What is KA-EMDR®?

As interest in integrating ketamine with psychotherapy continues to grow, clinicians are exploring thoughtful ways of incorporating ketamine into established trauma-focused treatment approaches, including Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy.

The KA-EMDR® method is a particular approach to integrating low-dose ketamine within EMDR therapy. Developed in 2024 by Danielle Ciccone and Michele Topel through the Ketamine Assisted EMDR Therapy Institute, the method is grounded in the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model and informed by principles of memory reconsolidation.

The KA-EMDR® method was developed to provide clinicians with a clear framework for understanding how psycholytic, low-dose ketamine may be incorporated into EMDR reprocessing to facilitate transformational change.

Why We Developed the KA-EMDR® Method

Our interest in this work grew out of a clinical question: Could low-dose ketamine help some clients access and process traumatic material that has remained difficult to reach through traditional therapy or standard EMDR treatment alone?

EMDR therapy is based on the understanding that distress can persist when experiences remain inadequately processed and continue to shape present-day beliefs, emotions, body responses, and patterns of behavior.

For some clients, accessing and staying connected to this material can be difficult. Some become overwhelmed when traumatic memories are activated. Others may experience emotional numbing, intellectualization, rigid defenses, or difficulty accessing the thoughts, emotions, sensations, and associations necessary for meaningful processing.

The KA-EMDR® method was developed as a way of thoughtfully integrating low-dose ketamine into this process.

A Psycholytic Approach

A central feature of the KA-EMDR® method is its emphasis on low-dose, psycholytic ketamine self-administration.

The intention is generally to support a level of altered consciousness in which the client can remain engaged with the therapist and actively participate in the EMDR process, maintaining dual awareness.

Within this framework, ketamine may support greater cognitive and emotional flexibility and help clients access material that has previously felt difficult to reach. The therapist uses the structure of EMDR therapy to help the client work with what emerges.

Grounded in AIP and Memory Reconsolidation

The KA-EMDR® method is grounded in EMDR therapy’s Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model and also informed by the fascinating research on memory reconsolidation.

Traumatic experiences can leave behind deeply held emotional learning, such as:

I am powerless.

I am not safe.

I cannot trust anyone.

There is something wrong with me.

I have no choice.

During trauma processing, these old patterns of learning can become activated while the client simultaneously encounters new information that is incompatible with them.

The person who once had no power may recognize the agency they have today. A client who learned that closeness inevitably leads to harm may experience safety and connection in the present. Someone carrying longstanding shame may begin to understand a past experience from the perspective of their adult self.

These moments can create opportunities for previously held emotional learning to shift. Within the KA-EMDR® method, ketamine is conceptualized as an extremely helpful facilitator of this process.

Ketamine Is Integrated Within EMDR Therapy

The KA-EMDR® method retains the clinical structure of EMDR therapy, including careful history taking and case conceptualization, preparation and stabilization, strategic treatment planning, trauma reprocessing, and re-evaluation.

The addition of ketamine does not eliminate the need for clinical judgment. In many ways, it increases the importance of thoughtful decision-making.

Clinicians must consider the client’s readiness for trauma processing, the memory networks being activated, the emotional learning connected to the targets, possible barriers to processing, and how much intervention is needed during each session.

These clinical decisions are a major focus of KA-EMDR® training and consultation.

The KA-EMDR® Training Model

The KA-EMDR® training pathway is designed to teach more than the mechanics of incorporating ketamine into an EMDR session.

The emphasis is on understanding the clinical reasoning behind the method: how to conceptualize cases through the AIP model, prepare clients appropriately, identify meaningful targets, recognize barriers to processing, and make thoughtful decisions during reprocessing.

Training includes foundational education, advanced case conceptualization and reprocessing skills, experiential learning, and ongoing consultation. Our work with the KA-EMDR® method has included published research examining the clinical effects of integrating low-dose ketamine with EMDR therapy.