KAP is not Special K
If I had a dollar for the amount of times people have looked at me strangely when I say I am a Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapist, I would be rich! Anyone around my age smirks and says, “Oh yeah, Special K.” No. Ketamine prescribed for use in Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy is not the same as bumps you snort in the bathroom of the club. Ketamine used in my sessions with clients IS NOT snorted at all and I’m not giving you an injection either (that would not be within the boundaries of my license). They are PRESCRIBED sublingual lozenges. Special K (typically from veterinarian vials that are then cooked to solid form or stolen from hospitals, etc.) and it is illegal.
Ketamine used in Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy is only prescribed after you are medically screened and prescribed by someone who has a license to prescribe (typically an MD, or NP). I am not able to administer it. My clients come in with the lozenges and although I provide little cups with labels for them to put them in, I don’t ever touch the Ketamine. I will guide you on which and when to take, but my client is the one self administering.
Since Ketamine is not special K, there are no “K holes.” A K-hole is a scary place that you go to if you have too much Ketamine. Since people are taking special K in bumps in the club bathroom or at parties, it is not dosed and it is very difficult to know how much you are getting. That is why you end up in a K-hole. When you are in a K- hole, you are there but you are powerless. You see different perspectives of things but can’t really do anything about them until the Special K wears off. I spent a lot of time in clubs in the 1990s-2000s and I have seen many a K-hole. I held my friends and made sure they were cared for, they couldn’t tell me what they needed, they just blindly stared at me. Later they told me that they had an entire narrative in their head about what was going on around them. They thought everyone was looking at them and knew they were in a K-hole and they wondered if they would ever get out. Eventually they came out of the hole and returned to their normal state. But they knew they never wanted to go there again.
Ketamine in a prescribed dose for you is an experience that feels much different. You know where you are, you know who is with you, you know what you are doing. I wouldn’t recommend getting up and moving around after Ketamine effects start, but there is a lot you can do. It is extremely relaxing. You will be lying down and have special music on that enhances your experience. A difficult Ketamine experience is rare, but even if you happen to have one, it will pass. Your therapist is there to keep you safe. Even a difficult experience will teach you something. Listen, not all of us are dealing with happy things, some of the unhappy things may come up in your Ketamine session. It’s ok. Ketamine will help you to not be emotionally overwhelmed and I guarantee you will come out of the experience learning something about yourself.
Do your research. If Ketamine is not for you, it’s ok. In the next couple of years we will most likely have more options like MDMA and Psilocybin. Both have different effects but really are a life changing experience. You will definitely learn something new with every session. You will incorporate what you learn into your life. It is a wonderful tool to use if you feel stuck or you need to dig deeper but are finding it difficult to.
And I promise you won’t end up in a K hole. But you might end up with some really amazing perspective and insight.
