Spotlight: Wondermed + Open Mind Health = Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy via Telehealth
Psychedelic therapist, Dr. Michael DeMarco, Founding Fellow of the Psychedelic Institute of Mental Health & Family Therapy, leads at-home psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy rollout increasing access to mental health support
"At-home ketamine" is often sensationalized. It is with great pleasure to announce our collaboration with Wondermed and Open Mind Health to increase access to ketamine-assisted psychotherapy via telehealth.
Psychotherapy may be done via telehealth effectively. A medical referral from a collaborating medical provider to add the medicine ketamine, in some form, as an adjunct to psychotherapy allows for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy within a safe container of psychotherapy supporting the effects of the medicine on the body, and adds a general wisdom approach, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, for you to go back out into the world with a sense of direction and self-reliance.
In western medicine, the psychedelic experience is often considered an "emergence phenomenon", "psychotomimetic", "dissociation", "hallucination", or an adverse effect to be avoided by under-dosing. In psychedelic research and therapy and plant medicine work, research suggests a psychedelic experience might be considered a mystical experience, a visionary state, or a transformative state. This collaboration helps people prepare for this experience, and be supported through the process to learn how to work with this medicine as part of your mental health practice.
Open Mind Health accepts a variety of insurance, with providers available nationwide. Insurance is covering specific CPT codes for psychotherapy, however the time a therapist is with you facilitating your medicine journey is an out of pocket expense, currently. Open Mind Health is introducing support for the entire psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy process, and encouraging their panel of providers to receive specialized training in how best to work with ketamine as an adjunct to psychotherapy.
Open Mind Health will design a psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy program to support you before and after your work with ketamine. Sessions are billable to your insurance.
Wondermed's ketamine program is unique in that it includes a medical visit, medicine, and welcome kit, as well as ongoing patient access to their Wondermed medical provider, with cost coming in at $319 for Open Mind Health patients.
Wondermed's medical team will assess your eligibility to be prescribed therapeutic ketamine and bill you for their services. This is an out of pocket expense.
Therapist-Supported Medicine Sessions are 2.5 hours, and recommended for a minimum of 4 sessions, and/or with each increase in medicine dose to support the experiences with each dose increase. A sliding scale and group rates are available.
While there is an out-of-pocket expense involved with this modality, we continue to address ways internally and systemically to keep costs to a minimum, while maintaining quality collaborations with interdisciplinary practitioners to increase access to this modality in a way that is data-driven, evidence based, and fully human.
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy goes beyond the active effects of a medicine in your body. Tending to the mental health effects and the experience of working with the medicine supports patients in having an optimal best outcomes and the supportive infrastructure available nationwide.
Michael DeMarco, PhD
Open Mind Health Scheduling
Medicine Session (Recommended, optional self pay 2.5 hour therapist-assisted medicine session)
Wondermed Clinics
Did you know...
Michael DeMarco, PhD
Want to train in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy? Our twelve module, 96 hour practicum involves 12 experiences with ketamine, as well as 12 supervised experiences sitting with someone on ketamine.
Michael DeMarco, PhD
Contact: https://matrix.to/#/@psychedelicmentalhealth:matrix.org
