Ketamine works differently than traditional antidepressants. Rather than primarily affecting serotonin, ketamine acts on the brain’s glutamate system, specifically NMDA receptors. This creates a cascade of effects that supports neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to form new neural connections and pathways.

One important effect is an increase in Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), a protein often described as “fertilizer for the brain.” BDNF supports the growth and strengthening of neural connections that may improve mood, emotional regulation, resilience, and cognitive flexibility.

Research continues to explore the full mechanisms behind ketamine’s effectiveness, but studies suggest it may help reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma-related conditions, and chronic pain while creating opportunities for deeper psychological healing and change.

Rather than simply suppressing symptoms, ketamine appears to create a window of increased openness and flexibility in the brain and mind—allowing individuals to access new perspectives, process difficult experiences, and establish healthier patterns of thinking and feeling.

Pairing these expansive journeys with psychotherapy is believed to create the most important piece to overall healing: integration. Integration sessions after your ketamine treatment can support a bigger window of change for a longer period of time. Essentially, longer lasting symptom relief, and an overall merging of your experiences in your journey into your everyday life.

A Helpful Analogy: Imagine your brain as a sledding hill. Over years of sledding the same areas, deep grooves develop in the snow—much like our habitual thought patterns, emotional responses, and coping strategies. These “ruts” can keep you stuck in depressive thoughts, anxious behavior, or struggles with day-to-day function.

Ketamine can act like a fresh snowfall over those well-worn tracks, temporarily smoothing the terrain and allowing you to explore new routes that may not have been accessible before. Therapy and integration help transform those new routes into lasting pathways.

Every ketamine experience is different and varies depending on the individual, the dose, and the intentions for treatment.

Many people describe the experience as somewhere between deep meditation, dreaming, and guided inner exploration. Some notice a sense of spaciousness, reduced mental chatter, or the ability to view difficult emotions or memories with greater curiosity and less fear.

Others experience:

• A sense of floating or lightness

• Changes in perception of time or space

• Gentle visual imagery

• Emotional release

• Access to memories or meaningful life experiences

• Increased compassion toward themselves or others

• New insights or perspectives

Some sessions feel profound and transformational, while others are quiet, subtle, or restorative. There is no “right” type of experience.

Throughout your session I remain present to support your physical comfort, emotional safety, and therapeutic process, helping you make meaning of whatever arises.

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy is more than simply taking medication. The therapeutic process includes preparation, the medicine “dosing session” itself, and integration afterward.

Treatment generally includes:

• One initial intake to review your history and get to know you

• Two preparation sessions to clarify goals, intentions, and readiness

• A tour of our cozy dosing space

• Reviewing and e-signing waivers for treatment

• Filling out symptom questionnaires before and after treatment

• A supported ketamine dosing session

• An integration session the following day or within 48 hours

• Additional integration sessions as needed

For most clients, I recommend committing to at least 2-3 medicine sessions, with many individuals experiencing the greatest benefit after approximately 3-5 dosing journeys.

Unlike some protocols that involve very frequent dosing, I generally encourage allowing time for therapeutic integration between dosing sessions. Many clients find spacing sessions approximately one month apart allows sufficient time to process insights, implement changes, and determine what additional support may be helpful.

The pace and frequency of treatment are always individualized based on your goals, response to treatment, and life circumstances. Some clients find after their small “cluster” of 3-5 treatments they may benefit from a “maintenance” dose once or twice a year, as needed.

Ketamine has gained significant attention because of its rapid and often profound effects, particularly for individuals who have not experienced sufficient benefit from traditional treatments.

Unlike many psychiatric medications that may take weeks to become effective, some individuals notice improvements in mood, perspective, or emotional flexibility within hours or days.

Many people seek ketamine treatment not only for symptom relief but because it offers an opportunity for deeper therapeutic work, increased self-understanding, and meaningful personal transformation.

1.    New clients would need one initial intake session with me for a cost of $245 (this includes a one-hour session to go over your mental health history and current presentation of symptoms, setting up a secure client portal, e-sign waivers, filling out and reviewing symptom questionaries).

2.    My fee for all follow-up therapy sessions and ketamine prep sessions is $170 per hour (two prep sessions are needed to review “KAP Booklet” to cover logistics, intentions/goals for treatment, desired supportive interventions, and readiness for treatment).

3.    My fee is $200 per hour for the ketamine dosing sessions (Because ketamine medicine sessions are significantly longer than traditional therapy appointments, sublingual ketamine dosing sessions typically range from 2.5 to 3 hours in duration, resulting in a total session cost of approximately $500-$600 depending on the length of the session).

This includes:

• Therapeutic support throughout the medicine experience

• Immediate post-session processing

• Cozy sheets, blankets, eye shades, on our chaise lounge

• Headphones, therapeutic playlist, water bottle, and snacks for after treatment.

Ketamine treatments at The Wellness Seed are offered via sublingual (under the tongue) route, with low to moderate doses of ketamine (far lower than anesthetic doses). They do not induce sleep, and most people feel mostly back to themselves about an hour or so after the troche has dissolved under the tongue.

Some patients feel a little groggy and need to remain on the premise to lay down or relax for a short time before leaving. However, no one is safe to manage the complexity of driving until the next morning and a good night’s sleep. Ketamine takes the default neural pathways offline making your reflexes slower until after you sleep and reset them.

Because of this, you will need to get a ride home from your dosing treatment.  A follow-up integration session in required the next day or within 48 hours. You are able to drive yourself to this next-day appointment. Additional integration sessions are encouraged and available as needed to help deepen insights and support lasting change.

Medical screening, prescribing, and the ketamine medication itself are handled separately through independent prescribing providers in the community and are an additional cost paid directly to those providers.

Prior to beginning treatment, clients must obtain:

• Medical clearance from an appropriate prescribing provider

• A prescription for ketamine

• Ongoing prescribing follow-up as required by their medical provider

I am happy to provide referrals to trusted local prescribers experienced in ketamine treatment.

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy is generally considered an out-of-pocket service.

Depending on your insurance plan and out-of-network benefits, some psychotherapy services or integration sessions may qualify for partial reimbursement. Coverage for extended medicine sessions varies significantly by insurer.

Jill Fimbel no longer participates in health plans and would not be able to send claims on your behalf. Upon request, Jill can provide you with a “super bill” for you to submit directly to your insurance plan if you would like to attempt reimbursement for sessions.

Medical clearance evaluations and ketamine prescriptions obtained through outside prescribers are billed separately and are subject to the policies of those individual providers and insurance plans.

Ketamine has been used safely in medical settings around the world for more than 50 years and is included on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines. Ketamine is often used in children during emergency room visits or ambulance transport for procedural sedation and acute pain management, with low adverse reactions.

When prescribed appropriately and used in a therapeutic setting with appropriate screening and support, ketamine has an excellent safety profile for most individuals.

Safety begins with careful medical and psychiatric evaluation. Prior to treatment, all clients obtain medical clearance and a prescription from a qualified prescribing provider to ensure ketamine is both safe and appropriate for their individual situation.

Equally important are the concepts of set, setting, and dose:

• Set refers to your mindset, intentions, and emotional preparation.

• Setting refers to the environment and support surrounding the experience.

• The dose you receive will likely be a low starting dose during your first appointment with an option to booster up to a more desired effect— your therapist will coach you

Both play a significant role in maximizing therapeutic benefit and minimizing distress.

What Are the Possible Side Effects?

Ketamine is generally well tolerated, but side effects can include:

• Dizziness

• Nausea or vomiting

• Changes in vision or sensory perception

• Elevated blood pressure or heart rate

• Drowsiness

• Temporary confusion

• Loss of coordination

• Anxiety or restlessness

• Headache

• Dry mouth

These effects are typically temporary and resolve shortly after treatment.

For safety and comfort, clients are generally asked to:

• Avoid alcohol for at least 24 hours before treatment

• Avoid recreational substances before treatment

• Follow instructions from their prescribing provider regarding medications

• Avoid heavy meals prior to treatment

• Arrange transportation and avoid driving until the following day

• Allow time afterward for rest and reflection

Specific preparation instructions may vary based on your medical history and prescribing provider’s recommendations.

Ketamine may not be appropriate for individuals with:

• Active psychosis or schizophrenia spectrum disorders

• Current manic episodes

• Certain forms of bipolar disorder

• Uncontrolled hypertension or serious cardiovascular disease

• Certain substance use disorders

• Pregnancy or breastfeeding (due to little or no safety research)

• Other medical contraindications identified by a prescribing clinician

Determining whether ketamine treatment is appropriate begins with a thorough medical and psychiatric evaluation by your prescribing provider.

No.

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy is intended to create opportunities for healing, growth, and lasting change—not lifelong dependence on medication.

Many clients complete a series of medicine sessions and then transition to periodic maintenance work only if needed. Others find that the insights and changes created during treatment continue to unfold long after their final dosing session.

The ultimate goal is not more ketamine. The goal is greater flexibility, resilience, self-understanding, and the ability to live more fully in your everyday life.

My approach to Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy is holistic, collaborative, and deeply person-centered.

I believe that healing happens within the context of a safe therapeutic relationship where all parts of you are welcomed with curiosity and compassion. My work integrates evidence-based psychotherapy approaches with spiritual perspectives on healing, meaning-making, and personal transformation when those frameworks resonate with a client’s values and worldview.

I am an Internal Family Systems (IFS) “parts-work” informed clinician, which pairs beautifully with psychedelic-assisted therapies. Many clients find that ketamine creates increased access to younger parts, protective parts, exiled emotions, and inner wisdom that may be difficult to reach in ordinary states of consciousness.

Rather than viewing symptoms as problems to eliminate, we approach them as meaningful adaptations that deserve understanding and compassion. Ketamine can create an opportunity to relate to these parts of ourselves with greater curiosity, flexibility, and self-leadership.

Every treatment plan is individualized and designed to honor your unique history, goals, beliefs, and healing journey.

I am a private-pay practice and do not participate with insurance plans.

Upon request, I am happy to provide superbills that clients may submit to their insurance company for possible out-of-network reimbursement. Reimbursement varies significantly depending on your individual plan and benefits.

My fees are as follows:

Psychotherapy and Integration Sessions

• Initial intake session $245

• $170 for a 55-minute session

Ketamine Dosing Sessions

• $200 per hour

• Sublingual KAP dosing sessions typically last about 2.5 to 3 hours

• Total dosing session cost is generally between $500 and $600 depending on session length

The dosing session fee includes:

• Therapeutic support throughout the medicine experience

• Cozy sheets, blankets, eyeshades, headphones, therapeutic playlist, water bottle, and snacks after dosing.

• Immediate post-session processing & grounding before leaving that day

Please note:

• One follow-up integration session is required the following day or within 48 hours to officially begin integration and to assess emotional state.

Additional integration sessions are strongly encouraged, as needed, to support insight, meaning-making, and long-term symptom change.

Medical screening, prescribing services, and the ketamine medication itself are not included in my fees and are paid separately to your prescribing provider. I will supply you with a local list of trusted KAP prescribers to choose from.

Prior to beginning treatment, clients obtain:

• Medical clearance from a qualified prescribing provider

• A sublingual ketamine prescription to bring to our office

• Ongoing medical follow-up as recommended by their prescriber

Every person’s healing journey is unique, and there is no one-size-fits-all protocol.

In my practice, I generally recommend a minimum of 2-3 dosing sessions, with many clients experiencing the greatest benefit from approximately 3-5 medicine journeys.

Unlike some treatment models that emphasize frequent dosing, (such as twice a week for 6 weeks in a row) I encourage allowing adequate time for therapy integration between sessions. For many clients, spacing dosing sessions approximately one month apart provides an opportunity to process insights, practice new patterns, and determine what support is needed moving forward.

Additional integration sessions between medicine experiences can be incredibly valuable and are encouraged whenever helpful.

The goal is not simply to receive more ketamine, but to create meaningful and lasting changes that continue to unfold long after the medicine session has ended.