We’re proud to be the first known therapy practice in the U.S. to partner with a city to offer KAP to first responders
Ketamine assisted psychotherapy is a promising novel therapy for relieving symptoms from depression, anxiety, PTSD, as well as childhood developmental trauma. Research from top universities show entering into an “altered-state of consciousness” can help:
Relieve depressed/anxious thoughts, feelings, behaviors
Aid in forgiveness, grief & loss, processing past traumas
Heal from inherited family trauma
Grow self-love, self-compassion
Foster creativity, spirituality, purpose and drive
Clients say, “it’s as if the cobwebs are cleared” and report:
less fear, chronic stress/fatigue/pain
less addictive behaviors with food, alcohol, cannabis, media
more meditation, yoga, exercise, healthy eating
taking risks in career, community, ending toxic relationships
Step 1 Schedule KAP video consultation
Step 2 Medical evaluation with prescriber
Medical doctor approves lozenge prescription.
Step 3 Initial psychotherapy with therapist
Meet for Pre-KAP relational therapy session(s)
Step 4 Begin KAP Series with therapist (In-Person and Virtual options)
Begin with 3-6 ketamine treatment sessions (3 hours each). Expect to be lying in a relaxed position, wearing an eye mask, and having the therapist and the music as your therapy guides. A prep session the day before KAP session helps focus your intention, an integration session the day after treatment helps with consolidation.
Step 5 Maintenance Phase
KAP sessions are available as needed based on treatment plan to maintain outcomes.
*Sliding Scale Fee accommodations available for those in financial need
At True Yang we have developed the Somatic KAP (S-KAP) approach, combining the novel use of a psychedelic, ketamine-assisted therapy, with a somatic, relational, attachment-centered technique. True Yang developed the Somatic KAP approach as an integrated model that combines ketamine assisted psychotherapy with nervous system healing, inter-generational trauma healing, attachment healing, and safe touch (which is always optional). We believe that ketamine therapy is most effective when it is done in the context of a therapy relationship rather than trying to “heal and deal”– taking the medicine at home alone.
“What was broken in relationship must be healed in relationship”
Most people come to therapy because of an imbalance in relationship and connection–with themselves, with others, and the world. When we involve the body in therapy, we contact the nervous system-which is essentially, our inner child. This is where all the “triggering” happens, because it is where it all HAPPENED.
The “imprints” of relational trauma on the nervous system, live in the interaction between the brain and the nervous system with regard to safety and danger. Activation of the nervous system shows up in the body (tight chest, belly, throat), then creates a narrative (ie “I don’t want to go”) and then a behavior, (ie isolating). This process can happen unconsciously in a person if the person is cut off from their body, numb, or just “in their head.” Without connection to the body/mind/heart they may just experience that they are anxious, or have the notion that they need to stay home and rest, or a narrative that they don’t have friends, or “no one loves them.” Cumulative processes lead to lingering depression and anxiety and can ripple out into addictive behaviors and general suffering.
Together, you and your therapist, will navigate an exploration of the “imprints” in your nervous system. Opportunities for learning, growing, and healing will be created.
Intergenerational trauma is often unconscious and can have an impact on an individuals’ mental/physical well being. With the study of epigenetics, we see the ways trauma gets inherited in a family. By exploring our unconscious connection to our lineage we gain an understanding of the trans-generational transmissions of trauma-based patterns and identify behaviors and emotions with trans-generational components.
The ketamine medicine marries well with healing intergenerational shame. It acts as an empathogen, opening the heart and relaxing logic, so that a person can connect emotionally to the pain, the ancestor, or to the traumas of a family member that linger in the lineage. Compassion is built where there was shame. Ancestral resources and resiliencies are discovered and re-connected with.
Soma means body. Somatic therapy includes practices that invite “embodiment” -where you are aware in real time of your internal world of body sensations, thoughts, and feelings, without judgement. In time these practices have the potential to support a person’s sense of overall safety from within. Some people find a sense of wisdom or healing can come from being in touch with the body and its sensations. Touch in psychotherapy that is “safe touch”-can be an option in somatic therapy. It is always in the service of nervous system regulation and attachment healing and always optional. Clients interested in touch in psychotherapy will go over the True Yang Safe Touch Guide with their therapist prior to any touch work.
Lowdose Ketamine Assisted Therapy is combined with EMDR in this novel approach.
Ketamine can often have the effect of “softening” a person’s rigid pain stories. With this hybrid approach we use the medicine’s “softening” effects to make room for new stories, images, meanings, and experiences around what was once a long-held, stuck pain point.
An example: “Anytime I think of that (person, event, loss), I think : ‘It was all my fault’ (Stuck Trauma Story) and I feel so much guilt in my heart and body (Stuck Feeling) and for the rest of the day I’m irritable or on auto-pilot, not present with myself or anyone.”
Post KAP and EMDR Therapy: “Now when I think about (person, event, loss), I think ‘I did everything I possibly could’ (New Story); and I feel more peace and resolve (New Feeling).”
All of our EMDR trained therapists have used this approach in their own healing work and can speak from a place of personal experience. We use this approach with first responders who experience traumatic events regularly and we are contracted to use this approach with clients from the Oakland Fire Departments.
“I feel like my brain is changing. I no longer want to drink—I don’t like the numbing quality anymore. I make more connections and associations between things around me, like something I see or a song, and a memory, and that integration between my outer world and inner world feels so meaningful.-Women’s Health Magazine”
As a professional working in mental health for the last 10 years I have seen how ongoing symptoms of depression/anxiety wear on a person’s overall health and wellbeing. They can manifest into physical symptoms like auto-immune or digestive issues along with back/neck/chronic pain, or show up as stuckness in career, challenges with romantic relationships as well as addictions, panic attacks, or chronic procrastination. For other folks they may just report a feeling of numbness, boredom, or apathy (“what’s the point?”).
With long term depression, the spindly receptors on our neurons that facilitate signal transmission in the brain may recede, and the amygdala and hippocampus (both of which help govern mood) may shrink. Yet, animal research has shown that ketamine can stimulate neural growth within days (and sometimes hours). One hypothesis is that there is similar action in humans.
What some people don’t realize is that depression and anxiety often have roots in relational or '“developmental trauma” from a person’s childhood. This includes things like being bullied, having parents who couldn’t be around as often or were “busy,” or even just a feeling of being “different.” This type of trauma has to do with psychological boundary crossing or relational trauma. If this specific use of the word “trauma” is new to you, in working together you will learn more about treating adult depression/anxiety and childhood developmental trauma with ketamine therapy.
HOW KAP TREATMENT WORKS
Ketamine treatment is a “hybrid” model, bringing together medicine and psychotherapy. Because a prescription is required, a medical evaluation can determine eligibility for treatment. The protocols used in this model of ketamine therapy recommend prep sessions before each medicine session to prepare you for your ketamine experience, and integration sessions after each ketamine therapy session to help you recall, explore, and integrate new insights/behaviors into your internal and external worlds.
TREATMENT OUTCOMES
Current research shows 70% of patients with treatment resistant depression respond positively to 1-3 administrations. 30-60% report having remission of depression for a varying length of time. Using repeated sessions there is a cumulative effect and together with ongoing psychotherapy the changes can be long lasting.
LEGALITY
Ketamine is the only prescribable psychedelic available in the U.S. It is a safe, evidenced-based, and legal prescription drug treatment that can be used in conjunction with psychotherapy to improve mental health and wellbeing.
CURRENT RESEARCH ON KAP
Yale Psychiatrists, pioneers of ketamine research and the recent FDA approval.
Article published by Cambridge University entitled “Toward specific ways to combine ketamine and psychotherapy in treating depression“.
KAP ARTICLES
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02791072.2019.1587556?scroll=top&needAccess=true
https://psychable.com/ketamine/
Psychedelic support
https://psychedelic.support/resources/what-i-wish-id-known-before-ketamine-therapy/
Truffle report
https://www.truffle.report/?s=ketamine
Medium- Personal accounts and stories
https://medium.com/search?q=ketamine
“During my session, I felt an ephemeral opening up, my brain and heart were more available to the world and to relationships and work. I felt a sense of joy, something I had a very hard time experiencing in my daily life.”
Over-Active Sympathetic Stress Response
If you find yourself unable to relax, have rapid thoughts, or you experience chronic anxiety, its likely your sympathetic nervous system(SNS), the fight/flight response system, is activating unnecessarily, causing chronic stress, low energy, as well as other physiological health issues. In relationships you may be quick to upset and slow to soothe. It’s not your fault. Our bodies learn how to appraise danger at an early age.
De-Activating Dorsal Vagal Stress Response
Depression, zoning out, and fog brain point us to the dissociation that occurs when the response to stress is the “freeze mode.” Animals will play dead and reptiles use this function to survive as well. This type of shutdown appears in challenges with communication or social anxiety, procrastinating habits that lead to feeling unproductive, and the sense of being emotionally “numb.”
Socially-Engaged/Safely Connected Nervous System-Ventral Vagal System
Growing up in a home environment that could not provide adequate soothing and trust building opportunities can make it difficult to trust and open in relationships as an adult. It also can impact our abilities to respond appropriately to stress rather than reacting and reaching for unhealthy ways to regulate emotions such as sex, media, alcohol, drugs, or food.
In Nervous System Re-patterning you will learn cues of safety and comfort so that you can better soothe yourself in stressful situations and learn how to reach towards trusting others in order offer or receive co-soothing opportunities.
You will learn how to “get out of your head,” build your trust in your body to respond to stress in healthy ways, and grow your body-love and self-confidence.
We work together using breath-work and other soothing and co-soothing strategies to re-train the mind/body/heart. We have the option of using light touch through Craniosacral Therapy combined with attachment language healing, either with use of a massage table or in a sitting position. Touch is always optional and any touch in therapy is always prepared for ahead of time using our Safe Touch Agreement Guide in order to build safety and understand boundaries.
Something deep inside you is calling you to this work. It may be a longing for relief, direction, or re-connection to self.
Together you and your therapist will discover your internal power source- that which creates meaning, builds relationships, and carves careers and life ambitions.
In order to tap into, realign with, or discover, your True Self, your Natural Self, the Self that is plugged into the power line of the True Yang energy source-we focus our work on healing and transformation. Going inward we clean out that which is old and no longer serving us; moving outward we can connect and create with people and pursuits which support and nourish our True Self.
Using a Somatic and Mindfulness based therapy approach called the Hakomi Method, to work with your “core material," the composition of your memories, beliefs, and traumas that influence the major themes of life: safety, belonging, support, power, freedom, control, responsibility, love, appreciation, sexuality, spirituality, etc.
We use relationship to heal old wounds, support your longings and grow your passions.
For more on what somatic and mindfulness therapy includes, as well as the origins of mindfulness, check out the FAQ section.
Specialties
Assertiveness
Depression/Anxiety
Body Image, binge eating,
emotional eating
Self Esteem
Romance/Dating
Career shifts
Loss/Grief
Early Childhood Trauma
Intergenerational/Inherited Family Trauma
Addiction
Psychedelic Integration
Approaches
Hakomi, Somatic Psychotherapy
EMDR
Mindfulness-Based
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Inherited Family Trauma(IFT)
Attachment/Relational Therapy
Meditation Skills
NonViolent Communication Skills
Drug/Alcohol Harm Reduction
EMDR is considered the gold standard when it comes to trauma therapy. The approach is evidence based and used to work with recent or past “event trauma,” developmental trauma, relational trauma, and childhood trauma. It is a body-based approach that uses “bi-lateral” stimulation to “re-process” memories, thoughts, and feelings associated with traumatic events or relationships in a person’s life.
When a person goes through a traumatic event, there are often images and stories that become locked into their “neural-network.” These can often be stories with themes of self-blame, feelings of guilt, or disturbing images that all cause distress.
Using the EMDR approach we “open” the neural network and “re-process” the trauma so that a person can have more neutral, adaptive, or positive thoughts, feelings, and stories that are associated with the experience.
The approach is uses trauma-informed care which means that before we do any reprocessing, a client is given tools and resources on how to manage, cope, and tolerate intense or difficult emotions, thoughts, and memories.
We’d love to share more with you. Connect with one of our EMDR-trained therapist to learn more.
Lower-dose Ketamine Assisted Therapy is combined with EMDR in this novel approach.
Ketamine can often have the effect of “softening” a person’s rigid pain stories. With this hybrid approach we use the medicine’s “softening” effects to make room for new stories, images, meanings, and experiences around what was once a long-held, stuck pain point.
An example: “Anytime I think of that (person, event, loss), I think : ‘It was all my fault’ (Stuck Trauma Story) and I feel so much guilt in my heart and body (Stuck Feeling) and for the rest of the day I’m irritable or on auto-pilot, not present with myself or anyone.”
Post KAP and EMDR Therapy: “Now when I think about (person, event, loss), I think ‘I did everything I possibly could’ (New Story); and I feel more peace and resolve (New Feeling).”
All of our EMDR trained therapists have used this approach in their own healing work and can speak from a place of personal experience. We use this approach with first responders who experience traumatic events regularly and we are contracted to use this approach with clients from the Oakland Fire Departments.
Something deep inside you is calling you to this work. It may be a longing for relief, direction, or re-connection to self.
Together we will discover your internal power source- that which creates meaning, builds relationships, and carves careers and life ambitions.
In order to tap into, realign with, or discover, your True Self, your Natural Self, the Self that is plugged into the power line of the True Yang energy source-we focus our work on healing and transformation. Going inward we clean out that which is old and no longer serving us; moving outward we can connect and create with people and pursuits which support and nourish our True Self.
We often use Somatic and Mindfulness based therapy approaches to work with your “core material," the composition of your memories, beliefs, and traumas that influence the major themes of life: safety, belonging, support, power, freedom, control, responsibility, love, appreciation, sexuality, spirituality, etc.
Together we will use our relationship to heal old wounds, support your longings and grow your passions.
For more on what somatic and mindfulness therapy includes, as well as the origins of mindfulness, check out our FAQ section.
Specialties
Assertiveness
Depression/Anxiety
Body Image, binge eating,
emotional eating
Self Esteem
Romance/Dating
Career shifts
Loss/Grief
Early Childhood Trauma
Intergenerational/Inherited Family Trauma
Addiction
Psychedelic Integration
Approaches
Hakomi, Somatic Psychotherapy
EMDR
Mindfulness-Based
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Attachment Theory
Meditation Skills
NonViolent Communication Skills
Drug/Alcohol Harm Reduction
Schedule a consultation video call via the contact form
From cradle to coffin we all need love and connection.
When we have safety and security in our relationship, we know we can turn to our person and regain a sense of balance in our world.
When the safety is not there we feel disorganized, fearful, and alone.
Together we honor anger and frustration as natural responses to bond-threatening situations. Through learning and teaching communication and regulation skills, we transform reactive cycles into cycles of empathy, vulnerability, and repair.
Specialties
Growing empathy
Increasing emotional intimacy
Supporting physical touch/sex
Forgiveness/Repair
Polyamorous relationships
Defensiveness/Blame Cycles
Trust Building/Rebuilding
Ketamine has been called a “human fabric softer” as it softens a person’s habitual defenses, resentments, blocks, and walls, and opens up the heart.
In psychedelic couples therapy with ketamine, you and your partner will set an intention to focus on an area of growth in your relationship. Each individual has an opportunity to have a light psychedelic, heart opening experience, and then to come together with their partner and the therapist to share the individual healing work and integrate the relational healing into their “couple bubble.”
This approach can also be used for dyads of mother/daughter, father/son, father/daughter, mother/son, or any other dyad that wishes for healing and re-connection.
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Treatment
Treatment follows a foundational protocol and you and your therapist will design a unique treatment plan based on your needs:
-KAP Video Consultation Session (Required)
-Pre-KAP Relational Therapy Sessions (1 Required-3 Recommended)
-KAP Lozenge Prep Sessions (1 Required-3 Recommended)
-KAP Lozenge Sessions (3 Required-6)
-KAP Lozenge Integration sessions as needed
Beyond 6 medicine sessions, lozenge sessions and therapy sessions are offered as needed in the “maintenance phase.”
*Fees are paid session by session, not upfront
*Lozenge prescription paid to Koshland Pharmacy ~$100
*Medical Evaluation Video Session paid directly to prescribing doctor: $250-$375/50min
*Sliding scale discounted fees are available to those in financial need. Income verification is often requested to save these spaces for those in need.
*Superbills are available to submit to insurance; services are billed as “out of network psychotherapy”
*All 50 min sessions can be done virtually
*The first 3 lozenge sessions must be 180 minutes, beyond that 120 minute lozenge sessions may be appropriate. Shorter, low-dose ketamine sessions done virtually may also be appropriate and cost effective
Each True Yang Therapy therapist sets their own fees with each client and will discuss the fees in the consultation
Individual Therapy Standard Fee: $185-$230/50 min session
Individual Therapy Sliding Scale Fee: $120-$180 /50 min session
Couples/Group Therapy Standard Fee: $200-$250/50 min session
Couples/Group Therapy Sliding Scale Fee: $120-$185/50 min session
Each couple/dyad can have an organic treatment plan created for their specific needs. Fees can be determined in the KAP consultation based on the treatment plan that would best suit the couple’s needs.
A typical protocol/fee structure for Couples KAP/ Dyad KAP :
Step 1 3-5 Initial Couples/Dyad Therapy Sessions (50min/$220)
Step 2 Each individual participates in individual KAP Cycle (Prep Session $220/50min, KAP Session $950/180min, Integration Session $220/50min
Step 3 Couple/Dyad Ketamine Cycles begin (Prep Session $220/50min, KAP Session $950/180min, Integration Session $220/50min
Schedule a time to meet with one of our trained psychotherapists with current availability.
The therapist you meet with will also provide you with the direct contact information of 1-3 other True Yang therapists with openings. We value your choice and comfort. <3
*If you are in need of a sliding scale fee for the KAP Consultation, please write to us below
*In-office lozenge sessions are available though cannot be scheduled online
Please fill out your contact information below with your question and we will get back to you
Please fill out your contact information below with your question and we will get back to you
*If you are in need of a sliding scale fee for the KAP Consultation, please write to us below
Do you take insurance?
Not at this time. However, more and more health insurance companies are now partially reimbursing out-of-network psychotherapy which can include KAP. All KAP sessions are billed as out-of-network psychotherapy sessions. You can receive a receipt of payment of our sessions for you to submit to your insurance company.
Do we use lonzenges, injections, or IV infusions?
Ketamine administration is through rapid dissolving lozenges that are placed under the tongue. This type of administration allows a person to enter a dissociated, “psychedelic” non-ordinary state of consciousness. Lozenges paired with therapy are the most effective administration route for sustained treatment results and on-going wellbeing. Other forms of administration (IV/injections) may send a person into a state of consciousness that can be too “far out” to do important therapy work during the experience and clients may not remember their experience as well.
What is the difference between infusion clinics and private practice ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP)?
The main difference between infusion clinics and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is the depth of relationship between provider and client. Some ketamine clinics have ketamine treatment models that centralize the ketamine medicine, without the guidance of a therapist or a therapeutic process-these are referred to as infusion clinics. It’s therefore important to ask if mental health therapy by a licensed psychotherapist is provided before, during, or after the ketamine medicine. For more info on the process of interviewing a potential ketamine provider check out this article we wrote, as well as the Ketamine Consumer Checklist we created.
In the ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) we work together to understand your history and learn about the aspects of your consciousness and lifestyle that are out of balance. We will understand the behavior changes you are needing to create in your lifestyle or in long-withstanding traumas with lingering effects on your mind/heart/body. We work together in order to make small shifts in your life in the few weeks leading up to the ketamine medicine sessions. The one-on-one therapy relationship is what builds the foundation for catering each ketamine treatment session to a unique theme and intention to transform and heal. Integration sessions after the KAP experience are where we create structured practices and draw on community resources for you to maintain improved mood and motivation.
”What was broken in relationship, needs to be healed in relationship.” It is our belief that the most transformational healing comes from working one-on-one with a therapist while using the medicine to enhance the process.
How many KAP sessions will I do?
The number of KAP sessions in a treatment plan will be discussed between the client and therapist. The typical range is 3-6 KAP sessions in a first “series". The therapist will recommend the number of sessions recommended in a treatment plan to meet the client’s treatment goals, with a minimum commitment of 3 KAP sessions. These sessions can be consecutive weeks or more spaced out depending on the client’s treatment goals. Once you’ve completed your series of planned sessions, on-going “one off” booster sessions will be available for “tune ups” and “maintenance.”
What are the KAP fees?
KAP is an investment into your overall health and wellbeing. It is an investment in cost and time, and one that may be one of the more significant and meaningful investments. All fees are listed here: KAP Fees
What is Somatic Therapy?
The word "soma" means the "living-body." Mental health professionals today agree that our emotions and our traumas are "stored" in the body. How we hold ourselves and how we feel day to day is directly related to what emotions we have or have not processed and discharged out of our body. An example of this is a consistent knot in your throat or in your stomach. We discharge this energy in the body by getting into a mindful state and exploring the body sensation and what healing it needs. Rather than talking about your problems in a speculative conversation, in somatic therapy you will be guided into a self study (often with your eyes closed to tune into your inner world) in order to understand the nonverbal expressions of old pain that live in the body. Somatic therapy can include optional touch, through an attachment based cranio-sacral approach. You can read more about somatic touch work on the Neuro-Affective Touch (NAT) website.
Marni Levy is an experienced clinical supervisor who offers supervision and training to supervisees on the track towards licensure.
Finding a supervisor who is licensed and has the experience, education, and training in clinical supervision that meets your interests and energy is an important decision. You need support and guidance from someone who is a good match for you and wants to help you develop and see you succeed.
I'm here to help to get the most out of your experience- Marni Levy, LMFT:
With ten years as a practicing therapist in both private practice and community mental health, I have the experience to help you find your “seat” and confidence in your role. I offer training and supervision using a variety of approaches including somatic/mindfulness based Hakomi, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Emotion Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT), and Neuro-Affective Touch (NAT).
In the Ketamine-Assisted Therapy (KAP) approach I have trained and supervised interns at Alchemy Clinic (formerly Sage Institute) and now offer supervision for KAP in private practice. You will be trained in the S-KAP approached and guided into learning how to offer safe and effective KAP services. I can offer office space located on Piedmont Ave in Oakland, CA.
In our relationship I will invite your intuitive wisdom to lead your learning and offer you tools and mentorship alongside. Your interests and pursuits will be supported and nurtured in our work together. Your growth as a therapist and a human will be nurtured and expanded upon.
Besides therapy I have also worked in the branding and marketing field and can offer you tools and guidance in building your practice and reaching the clients you wish to serve. We will collaborate on planning and strategizing your practice-building plan and I will support you in implementing those plans into a thriving and full therapy practice.
To inquire on current openings for supervision you may email me: Marni@trueyangtherapy.com
Your time off of work is precious time for you to relax and restore your energy. If you are finding that your mind is racing or you cant seem to release tension in your body, you may benefit from therapy services for first responders
Oakland Firefighters have 100% coverage for therapy services with True Yang Therapy
Flexible meeting schedules
Stress management tools for healthy coping
Evidence based therapy for reducing PTSD/anxiety/depressive symptoms
Communication/emotion regulation skills building for stronger work/home relationships
Space to process traumatic calls
Therapy approaches that restore body/mind functioning vs “talk therapy”
Individual Therapy for First Responders
Ketamine-Assisted Therapy (KAP)
EMDR for Trauma
Videos and Research on Ketamine Therapy and EMDR Therapy for First Responders
https://www.emdria.org/blog/emdr-helps-firefighters/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqdWscD-STk
https://mindthefrontline.org/free-blog/exploring-ketamine-therapy-a-new-frontier-in-first-responder-mental-health-treatment-0