Learn how to calm an overactive nervous system with ketamine to treat anxiety.

Living in an over-stimulating environment like Brooklyn, it’s no wonder that 31% of adults in New York report symptoms of anxiety. 

While traditional talk therapy is one approach to dealing with anxiety, people often find that the approach is only a band-aid solution that doesn’t go deep enough. 

Talking about anxiety and learning techniques to control your mind can only take you so far.

That’s where ketamine therapy comes in. Ketamine-assisted therapy is an innovative, legal, and targeted approach to help relieve symptoms of anxiety, especially those felt in the body.

How Ketamine Therapy Helps With Anxiety

Understanding Anxiety

When we think of anxiety, many of us think of intense, gut-wrenching anxiety rather than the focused, task-completion abilities that nuanced anxiety brings to us.

When not overwhelming, anxiety helps us focus.

It allows us to complete tasks and be in the mode of direction. It's a sympathetic activation and mobilization of our nervous system that we all need. 

Anxiety helps us organize, it helps us plan, it also helps us meet our deadlines. 

When anxiety comes up, it tells you that something needs to be done. 

But, if anxiety becomes intense, it's often because it's too focused on a future-oriented task. When anxiety is out of control, it might cause us to ignore things that are right around us in this world. 

Intense anxiety can be an obsession or a loop around things that need to be done. 

We might feel somatic symptoms of anxiety in our chest or an increased heart rate.

Ketamine therapy can help with this kind of anxiety.

What’s Ketamine Therapy?

Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) combines the use of Ketamine with therapy to enhance the therapeutic process and create lasting healing. Ketamine can induce a unique state of consciousness that may help access and process emotions and memories more effectively than traditional talk therapy on its own.

Ketamine creates a dissociative effect on both the brain and body.

This allows people with anxiety to experience a break from the constant loop of future thinking. It also allows your body to experience release and begin to let go.

Ketamine Therapy for Anxiety

In the care of a trusted therapist, ketamine therapy for anxiety is a great way to experience both somatic and psychological relief from anxiety.

• Relaxation of the body: Ketamine is a tranquil experience. Your body relaxes into the medicine, providing instant relief from the constant activation of anxiety in your system. 

• Relaxation of the mind: The dissociative quality of ketamine also allows your brain to have space from the constant worry of future thinking. Your brain begins to slow down, creating space and relaxation from the constant worry that anxiety can create.

Psychedelic Therapy NYC

In the 2000s, medical professionals began noticing and studying ketamine's ability to alleviate depression and suicidal thoughts rapidly.

Studies were done between 2000-2006, which ultimately showed ketamine was a viable alternative treatment for depression and anxiety.

Today, Ketamine therapy is a legal, and safe treatment for anxiety and depression. There are many different options to get psychedelic therapy in NYC.

• Ketamine Clinic: Receive ketamine treatment for anxiety in a clinic, usually administered with an IV. These clinics vary in clinical expertise, ranging from hands-on approaches to a more medical model. 

• Ketamine Assisted Therapy: Ketamine treatment with the care and attention of a licensed therapist. The ketamine is administered in the therapist’s office, with preparation and integration sessions to build safety and trust.

Where to Find Ketamine Therapy Providers in Brooklyn

If you are looking for a therapist that provides ketamine therapy for anxiety in Brooklyn, a great place to start is psychology today.

You can enter your zip code and a search filter for “Ketamine,” and contact local providers in Brooklyn. 

You can also speak with another therapist that you trust to see if they know any other local providers.

At Third Nature Therapy, we also offer Ketamine therapy for anxiety in our Williamsburg, Brooklyn location. 

Integrating your Ketamine Sessions for Long-term Relief

Ketamine offers neuroplasticity, or the brain’s ability to change and adapt as a result of an experience. Following a Ketamine experience, your brain becomes more “plastic,” which creates new neural pathways. These new pathways help pave different responses to anxiety.

Plan activities that allow you to connect with your mind, body, emotion, spirit, and relational self.

Let go of the perfectionist mindset and allow yourself to be guided towards these options post-session. Brainstorm some potential activities prior to the journey so you don’t have to do any work following the session.

• Body: get a massage, practice yoga, garden, meditate, go for walks

• Mind: read a book, draw, paint, sculpt, write

• Spirit: practice meditations, spend time in nature, start a gratitude practice

• Relational Self: spend time with animals and people who feel secure

Next Steps for Seeking Ketamine Treatment for Anxiety

If you think Ketamine therapy for anxiety is right for you, consult with your therapist to get the right support.

We offer free consult calls for anyone in Brooklyn looking for an alternative treatment to help their anxiety. You can book a call here.

More notes on psychedelics:

Julie Goldberg is a licensed therapist and the founder of Third Nature Therapy. Her practice focuses on helping individuals better understand their inner world, befriend their nervous system (instead of working against it), and navigate changing relationships. She offers somatic therapy, EMDR intensives, and Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy in Brooklyn, NY.