What to Expect at Your First KAP Session at Samadhi
You've done your research. You've had a consultation. You've decided to move forward with ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. And now, somewhere between cautious optimism and genuine nervousness, you're wondering: what actually happens?
That uncertainty is completely normal — and it's worth addressing directly. The more clearly you understand what to expect, the more settled you can be when you arrive. And that settledness matters, because the quality of your inner state going into a KAP session shapes what becomes available inside it.
Here's a clear, honest walkthrough of what a KAP session at Samadhi Healing Collective looks like from start to finish.
Before the dosing session: Preparation
A KAP session doesn't begin the day of. It begins weeks earlier, in preparation sessions with Seaghan.
These meetings — usually two to four before your first dosing session — serve several purposes. We build a working therapeutic relationship. We take a careful history of your trauma, mental health, and what you're hoping to heal. We develop your intention for the work: not a goal in the outcome sense, but an orientation — a direction you want to face when the medicine opens the door.
We also handle the medical side through Journey Clinical, the prescribing network Samadhi works with. Their clinicians review your history, assess contraindications, and prescribe the ketamine. By the time you arrive for your dosing session, both the clinical and medical groundwork have been carefully laid.
The intention isn't a goal. It's a direction — a way of orienting yourself toward what needs attention.
The day of: What to bring and how to prepare
Practical things to know:
- Don't eat for at least four hours before your session. A light meal earlier in the day is fine; arriving on a full stomach isn't.
- Arrange a ride home. You will not be in a state to drive after a dosing session, and you shouldn't plan to. A trusted person picking you up, or a ride service, is required.
- Wear comfortable clothing — something you'd be happy lying down in for two to three hours.
- Leave the day clear. Plan for the session itself plus a few hours of quiet rest afterward. This is not a day to schedule meetings or obligations.
- Bring your intention, if you've written it down. Some clients find it grounding to read it silently before we begin.
The session space
KAP sessions at Samadhi take place at our office at 1275 Delaware Ave, Suite B100, in Buffalo. The space is designed for this work — quiet, low-lit, with a comfortable reclining surface, blankets, and an eye mask. There's a curated music playlist that moves through the arc of a session: opening, deepening, returning.
Seaghan is present throughout. He doesn't direct the experience or interpret it in real time — he holds the container. His role during the dosing session is to ensure you feel safe, to respond if you need grounding or support, and to witness the work without intruding on it.
The dosing experience
Sublingual ketamine — a lozenge or troche dissolved under the tongue — is the typical delivery method for KAP. The onset is gradual, usually beginning within fifteen to thirty minutes. The full experience lasts roughly ninety minutes to two hours, with a natural descent back toward ordinary consciousness afterward.
What the experience is like varies considerably from person to person, and from session to session. Some people have vivid visual or symbolic experiences. Some encounter internal parts or figures. Some experience a profound dissolving of their usual sense of self — which can feel disorienting but is often described afterward as deeply meaningful. Some simply feel a significant softening: their usual mental chatter quieting, emotional material becoming more accessible.
There is no single right experience. What matters is that you let what comes, come — without forcing, without resisting.
There is no single right experience. What matters is that you let what comes, come.
Challenging moments can arise. Old grief, fear, or intense sensation sometimes surfaces. Seaghan's presence is there for exactly this — not to stop the experience, but to help you stay with it and move through it. Avoidance during the session tends to produce less integration afterward. Staying present with difficult material, supported, is often where the most meaningful work happens.
Coming back
As the ketamine metabolizes, you'll move gradually back toward ordinary awareness. This transition period — sometimes called the "return" — is itself part of the therapeutic process. Seaghan will stay with you through this, offering quiet presence and, when you're ready, an initial brief conversation about what emerged.
Plan to rest at your departure — the ride home is not a time for deep processing conversation. Let the experience settle. Eat something light if you're hungry. Sleep if you can.
After: Integration
The dosing session is not the end of the work. It's the beginning of a period of integration — making meaning of what emerged and anchoring it in your daily life.
Integration sessions with Seaghan typically begin within a few days of the dosing session. This is where the therapeutic work deepens: exploring the imagery, emotions, and insights that arose; connecting them to your history and your patterns; and identifying what in your life needs to shift in response to what you saw.
Many clients find that the days and weeks following a dosing session bring an unusual quality of openness — a neuroplastic window during which new ways of seeing and relating feel more accessible. Integration sessions are designed to make the most of that window.
A note on what KAP is not
KAP is not a passive treatment. The ketamine creates the conditions for deep work — it doesn't do the work itself. Clients who approach sessions with genuine intention, who stay with difficult material rather than away from it, and who actively engage the integration process consistently have better outcomes than those who treat it as a procedure to receive.
This is medicine as practice. You are the practitioner.