Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy — Rates, Referrals & Registration
Psychotherapy via telehealth from the Psychedelic Institute of Mental Health & Family Therapy is available for residents of CA, NY, UT and VT. Local appointments available in the Greater Palm Springs | Joshua Tree area.
Getting Started with Ketamine Therapy
- Schedule an Individual Intake- This will be an hour, via webcam, for us to do an initial assessment and make recommendations for how to proceed. You’ll receive some materials to fill out before your session and to help us monitor your progress along the way.
- Medical Referral - A collaborating independent medical clinician and / or your primary care provider will assess you for your ketamine prescription and the setting of your medicine session that is most appropriate for you. Although some of this may be accessible remotely, an in-person medical visit is recommended. A medical and / or psychiatric diagnosis may be required. Your medical provider will discuss this with you. Your medical visit is a cost consideration. Your medical provider will recommend the route of administration and setting.
- Preparation Session — A 60-90 minute psychotherapy session begins a 6-12 week course of cognitive behavioral therapy with a licensed mental health provider
- Begin either ketamine-assisted psychotherapy at home via mouth with mental health support throughout, or in office via 40-minute ketamine-infusion therapy with integration psychotherapy sessions within 1-4 days. This program is 9-18 hours with a psychotherapist over 6-12 weeks via telehealth to integrate and support what the medicine is doing and to practice some tools for your ongoing mental health. Medication-assisted therapy is not new, or specific to ketamine, and is different than self-medicating, “at home ketamine”, or any other psychiatric drug administered without mental health support. Psychotherapy may be done in person, in an office, in nature, via telehealth, in hospice, hospital, temple, jungle, and by phone. We currently have telehealth availability in CA, NY, UT and VT for ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, and home visits in / around Greater Palm Springs / Joshua Tree California.
- If not medically cleared for ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, you will begin the psychotherapy-only component of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, focused on non-medicine mindfulness -based cognitive behavioral therapy over 6-12 weeksTelehealth increases access to care, although like ketamine itself, telehealth may be easily misused to increase peoples’ reliance on pharmaceutical solutions to existential dread.
PlanetMedicines
Psychedelic Therapy Referral
Our work together begins with an intake session and ends with a termination session. We’ll engage along the way with some assessments and writing prompts to get a good idea of how your journey progresses.
“Psychedelic” is a word coined in the middle of the last century to describe an experience. This experience can happen from a variety of practices and medicines, and is being recognized once again as something that when prepared for, supported, and integrated, can lead to ongoing positive changes in mental health and general well-being, and improve the prognosis of humans and animals suffering from physical and emotional pain.
Currently, we provide support for in-office and at-home ketamine, or ketamine-assisted psychotherapy by referral and in collaboration with your referring medical provider throughout a 6-12 week course of cognitive behavioral therapy
Psychedelic Care is Integrative Collaborative Care
Collaboration, and clarification of roles are key elements in working with medicine. Medical providers oversee the medical / psychiatric aspects of your assessment and prescription medicines, the psychotherapist supports the mental health aspects, the pharmacy is responsible for getting the medicine to you. The overall costs of treatment reflects each of these clinicians’ time and overhead.
The Institute is familiar with several medical groups which provide medical oversight and harm reduction support and/or consultation for your medical provider and/or ongoing mental health provider.
The Institute has no financial stake or gain from any of these independent businesses.
COMPOUNDING PHARMACIES
Licensed and Accredited Compounding Pharmacies are an essential part of modern medicine, and can formulate medicines into forms most conducive to treatment of the individual. The following compounding pharmacies come with recommendations from providers and clients. The Institute has no financial stake or gain in these independent businesses.
*Obtaining accreditation by the pharmacy compounding accreditation board, part 1: an overview
Joe Cabaleiro Rph
There is a lot of misinformation surrounding ketamine safety, leading to misuse, tolerance and psychological dependence.
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy in office, at home, or via telehealth has helped increase access to care for such a large number of suffering.
Collaborating with a psychotherapist specializing in psychedelic therapy with medically-guided ketamine offers one solution to some of the issues of dependence, diversion, or misuse and a reduction in the likelihood of personal harm from the use of this medicine, or any medicine that may affect your mental health and well-being.
Psychotherapy (along with integrating counseling and coaching) in conjunction with medicine in the least amount that will do the most good over time, continues to be offered in offices, via telehealth, in home, and at home. Psychotherapists have offered telehealth sessions, in-home and other out-of-office settings since well-before the pandemic.
The setting of prescription medicine use is guided by your independent medical provider’s understanding of an evolving set of Standards of Care in Psychedelic Medicines and Therapies.
See Ketamine for Depression (Hyde, 2015) and The Ketamine Papers (Wolfson & Hartelius, 2016) for a synopsis of 60+ years of ketamine research adding to more than 100 years of research in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy & Support
We recommend that whatever means you are prescribed a medicine which affects human psychology, that you also work with a specialist in human psychology to support what the medicine is doing through psychotherapy.
**Additional expense will include a medical visit by your referring provider and the cost of your generic compounded racemic ketamine charged by your pharmacy.
If your medical provider has cleared you for sublingual racemic ketamine to self-administer at home:
This package covers 1 hour of preparation, 10 hours of medication-assisted psychotherapy, and 7 hours of psychedelic medicine integration. Note: You are required to have a sober sitter, age 21 or over, during the time of your medicine sessions. (*Retreats & Home visits available in the Palm Springs, Coachella Valley and Joshua Tree area. Telehealth available in CA, NY, UT and VT) Ketamine via mouth has been prescribed by mental health and pain management specialists for at-home use for decades in psychiatry, pain management, palliative care, hospice and end-of-life care with proper level of support.
18 hour ketamine-assisted psychotherapy program over 8 weeks: $3150
If your medical provider has cleared you for iv or im racemic ketamine to be done in a medical office, or if your provider has prescribed you intranasal esketamine to be done in a medical office:
This package covers 1 hour of preparation and 8 hours of integration sessions supervised by a psychedelic cognitive behavioral mental health specialist via telehealth within 1-4 days after your medicine session.
9 hours at-home preparation and integration over 8 weeks: $1575
If your medical provider has not cleared you for ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, or if your provider has prescribed you treatment as usual:
This package covers 1 hour of preparation and 8 hours of integration sessions supervised by a psychedelic cognitive behavioral mental health specialist via telehealth once a week
9 hours at-home preparation and integration over 8 weeks: $1575
Rates for Psychedelic Preparation/Integration
- Individual - $175 per 60 minute session
- Family/Relational - $350 per 2 people per 90 minute session
- Group - $75 per person per 90 minute session (limit 5)
Medicine-Assisted Psychotherapy
- Individual - $437.50 per 2.5 hour session
- Family Relational - $656.25 per 2 people per 2.5 hour session
- Group - $225 - per person per 3 hour group session (limit 5)
A sliding scale is available.
Ketamine Psychedelic Therapy Guide
Fair Health Consumer— Industry Standard Fees - Estimate Your Healthcare costs with and without health insurance. 90837 is a standard 60 minute psychotherapy session. You can also check out medical costs for an idea of going rates in your area. Refer to your health plan for specific reimbursement details.
Does insurance cover psychotherapy when it’s assisted by ketamine?
If you have mental health benefits as part of a health insurance plan, you may be able to get part of your care reimbursed to you according to your plan. Working with a licensed psychotherapist allows you to submit data to your health insurance company so that you may get part of the cost of your care reimbursed to you, once you have paid their corporation enough money. These are called “premiums”.
Avoiding plans that restrict you to using providers only “in-network”, and choosing a plan that offers the most flexibility in covering the cost of your personal health and wellness with the lowest possible premium is a privilege. These insurance schemes are often called “PPO plans”, and are sometimes offered through employers, who then pay workers less to cover the cost of offering an expensive insurance plan.
A sample procedure code one may see for 60 minutes of individual counseling or psychotherapy may be 90837 Check out Reimbursify.com to see what your plan covers for this service. How close is that to National Average? One can expect to pay the difference.
Note: a medical / psychiatric diagnosis is required for most third party insurance reimbursement. Institute Fellows do not make medical or psychiatric diagnoses, however collaboration with your referring medical provider increases the likelihood of insurance reimbursement. Institute Fellows offer cognitive behavioral therapy, case management and support for individuals and groups who have been prescribed therapeutic ketamine by an independent referring medical provider.
Reimbursify.com can help you verify what your insurance plan might reimburse you, and helps you easily file electronic claims.
Many people do not have health insurance that provides adequate coverage for psychedelic therapy reimbursement.
A fee for service model with transparent pricing is what many practitioners rely on to exist.
A sliding scale and group rate is also available.
Can I use my HSA or FSA for ketamine-assisted psychotherapy?
Psychedelic practitioners who are licensed psychotherapists may decide to take alternate payments from 3rd party payors in the form of Health Savings Account or Flex Spending Accounts.
These providers are offering counseling / psychotherapy before, during or after you have taken a medicine which has been prescribed by a medical provider to be taken in clinic or out of clinic. Counseling and psychotherapy are commonly covered by 3rd party payors, and may be an option for paying for the cost of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy with ketamine and future medicines.
Scheduling Contact
Psychotherapy via telehealth from the Psychedelic Institute of Mental Health & Family Therapy is available for residents of CA, NY, UT and VT. Local appointments available in the Greater Palm Springs | Joshua Tree area.