative and healing.
Visit our INTERO Guides to Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy to learn how to prepare for each phase of treatment. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to your therapist at any time.
This varies from person to person, and involves a collaborative conversation with you, your therapist and medical provider. However, there is a general rhythm to the process as follows:
1. Assessment: We always start with a thorough mental health evaluation with your INTERO therapist, followed by an exam with our medical provider.
2. Preparation: Then we do as many preparation sessions as you need to feel equipped for your medicine experience. Most people do 3-6 preparation sessions.
3. Medicine experience: Your first medicine experience will be tailored to finding the right dose, to determine how you respond to Ketamine.
4. Integration: every medicine session will be followed by integration with your INTERO therapist. This is usually 3-6 sessions.
5. Plan (and repeat): Building on your previous experience, we will plan future sessions and repeat the medicine and integration process as outlined in your treatment plan.
For some, a single session is enough, but most people do 2-3 medicine sessions so that they can achieve their treatment goals by building on each individual session. For others, a plan may be developed for a course of treatment (sometimes 6 medicine sessions) or ongoing maintenance support. This all depends on your needs, presenting concerns and effectiveness of each experience.
Yes! You can request a preferred gender for your therapist. We believe in client choice, and that the therapeutic relationship is a vital aspect of good treatment. Please explore our staff bios to see a therapist's specialties and competencies.
INTERO's medical provider has one primary role: to ensure your safety throughout the entire process.
That begins with an initial evaluation where past medical records will be reviewed and a physical exam will be conducted. The doses of Ketamine we work with are sub-anesthetic, meaning they are well below the doses used for surgical procedures. Because of this the risk of an adverse effect is very, very low. Regardless, we want to ensure that you have no limitations that would prevent you from having a fulfilling journey. During this initial encounter we will also discuss the medical aspects of KAP in full detail, and answer any questions that you may have.
After you are medically cleared, your next encounter with the medical provider will be on the day of your Ketamine medicine session. A brief exam will be conducted prior to administering Ketamine. Your therapist and medical provider will both be with you during the initial moments of your journey. Afterwards the medical provider will periodically check-in throughout the course of the session. Once your journey has ended the medical provider will evaluate you to determine when you can be safely discharged home. Mental fogginess is common immediately afterwards, and some patients take a little longer than others to return to baseline.
Your therapist will work with you to identify areas that you want to explore, support you through your experience, and assist in processing insights learned through your KAP session. Throughout the treatment process, the therapist is there to help ensure that you feel safe, contained, understood and supported.
The therapist is a vital component to treatment, in helping you to develop a framework for understanding and navigating your experiences and helping to identify how you can continue to move towards growth and healing. During the treatment session, your therapist is always present and asks nothing of you. They are there to support you in whatever way is best for you and will help you to identify what this means for your experience.· To process experiences and help you to express yourself
• To ensure a sense of safety and containment
• To be a supportive presence
• To witness
• Help prepare you with a framework for the experience
• Help to integrate what lessons you’ve learned- and to apply them to future challenging life experiences
• To understand an internal narrative of what you can handle and what you can’t
• Help you feel confident and capable
Set and setting is a common phrase in the world of psychedelic medicine. Set refers to the "mindset" of the individual having the experience, and includes how they're feeling in the moment, their current mood, personality type, tendencies, beliefs and ways of thinking. Setting refers to the physical, sensory and emotional/relational environment including all sensory inputs across the 5 senses (the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile feelings), the "place" (the room or space) and the people who are present to support.This is where we invest a lot of thought, time and intention- in curating the optimal space, sensory environment and strong therapeutic relationships. While we cannot control the psychedelic experience itself, we can always strive to better enhance the environment with the aim to produce more safety, connection and positive outcomes.
Science, Art & Design
We believe that concepts and practices from art and design traditions can be used to help enhance the therapy process and spark the imagination to move towards wholeness and integration. Our focus on art and design informs the way we structure the environment, and curate the experience for each individual. Our goal is to constantly improve the way we design and curate our setting to help provide an increasingly solid foundation for the medicine experience to unfold.
The importance of music to INTERO and personal experiences cannot be overstated. Music as a form of expression is critical to Psychedelic Therapy. Music allows nonverbal ways of communication and evokes emotional responses that words often are not able to. The playlist is curated to help clients move through challenging life experiences, memories, or trauma in ways that traditional psychotherapy is not capable. Music is meant to allow the clients that ability for further introspective thought and insight into issues they are wanting to work on. Music is an immensely important part of the experience and provides a framework for how the experience unfolds. Music is a vehicle to assist in the experience of medicine-psychotherapies. Often times music is equated to the ship that one rides on, through the oceanic experience provided by the medicine. Medicine-psychotherapies often have a degree of being ineffable; music assists in the narration of that experience that words cannot.
Difference between INTERO and infusion clinics
While all clinics are different, many infusion clinics do not provide psychotherapy.At INTERO, extensive, thoughtful and informed psychotherapy is THE most important part of the process. In fact, the process is psychotherapy, and Ketamine is simply a tool to enhance the process. We fully customize our process based on individual needs, and emphasize creativity and collaboration in working with each person to develop the best possible treatment plan.
Additionally, INTERO offers Intramuscular Injection (IM), which is the most powerful and psychedelic-type of Ketamine treatment.
We also have an excellent network on highly specialized, creative providers who we can connect you to post-integration. We believe that ongoing support is often a super helpful way of deepening the connection to your experience, and in furthering the work of healing and self-discovery.Most importantly, research suggests that integrating psychotherapy into the Ketamine treatment process produces better outcomes for mental health related struggles. The results thus far suggest a synergistic effect, meaning Ketamine and psychotherapy have the potential to work better together than separately.
Differences from other psychedelic assisted therapy clinics
Every clinic has different approaches to this work, and offer a variety of options to people interested. We pride ourselves on the clinical expertise of our staff, as well as the creative work that we do to integrate art, music and design into the therapeutic process. Art, music and stories move us as human beings, and somehow connect to our deep sources of meaning. We work to use such universal human elements for the therapeutic process itself. We do not do "woo woo", but instead work to uncover sources of meaning for each individual, and since everyone is different, the process is unique, every time. We emphasize creativity and collaboration in helping you tell your story.
Billing + Insurance
No. You can complete a self-referral form on our Get Started page.
HSA, FSA, credit (most carriers).
Part of our mission is to develop funding sources to help cover the cost of treatment for those who cannot afford access. We do not believe that these medicines can heal society if they are only accessible by the privileged few. We are continuously seeking creative solutions for reducing this barrier, and will keep this page updated as things progress.
INTERO is currently working on establishing a relationship with a medical financing partner and will update as soon as possible. Please contact us for more information.
For individuals who have medical insurance, much of the therapy process may be covered by your insurance plan. While the talk therapy, assessment and basic medical evaluation are often covered by insurance, the actual Ketamine experience (the treatment session) is not currently covered by insurance plans. While this may change in the future, this is currently an out-of-pocket service.
Please contact us for more information about insurance plans that may be in network.
*We accept FSA and HSA for costs not covered by insurance.
The cost for the initial Ketamine treatment session, with the therapist present, is $725 and all follow-up sessions are $500.
Additionally, we also offer group therapy work, which is $500 per person (4 people in a group). All of our KAP approaches require approval by the treating medical provider and therapist to ensure that this is a safe and appropriate route of working with Ketamine- assisted therapy.
Part of our mission is to develop funding sources to help cover the cost of treatment for those who cannot afford access. We do not believe that these medicines can heal society if they are only accessible by the privileged few. We are continuously seeking creative solutions for reducing this barrier, and will keep this page updated as things progress.
Ketamine + Psychedelics
Most commonly, ketamine produces dissociation and a psychedelic experience, which is why we are using it at Intero. Ketamine administered via injection is also likely to cause mild pain at the injection site, similar to other intramuscular injections. There is a risk of infection when giving an injection. Other side effects include sedation, high blood pressure, changes in vision, nausea, or vomiting.
While ketamine is generally considered safe, due to its temporary increase in blood pressure and heart rate those with current or history of uncontrolled hypertension, aneurisms, strokes, heart conditions may be limited in receiving ketamine. Ketamine is also contraindicated in those who have schizophrenia or other psychotic symptoms. Ketamine should not be used in those who have an allergy to Ketamine. We do not use ketamine during pregnancy.
Ketamine is a highly versatile drug and can be administered orally, via injection, or intravenously. When administered via injection the dose is 6-10 times higher for anesthesia and 2-6 times higher for short procedures.
“Off-Label” use of a medication is using an FDA-Approved medication in a manner not approved by the FDA. The process for receiving FDA indication for use is extensive and costly. This generally means medications will not get additional FDA indications after they can be made generic. Medications are commonly used off label when there is not an approved drug for a condition, there are reasons you would not choose to use an approved drug for a specific condition, or you have tried approved treatments without seeing significant benefits.
Currently Ketamine is the only legal psychedelic available outside of research settings, in the state of Minnesota. As more psychedelic medicines are made available for clinic use, INTERO will incorporate them into practice.
MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, which is demonstrating promising results for PTSD is likely to be approved by the FDA in 1-2 years for clinic use.
Psilocybin- assisted psychotherapy is also being studied and expected to be available in 3-5 years for clinic use. The 4-phase psychedelic therapy process that INTERO currently uses for Ketamine, is the same general structure that INTERO will use with future psychedelics.
Psychedelics were primarily used in the clinical setting before they were co-opted by the counterculture revolution of the 1960s. By 1951, over 100 articles on LSD had been published in medical journals. The drug was capable of inducing a new level of self-awareness that had enormous therapeutic potential compared to other modalities of the day. Studies on LSD and alcoholism reported that between 40 and 45% of patients given the drug had not experienced a relapse after a year. Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, believed LSD could be used to cure alcoholics and credited the drug with helping his own recovery from depression.
Psilocybin (mushrooms) and LSD psychotherapy peaked in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and was widely considered to be “the next big thing” in psychiatry.
Between the years of 1950 and 1965, some 40,000 patients had been prescribed one form of LSD therapy or another under the trade-name Delysid. Research into the potential therapeutic effects of LSD and other hallucinogens had produced over 1,000 scientific papers and six international conferences.
Preliminary findings were very positive and warranted further study, but the research abruptly stopped. It came to a halt not for safety or efficacy issues, but primarily for political reasons. The Nixon administration heavily restricted further research despite some politicians and researchers speaking out against the government’s actions. Nixon and his fight against anti-war protestors eventually led to the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 as a tool to jail and imprison dissidents of the Vietnam War.
Another psychedelic medication, MDMA, was patented by Merck in 1914 and has a long history of use in relationship therapy. It gained notoriety in the 1980s as the illicit drug “ecstasy”, but it was originally known as “empathy”. Therapists found that it had the extraordinary ability to make their patients more willing to communicate and participate in the psychotherapy process. It also eliminated the typical fear response in patients with histories of trauma. Anecdotally, psychotherapists reported that it greatly accelerated therapy, which made it an important adjunct not an alternative to traditional therapy. Unfortunately, underground use in clubs and bars became more widespread prompting the DEA to investigate by the early 1980s.
There were no links to deaths or violent crimes, but under the banner of the War on Drugs it was placed in the Schedule 1 category under the Controlled Substances Act despite its history of therapeutic use. The DEA acted against the recommendation of the administrative law judge who presided over the scheduling hearings, while also disregarding opposition from the medical profession and researchers.
There are many ideas being proposed and the deeper we look, the more questions we have.
When assessing a question such as this, we can look at it from many angles, including with the pharmacological/biological, psychological, relational and transpersonal lenses (to name a few).
"Psychedelics" describes a class of compounds that are actually quite different from each other, in their effects and the experiences they produce. The word psychedelic means "mind manifesting" and most of the compounds that retain this label are related through their ineffable, powerful and non-ordinary impact on consciousness. Psychedelics cause significant changes to one's perceptions, sense of self and experience of reality. They are truly out of this world.
In terms of the pharmacology, most typical psychedelics impact the 5HT2A receptors in the brain, although atypical ones like Ketamine impact other systems. To learn more about the pharmacology, Wikipedia is a great resource.
Researchers have recently discovered a network of activities in our brain that’s referred to as the “default mode network”. This is a technical term that refers to some complex happenings, but to simplify the idea: we tend to engage in patterns of behavior and can feel stuck in a certain story of who we are, and what our life means. Challenging life experiences can distort our thinking; we can often feel insecure, unsafe, and want to remove ourselves from daily life.
Psychedelics may offer a “break” by helping one to access non-ordinary states of consciousness, which can help give them an opportunity to reflect more deeply on their struggles and sense of purpose and place in the world. Uncovering our values, meaning, and sense of self may help us to find freedom from the patterns we feel trapped in.
Having a “break” from our normal ways of being, in combination with therapy can help to identify alternative narratives to our life. We believe the stories we tell ourselves about our lives can lead to deeper meaningful interactions or keep us stuck in patterns that are destructive. Creating a new narrative requires an interruption to unhelpful stories we tell ourselves; psychedelic psychotherapy aims to help promote such a break.
Additionally, psychedelics can produce strange experience that may be referred to as "transpersonal", meaning "beyond the individual". For some, the psychedelic experiences is felt as a deep connection to "the world" and reality itself, which some may describe as feeling sacred. This does not mean "spiritual" or "religious" or "woowoo" but instead a felt sense of belonging with and inseparableness from the Universe itself- A sense of "rightness" with reality. This transpersonal experience can have lasting, sometimes lifelong effects as it sits as a reference point for future life, intention and purpose.
Psychedelic Therapy combines talk therapy with the careful use of psychedelics to enhance the therapeutic process. It’s often used to help individuals get “unstuck” and to access parts of the unconscious mind that can aid in the healing process.
Sometimes traditional “talk” therapy approaches can reach an impasse, where verbal and other “skills”-based work are inadequate in terms of reaching core sources of pain, suffering and conversely, inner-healing. The use of psychedelics can allow someone to experience a lifting of their defenses, a connection to self-compassion and empathy, and a softening of the barrier between the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind. This essentially allows someone to “go deeper” into their own experience, story and psyche, to find and strengthen their connections to their core sources of meaning, resiliency and strength.
A term often used in psychedelic medicine is Inner Healing Intelligence, which means each person has an innate inner drive towards healing and wholeness (just as a seed has an inner drive to become a flower). Non-ordinary states of consciousness, produced by psychedelics, can allow for increased access to our innate drive towards wellness and wholeness, and offer distance from the self-stories that aren’t serving us well.
