A carefully guided process
Our psychedelic-assisted therapy is delivered in a structured clinical setting and designed for safety, comfort, and meaningful progress. Our goal is to provide a treatment experience that is scientifically grounded and deeply supportive to help patients move forward when other approaches haven’t provided relief.
How it Works
We combine psychedelic medication with therapy
At Amast Health, our treatment model focuses on talk therapy and behavioral change rather than on medication alone. Psychedelic medication is used as a catalyst rather than as something you will need to take long-term. The medication opens up a window of opportunity for change via relief from symptoms and neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to undergo transformation).
Currently, esketamine (Spravato) is the only FDA-approved psychedelic medication. As more psychedelic medications become FDA-approved, we plan to offer treatment with these medications with the same focus on talk therapy and behavioral change.
During your care with Amast Health, we will cover the risks, benefits, and alternatives to treatment with Spravato and answer any questions you may have.
Why we currently offer esketamine (Spravato):
It works
There is robust evidence that Spravato yields rapid antidepressant effects, likely due to neuroplasticity, resulting in FDA approval for Spravato in 2019.
Safety
Spravato has an excellent safety profile, and safety is supported by a nationwide side-effect monitoring program called a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS).
Accessibility
Spravato is conveniently self-administered via nasal spray. Patients can receive treatment, be monitored in the clinic for two hours, then go home the same day.
Affordability
Because Spravato has been shown to be effective, most insurance covers it for patients with treatment-resistant depression.
Our therapy is personalized and focused on helping you achieve your goals, whatever they are.
We draw from training in a wide range of styles of therapy, including the Montreal Model of ketamine therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), mindfulness meditation, and psychodynamic therapy.
The first phase of therapy will examine your current life, including daily routines. We will also ask you to think about your values, or what really matters to you, with questions like: “What would your life look like if you weren’t held back by depression?”
We’ll also prepare you for the experience of receiving Spravato, including examining the powerful role that music can play in psychedelic treatment.
We focus on the making the most of the experience, whatever it may be. Everyone’s experiences are different, and every experience across sessions can be different. Most people experience a full range of emotions over the series of doses. These experiences can be insightful, emotional, bizarre, scary, mystical, disappointing - all of these states provide opportunities for learning, such as learning to let go, accepting an experience, and better understanding how one's mind works.
We’ll help you set and plan goals for behavioral change so that you can use the effects of Spravato to re-establish healthy habits and routines for yourself that will boost the effects of the medication and last long beyond your treatment at Amast Health.
Psychedelic Medicine
We tailor FDA-approved psychedelic medications such as Spravato (esketamine) to support your personal needs, goals, and life aspirations.
Talk Therapy
Psychedelic-assisted therapy can open the door to deeper therapeutic work. Many patients are better able to engage in talk therapy during and after their course of care.
Life Change
The goal of treatment is to create the conditions for meaningful progress. We’ll plan out real changes to your routines and put them into action.