Ketamine-Assisted Therapy

Trauma doesn’t have to have the last word.

Ketamine-Assisted Therapy can help you break through your biggest barriers.

Serving Santa Monica and greater Los Angeles. Online therapy offered to California residents.

This program is designed for those that experience:

  • Treatment-resistant depression or anxiety

  • Trauma-related disorders

  • Difficulty allowing themselves to experience emotions

Benefits of this treatment:

Safe and legal medical intervention.

This is currently the only psychedelic treatment that is FDA-approved to address chronic depression, anxiety and trauma-related disorders. The treatment is monitored and supported by a team of therapeutic and medical clinicians.

Supportive approach.

Our clinicians are trauma-trained first and foremost. They are skilled at managing psychological care in trauma-informed ways. They work to create a safe emotional and physical environment for this powerful work.

Longterm results.

The beauty of Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy is the research supporting how fast-acting the medicine is, while the clinical outcomes are long-lasting. This is an excellent options for those that long for insight, safety and relief.

Ketamine-Assisted Therapy Options

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    Personalized Individual Support

    Receive the one-on-one support of a trauma-informed therapist throughout your 3 Ketamine Exploration experiences.

    Includes:

    Assessment + Preparation (90 minutes)

    Ketamine Therapy (3 hours x 3 sessions)

    Integration Sessions (45 min x 6 sessions)

    Medical Evaluation + Ketamine Prescription (1 hour) * paid separately $450/session (not done at Woven)

    $275/hour | 16 hours | 12 sessions

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    Extended Individual Support

    Receive the one-on-one support of a trauma-informed therapist throughout your 6 Ketamine Exploration experiences.

    Includes:

    Assessment + Preparation (90 minutes)

    Ketamine Therapy (3 hours x 6 sessions)

    Integration Sessions (45 min x 12 sessions)

    Medical Evaluation + Ketamine Prescription (1 hour) * paid separately $450/session (not done at Woven)

    $275/hour | 30 hours | 20 sessions

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    Extended Integration Support

    If you’d like additional therapy after your Ketamine treatment is completed, our trained trauma-informed therapists can continue supporting your integration and recovery journey. We have options for ongoing support:

    Trauma Therapy (45 min)

    EMDR Therapy (45 min)

    Brainspotting Therapy (45 min)

    Group Therapy (45 min x 10 sessions)

    We can make recommendations for ongoing trauma therapy after your powerful Ketamine experience.

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What is Ketamine?

Ketamine is an FDA-approved anesthetic and dissociative medication. It creates a trance-like state and has been used in research and clinical settings to address treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, substance use issues, and trauma. It has been especially useful in our patients wanting to explore new levels of self-understanding.

Trauma has a way of making us build up walls of emotional protection around ourselves and those walls can prevent our healing (the irony!). We combine the use of prescribed ketamine with the expertise of a trauma therapist to guide a journey towards deeper insight and recovery.

 Are you ready for ketamine therapy but you want the expertise of a trauma therapist guiding you the entire time?

COMMON MYTH: “I should just be able to get over this by now.”


But what if I told you… It’s common for trauma survivors to get “stuck” in their trauma responses. They try to ignore their disturbing memories, push down unpleasant feelings, and shame themselves to try to feel better.

But that approach stopped working for you a long time ago. You’ve found yourself stuck, overwhelmed, and worried that you are going to feel like this forever.

Trauma is stored in the body. We carry it around with us and it can interrupt relationships, self-esteem, focus, and emotional health.

When trauma goes unaddressed it can lead to…

  • Feeling ashamed of your history and your feelings about it

  • Feeling disconnected and worried about the state of your mental health

  • Feeling chronically unsafe in your environment, your relationships, and your body

  • Feeling scared that you will always feel these unbearable and unmanageable symptoms

  • Worrying that you’ll get triggered again, causing you to avoid social interactions and other “risky” environments

We use ketamine to help you process your trauma.

You can address your triggers and feel supported with a long-term relationship with your therapist.

Our Ketamine Therapists

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    Ocean Shapiro, ASW

    Ocean specializes in complex trauma, dissociative disorders, and sexual trauma. If you have had a long string of difficult life experiences, Ocean can help you process your trauma and reduce your triggers through Ketamine-Assisted Therapy.

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    Gabriela Ucrós, AMFT

    *Spanish-speaking* Gabriela specializes in relational trauma, sexual abuse, and other complex trauma. If you have a difficult time participating in life because of your trauma triggers, Gabriela can help through Ketamine-Assisted Therapy.

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    Quincee Gideon, PsyD

    Dr. Gideon specializes in complex childhood trauma, religious trauma, and difficult family relationships. If you struggle with navigating your day-to-day struggles, Dr. Gideon can help you process your trauma and lessen your triggers with Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy.

Process of Ketamine-Assisted Therapy

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    Schedule A Consultation

    Schedule a free 20-minute consultation with Therapist Matchmaker. Learn about the process and get connected with our medical support for the next steps.

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    Medical Evaluation

    We have a medical team ready to meet with you and get you started on your ketamine journey. After your medical evaluation, you’re ready to start ketamine therapy.

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    Start Ketamine Therapy

    All ketamine treatment happens with a skilled and trained psychotherapist with you. You’ll be able to process your experience with a trauma-informed therapist.

What is ketamine and how can it help?

Ketamine is an FDA-approved medication for anesthesia. It creates a trance-like state and a bit of a dissociative feeling. For years, ketamine has been used to pain reduction and deeper psychological exploration for those that need help accessing their deep consciousness.

In recent years, ketamine and other psychedelic therapies have shown incredible results with treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We combine the helpful medicine of ketamine with the emotional support of a therapist to help you take your healing to the next level.

What happens when ketamine is done with a trauma therapist?

There are more options than ever for ketamine treatment. The experience of ketamine is fundamentally changed in the presence of a trained psychotherapist that can help guide your experience. We pay extra attention to helping you feel mindfully grounded, emotionally safe, and psychologically prepared for the experience of a psychedelic intervention.

Our trauma experts can help guide your experience to make it even more therapeutic and helpful. We curate a journey that can help you create emotional insight, uncover unconscious dynamics, and regain a sense of power and control over your emotional world.

**Note: Woven Together Trauma Therapy does not prescribe ketamine. We will refer you to our medical partners for a medical evaluation and prescription.

Ketamine-Assisted Therapy can help folks diagnosed with:

  • Panic attacks

  • Depression

  • Social anxiety

  • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

  • Complex trauma or Complex PTSD

  • Bipolar Depression

  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)


Did you know that trauma can be treated with Ketamine-Assisted Therapy?

It’s not hopeless. Ketamine-Assisted Therapy can help you manage your trauma symptoms and help you get your life back.

Here’s what research says about psychedelic-assisted therapy:

Recent research shows that about 50% of those with treatment-resistant depression experienced a symptom reduction within 24 hours of their first Ketamine treatment. It gets better. About 66% of those same folks experienced symptom reduction after their 4th Ketamine session.

The good news? Anxiety, depression, and trauma can all be treated with Ketamine-Assisted Therapy.

The world is waking up to new ways of treating trauma and other mental health concerns. You don’t have to white-knuckle your way through the day. Ketamine-assisted therapy can help you get beyond your blocks and experience a new way of healing.

Schedule a Free Ketamine Consultation with Our Therapist Matchmaker Today 

Ketamine can help with:

Complex Trauma

Begin to untangle the complicated web that trauma has left behind. Learn how to regulate your nervous system, create safety in your life, and find supportive and meaningful relationships.

Complex trauma might come from:

  • A complicated childhood

  • Difficult and strained relationships with caregivers

  • Chronic emotional neglect

  • A narcissistic parent or family member

PTSD

Trauma makes you feel like an anxious mess. PTSD makes your body believe that you are still in the traumatic environment. We can help you feel calm again after trauma.

PTSD might come from:

  • Domestic violence or interpersonal violence

  • Sexual assault or abuse

  • One-time events like car accidents

  • Combat and first-responder experience

Attachment Trauma

When your early relationships were unreliable, you might find it hard to feel calm or grounded in your relationships now. Trauma treatment can help you with your anxious or avoidant attachment impulses.

Attachment trauma might come from:

  • Feeling chronically neglected

  • Experiencing some disruption in your early childhood relationships

  • Being parented by an emotionally immature parent.

Religious or cult trauma

When you live within a restrictive or rigid religious community group, the trauma experienced within these groups is explained away as having divine meaning. We help you untangle the complicated web.

Religious trauma might come from:

  • Growing up in a restrictive or rigid religion

  • Experiencing sexual, physical, or emotional violence inside a church or group

  • Having choice taken away from you by a religious or self-help leader

Anxiety

When your nervous system feels like there’s a constant threat to your safety, you can develop upsetting anxiety symptoms. Feel calm again with specialized treatment.

Anxiety might come from:

  • Feeling chronically unsafe

  • Experiencing sexual, physical or emotional violence within relationships

  • Feeling perfection is expected and achievable.

FAQs

  • We have partnered with a medical group that will perform a virtual or in-person medical evaluation, prescribe the medication, and have it sent to your local pharmacy before your scheduled Ketamine-Assisted Therapy experience with your Woven therapist. Woven isn’t involved in the prescribing of Ketamine for the treatment but we work closely with our medical partners to ensure you have a compassionate and supportive experience.

  • Both! We have found that at-home, virtual administration can be incredibly powerful in making use of your safe home environment. We do offer in-person options on limited days and times. You can discuss your preference with our Therapist Matchmaker during your consultation.

  • We are experts at this! We will set up an environment virtually (and wherever you are doing the dosing session in your own environment) to make sure it is conducive to KAP. We have an entire system that we use to help you set up a safe and supportive environment and your therapist will walk you through this in the preparation stage. Overall, you’ll get a good sense of how your therapist shows up virtually in the intake and preparation phase of treatment. It’s easier than you think it’s going to be!

  • In our clinical experience of working with psychedelic treatment and trauma recovery, we’ve found that support and mindset are the most foundational factors that create a healing experience. Our therapists are trained to walk you through the experience using their expertise, clinical wisdom, and the nuances of your needs. This is a completely curated experience based on your goals, your needs, and your history. We also include two integration sessions after each ketamine exploration session. That helps you put words to your experiences and guides future exploration. In our opinion, this is very different from what you receive in other treatment centers.

  • We will walk you through the entire process. Starting during your consultation, we will tell you the exact next step, get you connected to our medical provider, give you estimates on scheduling and time, and curate the most supportive experience possible. We are available to answer your questions in between sessions as well.

  • The medicine is a big part of the process, but the therapeutic experience is what takes the medication’s effects to the next level. Part of what ketamine offers is neuroplasticity– your brain is literally making new connections so you can cope better with stress, emotional experiences, and past trauma triggers. Having a therapist in the room– no matter what method of ketamine you receive– is what helps take these new brain connections to the next level where you can make big life changes.

  • You may lay there for brief periods of time, but you’ll be interacting with your therapist throughout the session. You might discuss new connections you are making or process some feelings that are emerging during the session. It’s a relaxing environment, so lying there is totally fine, but you’ll most likely be interacting with your therapist in deeply therapeutic ways.

  • Ketamine is a dissociative drug, so you’ll feel like you took a medication that disconnects you a little bit. This usually helps you feel less defensive when interacting with her feelings and open to new interpretations of your circumstances and experiences.

  • Ketamine is FDA-regulated and highly researched. We are still in the process of researching the effects and risks of other psychedelic medications like MDMA and psilocybin. Since Ketamine is more researched, we have a really good idea of what these sessions will look like for patients and have highly trained professionals there to support you along the way. You’ll also notice that the effects of ketamine are shorter– which means if you feel uncomfortable with the effects of the medication, you won’t be “stuck” in the experience for 5-8 hours.

  • Ketamine has few counterindications, which means it's safe for a large majority of people. We have you evaluated by our medical team to make sure you meet the requirements. Some untreated conditions such as high blood pressure and hyperthyroidism might need to be treated first before we proceed with the KAP dosing sessions.

  • Yes! You still have to go through the intake and preparation process (non-negotiable because it impacts your experience so much), but if you do not find KAP helpful, you do not need to continue. Research does show that 3 and 6 dosing sessions tend to be the sweet spot in efficacy (where we see the most clinical benefits).

 Want to learn more about our approach to trauma care?

Here are a few blog posts that might answer some of your questions.

Now quite ready for Ketamine-Assisted Therapy?

We also have EMDR Intensives.

We offer daylong intensives where we process your most significant traumas over an 8-hour period. EMDR Intensives focus on the most disturbing trauma memories and processes them in a safe therapeutic environment with a trained professional. Intensives are most helpful for those with one-time trauma events, such as a car accident, sudden death or loss, sexual assault, or perinatal trauma. New research shows that intensive therapy for trauma and stress can be effective in symptom reduction in a short period of time. Our EMDR therapists use relational and attachment techniques along with EMDR and Flash Technique to help you process your traumatic experiences within the day.

Are EMDR Intensives right for me?

You might be a good fit for EMDR Intensives if:

  • You have PTSD.

  • You have a one-time traumatic event (rather than complex trauma) that continues to haunt you and cause significant distress.

  • You are a healthcare worker working with COVID patients.

  • Have experienced a sudden loss or death.

  • You are in weekly therapy but need to address trauma memories in order to gain better results from therapy.

  • You have Complex PTSD.

Benefits of EMDR Intensives

  • Sessions are completed in a one, two, or four-day format. This reduces the need to take off work or obtain weekly childcare for weekly sessions.

  • The upfront costs are greater for Intensives, but the shorter duration of therapy means that you save money over the course of treatment.

  • You can avoid waitlists for qualified and helpful EMDR practitioners in your area and get the immediate benefits of symptom relief.

 Here’s a bit of how EMDR Intensives work: