Psychedelic medicine is a term used to describe the therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs. Psychedelics provide relief from symptoms of various mental health disorders, such as anxiety and depression. They also increase creativity and improve self-awareness.

When used in a controlled environment with proper support, ketamine psychedelic therapy (KPT) is a powerful tool to help treat depression, anxiety, PTSD, OCD, alcoholism, opioid addictions, eating disorders, and many other mood disorders. When administered via IV, ketamine allows the patient to experience different planes of consciousness in a similar manner to other classical psychedelic medicines. For more information, visit Johns Hopkins.

Like every kind of addiction: food, sex, gambling, alcohol…when psychedelics are misused they could become addictive. When given by professionals for treatment in a small window of time with proper education of the patient, psychedelics are not addictive. That’s why we put a lot of thought into designing personalized approaches for each individual.

Nushama’s ketamine psychedelic therapy program costs $4,500 and includes:

1. Six ketamine infusions
2. A seventh booster infusion (administered when needed)
3. An initial medical assessment
4. Support before, during, and after treatment:
   • Pre-infusion preparation session
   • Integration sessions immediately following the infusion
   • Follow-up calls to monitor progress

Group Pricing: Six group journeys cost $2,500 and include the first booster and approximately 6-8 participants.

Insurance may cover infusions if there’s a history of a dual diagnosis of a chronic pain condition. Insurance will not cover treatment if the diagnosis is only for a mood disorder like depression, PTSD, or addiction.

Nushama accepts credit card or insurance coverage.

We do offer payment plans for patients who cannot get insurance coverage. The total cost is split into 3 payments ($1,800, $1,500, $1,200).

Currently, our psychedelic treatment centers are based in New York State. To keep up to date on business news and locations, sign up for our newsletter or follow us on Instagram and Facebook.

Discovered in 1962, ketamine is a synthetic compound used as an anesthetic and pain relieving drug. It has also been used as a recreational drug and like many pharmaceuticals, can be dangerous if not administered properly under the care of trained medical professionals.

Ketamine for therapeutic treatment is considered safe when administered in a clinical environment by medical professionals. While dissociative, or “psychedelic” properties may be present even at low doses, a number of studies show they are positive mediators of the molecule’s antidepressant effects.

There are four ways to administer ketamine:

1. Intravenously (IV)
2. Intramuscularly (IM)
3. Lozenge (oral)
4. Intranasal spray (Spravato)

At Nushama, we primarily use IV as we believe it’s the most effective and safest method. The benefit of an IV infusion is that it is given as a gradual drip which can be adjusted at any time should you become uncomfortable or stopped if you request that we do so.  Nushama does not offer lozenges or intransal spray. For group therapy, we use intramuscular injections.

The effects of a psychedelic ketamine infusion are usually felt within a few minutes but every person has a slightly different experience. Initially you may feel deeply relaxed, calm, a heaviness in your body, and a change of your usual sensations. You may experience different colors or visual patterns. This may be followed by a separation from your usual state of thinking, and it may feel like you’re awake but on a different plane of consciousness. You may even feel a separation from your body and your verbal expression may become limited. Some patients revisit people, places, or events from their past.

Increases in blood pressure and heart rate during a psychedelic ketamine infusion can occur but rarely require any medical intervention. Also rare at sub-anesthetic doses are slowed breathing and hypercapnia (elevated carbon dioxide levels in the blood).

Anyone diagnosed with major depression, bipolar 1 depression, postpartum depression, or dysthymia can benefit from ketamine infusions. Research has also shown ketamine to be effective in treating Fibromyalgia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidal thoughts. In addition, ketamine shows promise in alleviating symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), alcoholism, opioid addictions, eating disorders, and a number of anxiety disorders.

Our ketamine is produced in the USA or Ireland. Given the shortage that exists today, it may be sourced from other places in the future.

Ketamine is legal for medical use in the United States and select countries across the world. The use of ketamine is regulated, meaning it can only be administered or prescribed by licensed clinicians with the authority and expertise to support its effective use.

Ketamine can be detected in your urine for about 2 weeks, blood for 4 days, and hair follicles for 90 days.

Ketamine is most widely known and used as an anesthetic. You may be curious about the use of ketamine for treating off-label conditions other than depression and chronic pain, which includes: anxiety, addiction, trauma-induced mood disorders, trauma-related OCD, eating disorders, and IBS.

Dr. Elena Ocher is Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Nushama. As a neurosurgeon in Russia and later a board-certified anesthesiologist in the United States, Dr. Ocher has more than 30 years of experience working with ketamine as an anesthetic, analgesic, and at sub-anesthetic/psychedelic doses, as a treatment for mood disorders. It is the intersection between psychological disorders and physical pain that inspired Dr. Ocher to join the Nushama team.

According to Dr. Ocher, growing evidence points to glutamate, the excitatory neurotransmitter, in meditating response to stress and the formation of traumatic memories. Ketamine’s anti-depressant and anti-anxiety effects are presumed to occur through activation of the synaptic plasticity by increasing brain-derived neurotrophic factor translation, transmission, and secretion, which inhibits the glycogen synthesis and activates neuron signaling. This neurotrophic factor is responsible for human behavioral responses. Its impact on synaptic plasticity takes significant time with traditional anti-depressant treatment but may develop in a matter of a few hours with ketamine treatment.

This effect is shown in multiple clinical trials on patients with generalized anxiety disorder, OCD (trial), eating disorders (case report), and PTSD (trial). While the trials were small in scale, the effects were proved by the dose-dependent improvement in fear questionnaire scores and EEG changes (vs. conventional anxiolytics). The treatment results were long-lasting for varying periods.

The conditions Nushama treats is based on data from ketamine clinical trials for different conditions, combined with studied applications, clinical practice, and empirical medical experience. Ketamine has multiple applications, such as managing acute and chronic pain, and it also helps with atypical headaches and migraines. Ketamine also has off-label uses for anti-inflammatory treatments, neuroprotection, anti-depressant effects, and to treat substance use disorders and alcohol use disorders.

Dr. Steven Radowitz, Nushama’s Medical Director, believes all diseases related to the mind and body have the potential to respond to ketamine. Dr. Radowitz says the body reflects our overall health and wellness. In a mental wellness state without stress, our systems will be balanced, including the immune system, nervous system, endocrine, cardiac systems, and gastrointestinal systems. With stress and anxiety, our systems become imbalanced—for example, we may feel nervousness, have loose stools or suffer heart palpitations. Diseases often manifest from an emotional imbalance to a real, physical problem.

Left unresolved, behavioral dysregulation can manifest as physical dysregulation and disease. According to Dr. Ocher, oftentimes, they combine, such as anxiety and OCD. Dr. Ocher says she sees 80% of patients with anxiety and OCD or depression and anxiety together. Dr. Ocher and Dr. Radowitz believes there is a common source or underlying cause, which is why Nushama is treating depression, anxiety, PTSD along with underlying conditions such as OCD, IBS, addiction, and eating disorders.

Learn More About the Related Studies and Trials Available:

• Ketamine for Generalized Anxiety Disorder:
  https://www.kaimacdonald.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Glue-2018-KET-ketamine-social-anxiety-generalized-anxiety.pdf‍
• Ketamine for Social Anxiety Disorder:
  https://www.nature.com/articles/npp2017194#Abs1‍
• Ketamine Administration for Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder:
  https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.20050596#‍
• Ketamine Effects on EEG during Therapy of Treatment-Resistant Generalized Anxiety and Social Anxiety:
  https://academic.oup.com/ijnp/article/21/8/717/4989167‍‍
• Safety and efficacy of maintenance ketamine treatment in patients with treatment-refractory generalised anxiety and social anxiety disorders:
  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0269881118762073‍
• Remission from Chronic Anorexia Nervosa With Ketogenic Diet and Ketamine:
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7412264/
  
• ‍Effects of Ketamine in Treatment-Refractory Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
  https://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223(12)00506-9/fulltext#relatedArticles‍
• Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial of Ketamine in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Proof-of-Concept:
  https://www.nature.com/articles/npp2013150‍
• Double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging trial of intravenous ketamine as adjunctive therapy in treatment-resistant depression:
  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30283029/‍
• Ketamine Reduces Alcohol Consumption in Hazardous Drinkers by Interfering with the Reconsolidation of Drinking Memories:
  https://bibliography.maps.org/bibliography/default/citation/13638‍
• A sub-set of psychoactive effects may be critical to the behavioral impact of Ketamine on cocaine use disorder:
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6033686/‍
• Ketamine psychotherapy for heroin addiction: immediate effects and two-year follow-up
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0740547202002751#!
  
• ‍Efficacy of Ketamine in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review:
  https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00277 
  

IV ketamine infusions are supervised by board certified anesthesiologists. These physicians have completed an accredited residency program in anesthesiology, usually four years following medical school either with M.D. or D.O. degree. Learn more about our medical team here.

Wear loose, comfortable clothing the day of your ketamine treatment. Please avoid any kind of solid foods and/or milk 6 hours prior to your ketamine infusion. You may drink clear liquids (i.e. water, fruit juices without pulp, carbonated beverages, tea, and black coffee) 2 hours before your infusion.

Avoid alcohol or the use of any illicit drugs. These substances are extremely dangerous in combination with ketamine. We also recommend to have someone take you home after treatment.

Yes. If you are experiencing any of the following conditions you will not be able to receive infusion:

• Uncontrolled high blood pressure (hypertension)
• Unstable heart disease (arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, chest pain etc.)
• Untreated thyroid disease
• Active substance abuse
• Active manic phase of bipolar disorder
• Active delusions and hallucination symptoms (not on medications or while taking street drugs).

No, you do not need a referral to receive psychedelic ketamine treatment. You may come to us directly, assuming you have no conditions that would make you ineligible. However, any licensed mental health care professional or physician can refer you.

Here are three reasons why most doctors don’t offer ketamine treatment:

• Lack of comfort with administering the medication: Few medical specialists are trained in administering ketamine.
• Lack of awareness of its alternative uses: Many doctors are simply not educated on its success with mental illness and pain management.
• Lack of acceptance of this treatment: There are doctors who are bound to the traditional model of pharmacology and are not willing to consider alternatives despite the growing evidence.

A psychedelic ketamine treatment lasts about 45-60 minutes. Clinical research suggests that patients receive the treatments twice a week for 3 weeks. However, we believe that the frequency of your treatments should be decided by you and we are there to support you throughout. Expect the time spent in the office for your infusion and integration to be about 2 hours.

Once the infusion is over, the unusual sensations fade gradually over the next 20 minutes. Occasionally patients may feel a little nausea or dizziness, which is relieved with time and can also be treated with medications if appropriate. You may notice positive effects as soon as 30 minutes post infusion but typically improvements begin several hours post-treatment. The effects of a single infusion typically last up to two weeks.

Yes. You should not drive any motorized vehicle, bike or scooter after the infusion.

We recommend that our patients continue working with their outpatient providers for medication management and/or psychotherapy. If you do not have a psychiatrist or therapist, Nushama can facilitate a referral.

The ideal long-term impact is a permanent transformation back to your true inner self. Therefore, integration is an important part of treatment. Ketamine treatment is only an opening, you need to continue the work to make the changes you want to see last.

After the initial series of six infusions, we offer the option of a booster infusion, which is usually administered two months later. Additional boosters can be given monthly or a few times per year as needed.