Cathexis Psychedelics:
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy in Tucson, Arizona
Enrolling Soon for our Winter 2025 Ketamine-Assisted Sandtray Therapy Group!
Cathexis Psychedelics is Tucson's premier state-licensed ketamine clinic, offering innovative psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to Arizona residents. Our specialized Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) program targets a range of mental health conditions, including:
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Major Depressive Disorder
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Anxiety disorders
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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Our Unique Approach
Cathexis Psychedelics, we prioritize psychotherapy as the cornerstone of our treatment. Our expert team administers ketamine therapy through intramuscular injections, ensuring a more focused and therapeutic experience compared to traditional IV infusions.
Integrative Psychotherapy Techniques
We employ a variety of evidence-based psychotherapy approaches for integration work, including:
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Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
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Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
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Other personalized therapeutic modalities
Our Mission
We believe in the transformative potential of psychedelic-assisted therapies. Our passion lies in helping individuals find relief from mental health challenges through safe, effective, and compassionate care.
Experience the power of Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy at Cathexis Psychedelics - where healing begins and hope is renewed.
Contact us today to start your journey towards improved mental health and well-being.
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We invite you to spend some time exploring our website to learn more about Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy, and our specific ketamine therapy treatment model. To find out if ketamine therapy for mental health is right for you, start with our Self-Evaluation Tool. If you wish to learn more about Cathexis Psychedelics' approach to the psychedelic healing space, this interview from PBS' Arizona Illustrated may give a good introduction:
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We realize that our ketamine treatment program is an investment in your well being, and have posted our Professional Fees to help you better understand the costs. Because it is unlikely that one or two ketamine therapy treatments alone will provide lasting benefits, we strongly recommend that clients complete a minimum of 3 initial treatments and take part in psychotherapy integration in between each session, either with our therapists or their own. To help accommodate a variety of budgets, we offer 3 and 6 session treatment package options, or clients can purchase treatments as their finances allow. Also, our 3 and 6 session packages are priced with and without integration sessions for those who wish to use their own trusted therapist for the psychotherapy work.
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Please note: Our treatment program is designed to work with psychotherapy integration. If you are seeking a ketamine treatment program that does not involve psychotherapy, an IV infusion clinic may be better suited to your needs (see our Resources page for a few local suggestions).
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PREMIUM PACKAGE – 6 Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Treatments
(Other options include a 3 Treatment Package, and the purchase of services individually)
WHY IS IT RECOMMENDED TO RECEIVE 6 TREATMENTS OVER A 3 WEEK PERIOD?
The intention of Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) treatment at Cathexis Psychedelics is to support long term outcomes towards your mental health goals. It is not uncommon for clients to experience some short-term relief after one or two ketamine treatments; however, research has shown that 6 treatments administered over a 3-week period can increase the likelihood of prolonged benefits.
Equally important to promote best outcomes is psychedelic psychotherapy integration, which ideally should take place immediately after and between each ketamine treatment. To this end, this Premium Package includes 6 one-hour psychotherapy integration sessions with your treatment therapist.
The Premium Package also covers the required pre-treatment evaluation sessions, which include a one-hour psychotherapy intake session with a licensed psychotherapist and the Medical Evaluation with our Medical Director.
During treatment sessions, our medical team will provide intramuscular ketamine injections (we do not offer oral treatments or IV infusions) and will be onsite to monitor your vitals. Your licensed psychotherapist will remain by your side throughout the KAP sessions to support, guide, and integrate your healing process.
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To help ensure that KAP treatments are safe and appropriate for your therapeutic goals, we have an evaluation process which must take place prior to the initiation of services. We first ask clients to start by reviewing our Self-Evaluation Tool. This tool lists the conditions which are or may be contraindicated for ketamine treatment. If a client feels they can move forward with the evaluation process, the New Client Packet will be provided by email. This packet includes the New Client Questionnaire, Consent Agreement/Privacy Statement, 48 Hour Cancellation Policy/Credit Card Authorization, and Release of Information forms. The New Client Packet must be completed and returned before the second phase of the evaluation process can begin.
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After you submit your intake packet, our Medical Director will conduct a preliminary review of the information you provide to us in the Questionnaire to screen for potential contraindications. Once you are approved to move forward with the evaluation process, you will meet with a licensed psychotherapist for a one-hour Psychotherapy Intake session, after which your first ketamine treatment will be scheduled.
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The Medical Evaluation is the final step of the evaluation phase, and occurs just prior to your first ketamine treatment. Here you will meet with our Medical Director to further screen for physical health concerns and determine the appropriate dosing for your treatment.
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Some clients will require additional integration sessions between treatments, others may feel they need additional ketamine treatments, or perhaps treatments need to be spaced out beyond a 3-week period. Our medical and clinical staff will work with you to customize a plan that best supports your treatment goals.
We will assess your progress and need for additional services after the 6 KAP sessions are completed. This may include tapering down the frequency of your KAP or connecting you with a primary therapist to work with after completing your treatments.
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A word on treatment dosing: We utilize the standard recommendation of 0.5 mg/kg of body weight as a starting point when determining a client’s dosing for treatment; however, this may vary from client to client depending on a variety of factors. All ketamine treatments are performed in-office to ensure client safety.
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HOW OFTEN DO I NEED BOOSTER SESSIONS?
Booster sessions may be necessary after the induction phase, at an interval ranging from 2-12 weeks.
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HOW MUCH TIME SHOULD I PREPARE FOR KAP?
The time required depends on which service being provided:
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Initial intake session with a licensed psychotherapist prior to scheduling intramuscular or oral KAP treatment: 60 minutes
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Initial intake session with a medical provider occurs on the same day as your first intramuscular or oral KAP treatment: 30 minutes
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Intramuscular or oral KAP and booster sessions: 120 to 150 minutes (includes clinical and medical staff support during the ketamine treatment, pre-treatment preparation work with your therapist, and an immediate post-treatment integration session)
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Individual integration sessions with a licensed psychotherapist between intramuscular or oral KAP sessions: 60 minute.
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psychotherapy Tucson
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ketamine Tucson
Ketamine-Assisted Sandtray Group Therapy
Next group starting February 2025
Contact us for more information
Why Ketamine Sand Tray and Group Together?
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Group therapy offers a direct antidote to the isolation and social disengagement that characterizes PTSD and complex traumatic stress disorders (1). The access to treatment is also increased through a group modality as psychedelic treatments are still largely not covered by insurance carriers and the costs of professional labor is distributed amongst the members of the group more efficiently.
Altered state medicines, and ketamine specifically, have shown evidence to appropriately address the negative effects of post-traumatic experiences and increase the mental health of persons affected by such experiences. Through the chemical processes of neurogenesis (2), inhibition of the default mode network (3), and novel stimulus perceptions of altered states (4), ketamine provides an ideal set and setting for the abstract and poetic work of sand tray to flourish.
One of the effective mechanisms of Sand Tray therapy is the ability to assist persons express significant life experiences through symbolism that is not attached to language. Traumatic events tend to first be processed by the right hemisphere of the brain as sensory elements which trigger the fight/flight response (5). As memory continues to process, the left brain ideally can further sort out the sensory inputs into a context of time, space, and language. However, when the sensations are too intense, the right brain may experience a freeze response and inhibit the left brain from being able to make sense of the event. This can explain why trauma is re-experienced as flashbacks and without context of the full event, as the right hemisphere continues to be overwhelmed when some sensory input triggers the overwhelming memories. As Dr. Bessel van der Kolk observes in his book, The Body Keeps the Score, “All trauma is pre-verbal” (6). Being able to express the events in ways that do not immediately require a linear story or use of narrative language, such as through dreams, art therapy, play therapy, or sand tray, allows the sensory stimulations to be mitigated in exposure and prevent the left-brain inhibition.​
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References:
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Courtois, C. A., & Ford, J. D. (Eds.). (2009). Treating complex traumatic stress disorders: An evidence-based guide. The Guilford Press, 415.
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Austin J. Peters, Laura E. Villasana, Eric Schnell; Ketamine Alters Hippocampal Cell Proliferation and Improves Learning in Mice after Traumatic Brain Injury. Anesthesiology 2018; 129:278–295 doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000002197
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Lehmann, M., Seifritz, E., Henning, A., Walter, M., Böker, H., Scheidegger, M., & Grimm, S. (2016). Differential effects of rumination and distraction on ketamine induced modulation of resting state functional connectivity and reactivity of regions within the default-mode network. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 11(8), 1227-1235.
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Griffiths, C., Walker, K., Reid, I., da Silva, K. M., & O'Neill-Kerr, A. (2021). A qualitative study of patients' experience of ketamine treatment for depression: The ‘Ketamine and me’project. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, 4, 100079.
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Van der Kolk, B. (2015). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Penguin Books.
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Schore, A. N. (2009). Right-brain affect regulation: An essential mechanism of development, trauma, dissociation, and psychotherapy. In D. Fosha, D. J. Siegel, & M. F. Solomon (Eds.), The healing power of emotion: Affective neuroscience, development & clinical practice (pp. 112-144). W. W. Norton & Company.