How KAP Works at Journey Clinical | What to Expect

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP): How It Works and What to Expect at Journey Clinical

Myriam Barthes, Co-Founder & CEO
April 1, 2024

What Is Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP)?

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) is a therapeutic modality that combines ketamine treatment with structured psychotherapy. It is a therapist-led mental health care model that integrates psychiatry and psychotherapy, supported by a dedicated care team of experienced clinicians.

KAP is grounded in psychotherapy - prioritizing relationship, reflection, and continuity over the dosing experience itself - and supports change that is integrated, sustainable, and clinically meaningful. It helps patients shift the emotional and cognitive patterns that drive depression, anxiety, PTSD and other psychiatric conditions; not only the physiology that carries it.

Journey Clinical’s Collaborative Care Model

At Journey Clinical, ketamine treatment is paired with psychotherapy through a collaborative care model designed to lean into the therapeutic alliance between psychotherapists and patients while ensuring medical safety.

Psychotherapists provide the therapy portion of KAP including:

Journey Clinical’s medical team ensure safety through:

How KAP Differs from Standalone Ketamine Treatment

Many people considering Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy want to understand how the experience differs from traditional talk therapy or standalone ketamine treatment. In KAP, your therapist is not simply present during the dosing session — they play an active clinical role throughout your entire treatment arc. Before any medication is prescribed, your therapist works with you to establish treatment goals, build trust, and prepare you for the experience ahead. During dosing sessions, the therapist provides a grounding presence and psychological support. Afterward, integration sessions help you process insights and translate them into lasting change. Journey Clinical's collaborative care model also means a dedicated medical team monitors your progress through structured outcome tracking at every stage. This layered approach combining medical oversight, therapeutic support, and ongoing assessment is what distinguishes KAP from other ketamine treatment options. It is designed to support not just symptom relief, but meaningful and sustained therapeutic progress.

You have a dedicated care team of experienced clinicians here to support you throughout your treatment.

What KAP Treatment Looks Like (Step-by-Step)

What is the step-by-step process?
Step 1: Choose your therapist
Step 2: Medical clearance and treatment planning
Step 3: Therapist-led preparation sessions
Step 4: Dosing session with monitoring and support from therapist
Step 5: Therapist-led Integration sessions
Step 6: Follow-up with the medical team

Step 1: Choose your therapist

Before you initiate treatment, you choose a psychotherapist that matches your preference (e.g., location, specialty, insurance). The therapeutic alliance is essential to the successful completion of treatment.

Important distinction: The therapeutic component—not the medication alone—is what differentiates KAP from non-therapist ketamine treatment models. KAP is uniquely structured for emotional change, not only symptom reduction. The therapist’s role is not to direct the experience, but to provide psychological safety, trust, and support when needed.

Step 2: Medical clearance & treatment planning

The KAP process begins with an evaluation by a KAP-trained clinician from Journey Clinical’s medical team.
During this consultation, the clinician will:

If the patient is eligible, the medical team develops:

This ensures KAP is appropriate and medically supervised.

Step 3: Therapist-led preparation sessions

These psychotherapy sessions are similar to traditional therapy and tailored to psychedelic-informed care. You and your therapist explore:

Step 4: Dosing session with monitoring & support from therapist

A typical ketamine dosing session lasts between 1-3 hours and can take place either in-person in your therapist's office or remotely via telehealth. During a dosing session, patients self-administer their ketamine lozenge. Typically, patients are in a comfortable, reclining position wearing an eye mask and listening to calming music. Although a dosing session may be largely an internal experience, the therapist is present the entire time to hold space and provide support as needed. Common experiences may include:

Step 5: Integration sessions for durable change

Within the days following dosing, you meet again with your therapist to process and translate what emerged into meaningful, lasting change. This is where transformation becomes durable. Integration often includes:

Step 6: Follow-up with the medical team

Journey Clinical’s medical team conducts regular follow-up appointments to:

Follow-ups occur at a minimum of once per quarter, though frequency depends on the individualized care plan.

This ongoing oversight ensures that Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy remains safe, structured, and responsive to patient needs.

While each treatment plan is personalized for each patient, it is common for a full KAP treatment to include 1 medical intake consultation, 1-3 preparation sessions with your therapist, 6-8 dosing sessions with at least 1 integration session between each dosing session; a minimum of 1 consultation with the medical team is required; maintenance dosing may be considered by your medical professional if appropriate.

Insurance & Cost

Understanding the financial investment for Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) is an important part of planning your mental health care journey. Unlike many traditional therapy services, KAP involves both medical and therapeutic components — and because of that, insurance coverage and out-of-pocket costs may vary.

Important clarification: the medication ketamine itself is inexpensive in most formulations. What elevates the cost for KAP is clinical time, monitoring, integration support, and medical oversight — not the base price of the drug.

It is common for the full course of treatment of KAP to include:

The full 4-6 months of treatment is estimated to range from $1400-$1900 with insurance. Payment plans and financing can be available for patients to increase accessibility. To initiate treatment, a patient could make an upfront payment ~$120 followed by an agreed upon payment plan, if eligible for treatment. Your care team would be able to guide you through your options.

Frequently Asked Questions?

Is KAP safe? When delivered within a structured collaborative care model with medical oversight and licensed psychotherapy support, KAP is considered safe for eligible patients.

Is KAP covered by insurance? At Journey Clinical, we are in network with major payers, and always growing our insurance coverage. Read more on which insurance plans we accept at Journey Clinical or use our [**KAP treatment calculator**](/content/pricing "KAP Treatment Cost Calculator | Journey Clinical Pricing"/index.html) to assess your specific costs.

How do you feel during KAP? The direct effects of ketamine, which most patients find pleasant, last approximately 45 minutes. Many patients report feeling ‘far from’ their bodies, which can give the patient a chance to take a break from habitual thoughts and gain new perspectives on traumatic situations. During ketamine dosing sessions, motor and verbal abilities are typically reduced, so patients lie down in a comfortable position during the entire experience.