Willow & Leaf Counseling works in cooperation with Synergy Integrative Health & Wellness to provide clients with access to legal, medically monitored psychedelic ketamine treatment in the Chicagoland region. While Willow & Leaf supports clients in psychedelic preparation and integration (a special kind of talk therapy which occurs after a psychedelic experience), Synergy provides thorough biomedical assessment to ensure physiological safety. All medicine sessions are psychotherapeutically guided to ensure a supportive set and setting, thus optimizing the experience.
Already have a psychedelic provider established? Willow & Leaf also provides preparation and integration for individuals engaged in clinical trials, ketamine-only therapy, and other forms of psychedelic medicine upon request.
FAQ
Ketamine is a safe and legal medicine which is often used in emergency rooms and on the battlefield as an anesthetic. At lower doses, ketamine produces a dissociative psychedelic experience in which an individual can explore parts of their psyche that may be otherwise be difficult to access. It is also known to bring on mystical experiences that can be healing for some. While once known as a party drug, ketamine has been shown to relieve the symptoms of treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, and trauma when therapeutically administered with the proper mindset and setting.
It is a form of therapy and treatment that combines the research-led science of psychedelic medicine with personalized psychotherapy. The ketamine-assisted sessions would allow you to enter an altered state of consciousness – under the supervision of a trained practitioner – to access internal feelings and thoughts in a meaningful way. These learnings are applied to your day-to-day life as part of a personalized plan developed with your therapist to ensure better wellbeing, a deeper connection to yourself, and longevity in positive mental health outcomes; as well as maintaining enough lucidity to engage with the supervising therapist.
Typically Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy consists of three phases: Preparation, Journeying, and Integration. More information on each of these phases coming soon to the blog.
There’s growing awareness that conventional treatments to mental health – like SSRI medication and talk therapy – only work for a segment of the population. In fact, 75% of people don’t adhere to anti-depressants and 40-71% of individuals experience relapse. For those who feel like they’ve been left behind or lost in the system, ketamine-assisted therapy is a treatment showing great promise for treating anxiety, treatment-resistant depression, and trauma. It serves to help people embrace a deeper connection to others and themselves and feel greater self-fulfillment and empowerment in their life. Over the last decade, there’s been a growing body of research and evidence demonstrating the benefits and promise of ketamine medicine and mental health outcomes when paired with psychotherapy. Instead of treating symptoms, this model – a bio-medical-psycho-social-spiritual approach – recognizes the best source of healing comes from your inner self.
Pigott HE. The STAR*D Trial: It Is Time to Reexamine the Clinical Beliefs That Guide the Treatment of Major Depression. Can J Psychiatry. 2015;60(1):9-13. doi:10.1177/070674371506000104
If you are experiencing feelings of isolation, over-thinking, anxiety, depression, or trauma, our personalized treatment program may be a good fit for you. We help patients access their intrinsic ability to heal with the guidance of our certified psychedelic practitioners. Individuals who haven’t found significant success in classic treatments, like talk therapy and medication, may find psychedelic-assisted therapy is a safe and effective treatment option – especially against treatment-resistant conditions. Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has also shown to be effective at prolonging addiction recovery, treating eating disorders, and reducing end-of-life anxiety. Certain medical and psychiatric contraindications do exist. Contact Willow & Leaf to discuss eligibility.
As a primarily telehealth provider, Willow & Leaf counselors do what we can to make all of our services as accessible to our clients as possible. For therapeutically guided ketamine sessions, clients can join us at our partner's office in Oak Park or request that our therapists come to meet them for an in-home session (restricted to generally a one-hour radius from Chicago). For clients out of range, we have experience providing ketamine-assisted psychotherapy virtually as well.
Scientific research has shown the greatest effects from a "loading" series of 6 ketamine journeys. Some people need less. Few need more than that. You and your treatment team will decide how many sessions and what kind of support is needed during your initial intake. Intake, Preparation and Integration is billed according to your Willow & Leaf fee agreement; insurance and sliding scale plans accepted. Psychotherapeutically guided sessions (the journey sessions) are not covered by insurance and cost $200 per session. Medical appointments with your prescriber and the prescription cost are separate. All in all, most clients end-up paying between $2400 and $3700 for a six-session course depending on insurance benefits. For additional questions, please reach out to info@willowandleafcounseling.com.
Unfortunately most insurance companies do not yet cover Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy for psychiatric diagnoses, however Willow & Leaf can bill insurance for all intake, preparation and integration sessions.
Willow & Leaf providers are trained on the therapeutic uses of MDMA, Psilocybin, Ketamine and a variety of other hallucinogenic substances and practices. While Willow & Leaf does not condone the use of currently illegal substances, we can provide Harm Reduction services to encourage safe choices and the integration of independent experiences.
