The Importance of Integration Therapy
A psychedelic journey is a powerful experience that can assist an individual struggling with mental health issues, particularly PTSD, anxiety and depression. The medication alone may not provide long lasting effects that improve mental health symptoms. The integration with a trained specialist, like our trusted therapists and guides, help you to learn the skills necessary to improve your mental health.
Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to change and adapt throughout a person's life. It means that the brain is not static, but is constantly rewiring and reorganizing itself based on experiences and new information.
After a ketamine-assisted therapy session, it's important to take the time to integrate the experience. Integration means taking what you learned during the session and applying it to your daily life. It's an important step in the healing process. There is a window of time after the psychedelic journey in which the brain is more accepting of changes. We recommend following up for an integration session 48-72 hours after the ketamine journey.
Ketamine works by altering the way the brain processes information. It can help people to experience things differently and see things from a new perspective. This period increases the brain’s neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity occurs as a result of changes in the connections between brain cells, which can be strengthened or weakened through repeated use or disuse. This process is critical for learning new skills, adapting to changes in the environment, and recovering from brain injuries or illnesses. By understanding neuroplasticity, we can take advantage of the brain's ability to change and improve our cognitive abilities and overall wellbeing.
However, the changes that ketamine produces can be overwhelming, and it's important to have a therapist to help you navigate them. A therapist can help you make sense of your experience and identify areas where you need to focus your attention in order to continue to heal.
Therapy can also help you to integrate your experience into your daily life. It's important to have a plan for how you will continue to work on the things that you learned during the session. A therapist can help you to develop that plan and provide guidance and support as you move forward. You may also discover small changes over the course of ketamine assisted therapy that you did not expect. A therapist helps to amplify these changes which will help to change the behaviors that contribute to mental health issues. For example, you may find one morning you have the motivation to walk your dog in the morning. You’ve been dealing with years of depression and have not experienced motivation like this in a long time. You decide to take the walk and discover the rest of your day is smooth and you’re less irritable.
Overall, integration is a critical part of the healing process after a ketamine-assisted therapy session. It allows you to take what you learned during the session and apply it to your daily life. Therapy plays a vital role in this process, providing guidance and support as you work to continue to heal and grow.