Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) is an emerging intervention that can help clients access emotional flexibility, reduce shame, and soften rigid relational defenses—particularly when traditional talk therapy has reached a plateau. By temporarily quieting threat responses and entrenched cognitive patterns, ketamine can create a therapeutic window in which clients are more open to vulnerability, connection, and meaning-making. For clinicians working with couples and individuals navigating intimacy challenges, this window can be leveraged to support attachment repair and deepen emotional engagement.
This presentation explores how KAP can be thoughtfully and ethically integrated into sex and couples therapy through an Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and attachment-based lens, with particular attention to LGBTQ clients. Sexual and intimacy concerns are often rooted in attachment injuries, cycles of disconnection, minority stress, and identity-based shame. Participants will learn how ketamine-assisted sessions can support emotional accessibility, vulnerability, responsiveness, and corrective relational experiences. The session will address preparation, integration, consent, and relational safety, offering a trauma-informed, affirming, and clinically grounded framework for integrating KAP into attachment-focused sex and couples therapy.