Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) pairs a carefully dosed ketamine experience with real therapy: preparation beforehand, a therapist or trained guide beside you during the session, and integration afterward, so the shift you feel becomes a change you keep.
At SomaVerse, the ketamine comes as a sublingual troche, a small compounded tablet that dissolves under the tongue or in the cheek. It comes on gradually and stays gentler than an IV infusion, which leaves room to feel, notice and even talk. That matters, because in KAP the experience itself is part of the treatment, not a side effect to sleep through.
SomaVerse was built inside a therapy practice, Mind & Body Healing Collective, by people who had spent decades doing depth work in Lawrence. We kept meeting clients who understood their patterns perfectly and still felt trapped inside them. KAP gave us a way to reach the places insight alone wasn’t reaching, with a whole team holding the work.
You might be here because…
- You’ve been in therapy for years. You can explain your patterns in detail, and you still watch yourself repeat them.
- Two or three antidepressants either did nothing or left you feeling flat in a way you didn’t like.
- Your mind runs the same loop of dread or self-criticism, especially at night, and nothing seems to interrupt it.
- Trauma lives in your body as a constant brace, even on calm days.
- You’re curious about ketamine, but an IV clinic feels clinical, rushed or out of reach financially.
- You want more than symptom relief: a felt sense of who you are underneath the depression or anxiety.
What is ketamine-assisted psychotherapy?
KAP is psychotherapy in which ketamine is used deliberately to open a different state of mind, and the therapy is organized around that opening. It’s a different philosophy from an infusion clinic, where ketamine is treated mainly as a fast-acting antidepressant and the altered state is something to get through.
In KAP, the dreamlike, softened state that ketamine creates is welcomed. Many people describe more distance from their usual thoughts, less fear around painful memories, and unexpected compassion for themselves. Practitioners in large KAP practices have reported reductions in depression and anxiety using non-IV ketamine paired with therapy, and published reviews suggest psychotherapy before, during and after ketamine may help start and extend the benefit. Larger controlled trials are still underway, and we say so plainly.
- Preparation: clarifying intentions, building trust and learning what to expect
- The session: a sublingual dose in a calm, held space, with music and eye shades
- Integration: making meaning of what surfaced and turning it into action
How ketamine may help the brain and nervous system
Most antidepressants work on serotonin over weeks. Ketamine acts on a different system: it blocks NMDA receptors, which triggers a surge of glutamate signaling and a rise in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). In animal research, this sets off rapid growth of new synaptic connections in the prefrontal cortex, the area that tends to thin out under chronic stress and depression.
That biology is why ketamine is often described as opening a window of flexibility. In practice, people say the usual grooves feel less automatic for a while. In mouse studies this window lasts days rather than weeks, and no one has yet measured exactly how long it stays open in humans. We plan integration sessions in the days right after dosing for exactly this reason.
We also work through a somatic, nervous-system lens. Many clients notice their fight, flight or freeze responses quieting during and after sessions. When the body stops bracing, memories and feelings can be met with curiosity instead of fear, and that’s where trauma work becomes possible.
Why SomaVerse uses sublingual troches
A troche (say “troh-key”) is absorbed through the lining of the mouth. Only about a quarter of the dose reaches the bloodstream this way, compared with nearly all of an IV dose, so the experience builds slowly and tends to feel gentler. For many first-time or sensitive clients, that pace is the difference between feeling overwhelmed and feeling held.
Troches also change what’s possible financially and practically. A single SomaVerse dose is $90, compared with the $350–$700+ an IV infusion often costs, and there are no needles or infusion chairs. Sessions happen in office at any of our offices, and once you’ve completed at least our main program and are medically approved, you may be able to continue some sessions at home. Read more on our ketamine troche therapy page, or compare routes in troches vs. IV vs. Spravato.
One honest note: ketamine troches are compounded medications prescribed off-label for mental health. They aren’t FDA-approved for psychiatric conditions. Esketamine (Spravato) is the FDA-approved form, and for some people with insurance coverage it’s the better fit. We’ll tell you if we think so.
What a KAP session feels like
You arrive and settle into a quiet room. You’ll go over your intention with your therapist or guide, check your blood pressure, and get comfortable with a blanket, an eye shade and a playlist chosen for the work. Then you let the troche dissolve slowly for several minutes before swallowing or spitting out what remains, as instructed.
Over the next 20–40 minutes, effects build. People describe floating, warmth, vivid imagery, memories surfacing, a sense of space around old pain, or simply deep rest. Your therapist or guide stays with you the whole time, speaking only when it helps. As the medicine eases, usually over an hour or two, you’ll talk through what came up while it’s still fresh.
Afterward you’ll need a ride home, and you shouldn’t drive or make big decisions for the rest of the day. Most people feel back to baseline within a few hours. A medical check-in follows every dose.
Preparation and integration are the therapy
The dose is a small part of the time you’ll spend with us. Before your first session, you’ll complete a medical evaluation, a pre-treatment therapy assessment and a preparation session with a guide. Together you’ll name what you’re hoping to explore, what you’re afraid of, and what support looks like at home.
Integration is where change takes root. That might be a one-on-one integration session, a guide check-in, or one of our small integration groups, where people share what surfaced and how they’re living differently. Expert guidance across the field recommends this kind of support, and it’s built into every SomaVerse program.
- Integration sessions with a ketamine-trained therapist (1 hour)
- Guide integration check-ins (45 minutes)
- Integration groups, 60 minutes, $20 each
- The SomaVerse Booster Group ($150), a group journey in Lawrence for people who’ve completed a SomaVerse program
- Somatic, journaling and nature-based practices from our journey resources
Your SomaVerse team
KAP at SomaVerse is a team effort: in Anissa’s words, “a trained ketamine team with a medical provider, certified psychedelic therapists and a mental health coach, offering individual and group ketamine services.” Our medical team, led by Angel Patterson-Tetuan, PMHNP-BC, our Psychiatry & Ketamine Medical Director, evaluates you, sets your dose and checks in after every session. A ketamine-trained therapist holds the psychotherapy. A ketamine wellness guide prepares you, can sit with you during dosing, and supports integration, and Joseph (Valentine) Dee, EMT, who has assisted in more than 1,000 ketamine sessions, provides medical support.
The program was founded and is directed by Anissa Pfannenstiel, LSCSW, KAP, PAP, a somatic psychedelic certified therapist with more than 20 years of practice and training in EMDR, Brainspotting and hypnotherapy. Brittny Jordan, LCPC, PAP, our Clinical Director, sees clients in Overland Park. Meet the whole team.
Is ketamine therapy covered by insurance?
Partly. Eligible medical visits and therapy with a licensed therapist can often be billed to insurance, with your usual copays and deductibles. The ketamine medication itself, guide sessions and integration groups are self-pay. Bundled programs have payment plans, and HSA cards are accepted.
A single dose is $90. Most people start with the Individual Ketamine Healing Package, $480 for 6 sessions, which includes the ketamine prescription, a Journey Box, medical monitoring and a preparation session; the medical evaluation, therapy or guide sessions and integration are billed separately. Bundled programs with therapy, guides, medical visits and groups run from $1,325 to $1,650. Self-pay KAP is $350 for a two-hour session. See every option on our pricing page.
