Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy and EMDR for Postpartum Care

Perinatal mental health professionals know the postpartum period can be layered, complex, and deeply vulnerable. For some, established treatment approaches like medication and talk therapy are effective. But for those navigating trauma or treatment-resistant depression, standard interventions may not be enough.

In recent years, Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) has emerged as a promising option for addressing these clinical gaps. When paired with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), this integrative approach offers a trauma-informed, neurobiologically grounded path toward healing - especially for postpartum clients.

Postpartum Recovery Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) affect an estimated 20% of birthing people in the United States, and nearly twice as many BIPOC birthing people. Many also experience the “baby blues,” and over 60% of those with postpartum depression report symptoms of anxiety.

Like so many mental health professionals who are drawn to perinatal care, Kate Kincaid, LPC, CMHC, knows firsthand how difficult postpartum can be.

“Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders became much more real for me once I had my son in December of 2019 and I found myself thrust into my own bout of postpartum depression and anxiety. I was pretty disillusioned, and after climbing my way out of it, I knew I wanted to focus on how to help others going through this very disorienting time.” - Kate Kincaid, LPC, CMHC

While SSRIs are a common treatment, they’re not the best fit for everyone. Some clients don’t respond, experience unwanted side effects, or have concerns about exposure while nursing (Osborne et al., 2020). And while trauma-informed talk therapy is a vital tool, it may not always reach the root of unresolved trauma.

That’s where integrative approaches like EMDR and KAP can make a difference.

Why Ketamine, and Why Now?

Ketamine is currently the only psychedelic legally available for therapeutic use in the United States. It’s best known for its rapid-acting antidepressant effects, working on glutamate pathways rather than serotonin, and is especially effective for treatment-resistant depression and anxiety (Krystal et al., 2023; Kim et al., 2023).

When used within a psychotherapy framework, ketamine can support:

• Increased emotional access and insight

• Reduced limbic reactivity

• A sense of openness to trauma processing

According to Kate, “Ketamine, a fast-acting, dissociative anesthetic, has shown promise in providing rapid symptom relief for individuals with treatment-resistant conditions. When paired with psychotherapy, it can help patients access deeper emotional processing.”

For clinicians working with postpartum clients, concerns about medication exposure during lactation often arise. A 2023 study of ketamine in breast milk found concentrations to be low and rapidly cleared, suggesting safe resumption of nursing after a 12-hour pause (Wolfson et al., 2023).

How KAP and EMDR Work Together

Having used KAP in her practice for the past four years, Kate combines this modality with EMDR to support clients navigating birth trauma and mood disorders. Her training, Integrating Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy and EMDR for PMADs, helps clinicians understand how to ethically and effectively combine these methods in perinatal care.

Integrating Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy and EMDR for PMADs

🗓 July 22, 2025

Expand your trauma therapy toolkit by exploring how EMDR and KAP can work together to support deeper emotional processing in the perinatal period.

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER

Led by Kate Kincaid, LPC, CMHC, this training gives you to tools to help clients “heal, rebuild connections with themselves, and navigate the disorienting waters of the postpartum period with more ease.”

Meeting a Growing Demand with Skill and Compassion

Interest in psychedelic-assisted therapy is on the rise, and clients are increasingly asking questions that many therapists don’t feel equipped to answer.

“A lot of people are very interested in psychedelics and more and more clients are asking about these treatment modalities,” Kate has observed, “but only a minority of therapists have training or experience in this subsection of our field.”

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References

Acevedo-Diaz, E., Park, L., Zarate, C. J., Kardiu, B., Kraus, C., Greenstein, D., & Cavanaugh, G. (2019, November 15). Side effects mild, brief with single antidepressant dose of intravenous ketamine. National Institutes of Health. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/side-effects-mild-brief-single-antidepressant-dose-intravenous-ketamine

Grace, S. L., Evindar, A., & Stewart, D. E. (2003). The effect of postpartum depression on child cognitive development and behavior: A review and critical analysis of the literature. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 6(4), 263–274.

Kim, J., Kim, T.-E., Lee, S.-H., & Koo, J. W. (2023). The role of glutamate underlying treatment-resistant depression. Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience, 21(3), 429–446. https://doi.org/10.9758/cpn.22.1034

Krystal, J. H., Kaye, A. P., Jefferson, S., Girgenti, M. J., Wilkinson, S. T., Sanacora, G., & Esterlis, I. (2023). Ketamine and the neurobiology of depression: Toward next-generation rapid-acting antidepressant treatments. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(49), e2305772120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2305772120

Osborne, L. M., Leistikow, N., & Rocha, R. (2020). FDA rules for pregnancy and lactation labeling and their clinical implications. In Women’s Mental Health (pp. 397–404). Springer, Cham.

Wolfson, P., Cole, R., Lynch, K., Yun, C., Wallach, J., Andries, J., & Whippo, M. (2023). The pharmacokinetics of ketamine in the breast milk of lactating women: Quantification of ketamine and metabolites. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 55(3), 354–358. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2022.2101903