What Comes After the First 6 Sessions?

Medically reviewed by

Chelsea Tersavich, PA-C

Published on

May 19, 2021

Updated on

July 22, 2022

Whether you're in the middle of your first Mindbloom program or have reached the end already, you may be asking "What comes next"?

There can be many emotions and thoughts surfacing about what to do, and where to go next. Common questions include:

Do I have more work to do?
What options are available to me if I want to continue treatment?
Do I have to continue treatment right now, or can I wait?
How long will the effects of this first program last?

We’ll cover these questions below. As always, if you have any questions throughout the process, feel free to reach out to your guide.

The Three Paths

Now that you have completed your initial Mindbloom treatment, there are three options for next steps.

Continuing Treatment

You may have decided you want to continue ketamine therapy. This might be because you are seeing results but want to take your growth further. Discuss your progress with your Mindbloom clinician and see if further treatment is right for you.

If you and your clinician decide to continue treatment, Mindbloom is available in 6 or 18 Pack options with complete, on-demand access to the entire library of therapeutic programming and pathways.

Integration Hiatus

The second path is a brief hiatus to allow yourself to integrate the experiences you had in your first program.

This hiatus may be a few weeks, it may also be a few months. This is up to your discretion, and you can consult your care team if you would like additional input on this.

Other resources for integration work include the Group Integration Circles. You can also sign up for additional direct integration sessions with your guide to explore your experiences in more detail.

Completing Treatment

If you feel like you have achieved your goals from your treatment with Mindbloom, congratulations!

You are one of many who found success with ketamine therapy. We wish you the best on whatever comes next for you.

Options Mindbloom is unable to offer

As clients near the end of their first program, Mindbloom clients sometimes ask about options which are outside of the scope of Mindbloom’s platform.

A few things that Mindbloom does not offer or provide once the introductory program is complete include:

Microdosing: Mindbloom does not prescribe ketamine in microdose amounts for daily use.
Different ketamine administration methods: Mindbloom does not currently prescribe or provide ketamine in the forms of IV infusions, IM injections, or nasal sprays (Spravato).
Other psychedelic medicines: Mindbloom only administers ketamine therapy, and does not provide programs with compounds such as MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, or other psychedelic compounds.
Daily dosing protocols: Similar to microdosing, Mindbloom clinicians do not write prescriptions for "daily use" or smaller, more frequent dosing sessions. All of our programs correspond with clinician-prescribed dosages tailored to each individual, and based on the number of sessions in the program.

Conclusion

Hopefully this resource laid out some of the potential paths available to you when moving forward after your first program.

If you ever want more direct help, you can reach out to your Mindbloom clinician, your guide at Mindbloom, or your primary care provider outside of Mindbloom.

There is a community of support here for you, all ready to be of service to your process and help you along the way in whatever way is helpful.

Eric Brown

Eric Brown is a content writer and program creator at Mindbloom, and the Director of Apotheosis Retreats. As a facilitator, coach, guide, and creator, he combines cognitive science, psychedelic medicines, and healing modalities to create powerful spaces for personal growth and development.

Chelsea Tersavich, PA-C

Chelsea Tersavich, PA-C, is a psychiatric clinician who has conducted psychiatric evaluations and facilitated ketamine therapy sessions for over 250 Mindbloom clients. Chelsea obtained a master’s degree from the Interservice PA Program and has extensive mental health and primary care experience from her army career, where she treated thousands of Soldiers as a Battalion PA and a clinic Medical Director.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of any treatment. If you are in a life-threatening situation, call the National Suicide Prevention Line at +1 (800) 273-8255, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room.

Safety Information

Important FDA Safety Information

Ketamine is not FDA-approved for the treatment of depression or anxiety. Learn more about off-label uses here.

Side effects of ketamine treatment may include: altered sense of time, anxiety, blurred vision, diminished ability to see/hear/feel, dry mouth, elevated blood pressure or heart rate, elevated intraocular or intracranial pressure, excitability, loss of appetite, mental confusion, nausea/vomiting, nystagmus (rapid eye movements), restlessness, slurred speech, synesthesia (a mingling of the senses).

Do not proceed with ketamine treatment if any of the following apply to you:

Allergic to ketamine
Symptoms of psychosis or mania
Uncontrolled high blood pressure
CHF or other serious heart problem
Severe breathing problem
History of elevated intraocular or intracranial pressure
History of hyperthyroidism
Other serious medical illness
Pregnant, nursing, or trying to become pregnant

Ketamine has been reported to produce issues including, but not limited to, those listed below. However, lasting adverse side-effects are rare when medical protocols are carefully followed.

While ketamine has not been shown to be physically addictive, it has been shown to cause moderate psychological dependency in some recreational users.

In rare cases, frequent, heavy users have reported increased frequency of urination, urinary incontinence, pain urinating, passing blood in the urine, or reduced bladder size
Ketamine may worsen problems in people with schizophrenia, severe personality disorders, or other serious mental disorders.
Users with a personal or family history of psychosis should be cautious using any psychoactive substance, including ketamine, and discuss potential risks with your MindBloom^® clinician before proceeding with treatment.
The dissociative effects of ketamine may increase patient vulnerability and the risk of accidents.

To promote positive outcomes and ensure safety, follow these ketamine treatment guidelines:

Do not operate a vehicle (e.g., car, motorcycle, bicycle) or heavy machinery following treatment until you’ve had a full night of sleep
Refrain from taking benzodiazepines or stimulants for 24 hours prior to treatment
Continue to take antihypertensive medication as prescribed
Avoid hangovers or alcohol intake
Refrain from consuming solid foods within 3 hours prior to treatment and liquids within 1 hour prior to treatment
Ketamine treatment should never be conducted without a monitor present to ensure your safety