Ketamine-Assisted EMDR Therapy – Individual Sessions
The Sacred Rhythm— Ongoing
There is a kind of courage that doesn’t look dramatic. It shows up week after week, willing to go a little deeper each time — letting the nervous system learn what safety feels like, letting protected parts slowly come forward.
This is that work. Unhurried. Intentional. Transformative at the root.
What This Is
Ketamine-Assisted EMDR Therapy is medicine-supported trauma work sustained across time. The same depth. The same clinical framework — Attachment-Focused EMDR, Internal Family Systems, somatic integration, and the intentional use of ketamine — held within an ongoing therapeutic relationship that allows parts to move at their own pace.
IBecause some parts of us don’t soften in three days. Some need to be met again and again — to feel the consistency of a relationship that doesn’t leave, before they’re willing to let go of what they’ve been carrying.
This is for those who want the depth of medicine-supported work woven into their healing over time. And for those who have completed an Intensive and feel called to keep going.
Who This Is For
This format is well-suited to:
- Adults with complex PTSD or developmental trauma who want sustained, ongoing work rather than a contained intensive
- Those who have plateaued in weekly talk therapy and are ready for a depth modality, but want to pace the work over months rather than days
- Clients who have completed a Ketamine-Assisted EMDR Intensive and want to continue the work in an ongoing therapeutic relationship
- Adults whose schedules, finances, or clinical needs make an intensive the wrong shape — even when ketamine-supported EMDR is the right modality
- Clinicians, therapists, and other helping professionals doing their own deep work
This is not appropriate for active substance use disorders, untreated psychosis, certain cardiovascular conditions, or anyone in acute crisis. Medical fit is determined by the prescribing psychiatric provider.
What Sessions Look Like
Each Ketamine-Assisted EMDR Therapy session is 90 minutes and follows a consistent shape:
Arrival and grounding. We begin by orienting to what is present that day — what has been moving since the last session, what wants attention, what the parts of you are bringing into the room.
Medicine and EMDR. Ketamine is administered via sublingual lozenge. As the medicine takes effect, the EMDR work begins — addressing the trauma material that has surfaced through the therapeutic work. The non-ordinary state created by ketamine allows protective parts to soften, making material accessible that ordinarily stays out of reach.
Integration in-session. Before the session ends, we make space for the nervous system to begin metabolizing what moved. Somatic awareness, parts-work dialogue, and grounded presence allow the work to begin settling before you leave the room.
Sessions are typically scheduled every two to four weeks, depending on what serves the work. Ketamine-assisted sessions are not weekly — the integration period between sessions is part of the protocol, not a gap in it.
Preparation Is Required
Before any ketamine-assisted session, two 90-minute preparation sessions are required. These are not optional. They are the clinical foundation that makes the medicine work coherent. In preparation, we map your internal working model — the way your nervous system learned to organize attachment, safety, and threat. We meet the parts of you that will be present in the work. We articulate what is actually being asked for, in clinically specific terms. And we build the relationship to the depth required to hold what surfaces.
For clients who have completed a Ketamine-Assisted EMDR Intensive with this practice, the preparation work is already done. Ongoing sessions begin directly.
How This Differs From the Intensive
Both formats use the same modalities — Attachment-Focused EMDR, IFS, somatic integration, and the clinical use of ketamine. What differs is the architecture. The Intensive is three consecutive days of contained, focused work — designed for momentum, for sustained therapeutic depth across days, and for those ready to invest in a concentrated chapter of trauma resolution.
Ongoing therapy is the same clinical approach delivered across months — designed for steady, integrated work paced to your nervous system and your life. Material moves more gradually. Integration happens between sessions, in your daily life, not just within a contained three-day window. Neither is better than the other. They are different shapes of work for different clinical situations. The consultation is where we figure out which is the right fit.
The Clinical Approach
The work integrates four evidence-informed modalities:
- Attachment-Focused EMDR — addresses the relational and developmental roots of trauma, not just discrete events.
- Internal Family Systems (IFS) — works directly with the protective parts that hold trauma in place.
- Somatic Healing — meets trauma where it actually lives, in the body and nervous system.
- Ketamine-Assisted Therapy — a credentialed, clinically supervised use of ketamine as an adjunct medicine within the therapy itself, not as a standalone treatment.
Ashley Hartman, LCSW, PMH-C, RYT-200, is the clinician for all sessions. Ketamine is prescribed and medically supervised by a separate prescribing provider, who completes a psychiatric evaluation before any medicine work begins.
Investment
Ketamine-Assisted EMDR Therapy sessions are $300 per 90-minute session. The two required preparation sessions are billed at $200 per hour.
Ketamine medication and the psychiatric evaluation with the prescribing provider are billed separately. The Sacred Becoming is a private-pay practice. A superbill can be provided for potential out-of-network insurance reimbursement, though reimbursement is not guaranteed.
Locations
Ketamine-Assisted EMDR Therapy is offered to clients in Illinois and Colorado, where Ashley is licensed to practice. While virtual sessions are available, Ashley recommends attending the ketamine emdr sessions in person. Ashley’s office is located in New Lenox.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often will we meet?
Ketamine-assisted sessions are typically scheduled every two to four weeks. The integration time between sessions is clinically meaningful — not a gap, but part of how the work consolidates. Some clients also continue weekly non-ketamine therapy with a primary provider during this time.
How long does this work take?
That depends on what we are working with and what you are hoping to resolve. Some clients work in chapters of three to six ketamine-assisted sessions and then transition to ongoing non-medicine therapy. Others continue the medicine work over a longer arc. We assess together as the work unfolds.
How is this different from a ketamine clinic?
Ketamine clinics typically offer the medicine without integrated psychotherapy. You receive a dose, you have an experience, you leave. The clinical evidence is clear: ketamine’s lasting therapeutic benefit comes from the therapeutic process surrounding the medicine — not from the medicine alone. This work is built around that.
Can I keep my current therapist?
Yes. Many clients do this work alongside ongoing weekly therapy with a primary provider. With your permission, Ashley can coordinate with your existing therapist to support the integration of the work.
What if I am not sure ketamine is right for me?
A non-ketamine EMDR option is available with the same clinical approach. The consultation will help us determine which fit is right for you, and the medical evaluation determines whether ketamine is medically appropriate.
Should I do an intensive instead?
Some clients are better served by the intensive format, others by ongoing work. The shape depends on what you are addressing, your clinical history, the pace your nervous system is asking for, and practical considerations like time and finances. The consultation is where we figure out which format fits.
Begin With a Consultation
The first step is a 20-minute fit consultation. There is no cost.
We will talk through where you are, what you have already done, and whether ongoing Ketamine-Assisted EMDR Therapy — or another shape of work — is the right next step.