Ketamine is the only psychedelic available nationwide by prescription, and Jerry Cook explains exactly what a session feels like, start to finish. Jerry Cook is a trained psychedelic journey guide and integration consultant and the owner of Metanoia Journey Consulting in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He is not a prescriber. Ketamine is prescribed and administered through licensed medical partners after a full medical screening. In this conversation with host Melissa Goodwin, Jerry walks through why ketamine is the psychedelic he works with, what actually happens in the room during a three hour session, why the integration afterward matters as much as the medicine, and the honest limits of what this work can do. In this episode Why ketamine and not psilocybin or MDMA, and where psychedelic access actually stands right now The three levels of ketamine use: low dose for symptom management, mid dose for psychedelic and psycholytic processing, and high dose as a surgical anesthetic used in operating rooms worldwide What a psychedelic dose is compared to a surgical dose, in Jerry's own numbers The default mode network, and why a thought loop laid down at five years old is so hard to talk your way out of The full screening path: a 15 to 30 minute intro call, an hour of medical work up for contraindications, then a prescription, then a 45 to 60 minute pre journey session Inside the three hour session: settling in, two to five minutes for the medicine to land, a 30 to 45 minute psychedelic window, then an hour and a half of psycholytic work Why the follow up happens inside 24 hours, while the brain is still in a neuroplastic state Whether you hallucinate, whether you remember it, and whether you can lose control What the room looks like: low light, an eye mask, a floor mat, and a guide sitting on the floor beside you Why detachment from the old pattern comes before attachment to the new one Straight answers on whether ketamine is addictive Why a hard journey is often the useful one Where microdosing, Spravato and ketamine tablets sit on the continuum, and who this work is not for Chapters 0:00 Most people picture the 1950s. This is not that. 1:27 What "metanoia" means, and how Jerry got here 3:43 What veterans were doing for PTSD and trauma 4:10 Why ketamine, and not psilocybin or MDMA 4:19 FDA approved, off label, born as a surgical anesthetic 5:16 A psychedelic dose versus a surgical dose 6:30 The default mode network, and why thought loops stick 7:50 Where psilocybin access actually stands 7:57 Dissociation, and the enhanced dream state 9:04 How this is different from recreational use 10:17 Set and setting, and why the 1960s went wrong 11:28 How do you know if you are stuck? 12:33 When talk therapy plateaus 14:00 The intro call, and who this is not for 14:30 Medical screening and contraindications 15:00 The prescription and the pre journey session 15:42 Inside the three hour session, minute by minute 16:18 The psycholytic state, where the real talking happens 16:48 The neuroplastic window and the 24 hour follow up 17:48 Ketamine is not a panacea 19:11 How many journeys, and how long results last 20:36 A client story: the five year old still running the show 26:20 Will I hallucinate? Blissful or hard? 28:06 Titrating the dose for people who are scared 30:10 The room: eye mask, floor mat, a guide on the floor 33:15 Do people forget what happened? 34:00 Myth busters: tripping, party drug, addictive, bad trips 36:51 "I went to hell in one of mine," and why that was good 38:02 Microdosing, Spravato, and the three dose levels 39:37 How to reach Jerry Cook at Metanoia About the guest Jerry Cook is the owner of Metanoia Journey Consulting in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he works as a psychedelic journey guide and integration consultant. He trained in ketamine assisted psychotherapy after his own search for something talk therapy could not reach, and he works alongside licensed medical partners who handle screening, prescribing and dosing. He serves clients in South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. "Metanoia" is Greek for a fundamental change in thought and life direction, a nod to the years he spent in Greece as a boy. Web: metanoiajc.com Email: jcook@metanoiajc.com Phone: 605-376-4660 Resources Episode page and full transcript: dialedin.health/podcast/episode-34-ketamine-assisted-therapy Watch on YouTube: @dialedinhealth Find a vetted provider: dialedin.health/the-directory Apply to be a guest: dialedinhealth.kit.com Metanoia Journey Consulting: metanoiajc.com Follow the show Follow Dialed In Health wherever you listen so new episodes land automatically. If this one was useful, leave a rating and a review. Reviews are a real ranking factor in Apple and Spotify, and they are how the next person searching for an honest answer finds this show. One thing to do next: if you have been curious about psychedelic assisted therapy but did not know where to start, book a 15 minute intro call with a guide and ask about their screening process. Jerry describes his in this episode, and it is the fastest way to tell a legitimate practice from a careless one. About Dialed In Health Health and wellness is confusing. There is a new trend every week, everyone has an opinion, and half the time you cannot tell what is legit and what is good marketing. Dialed In Health brings in the people who actually do this work: providers, practitioners and specialists who see clients every day. Host Melissa Goodwin asks the questions you would ask if you were sitting across from them, so you can find the right people and make better decisions. New episodes weekly. Full transcripts and provider details at dialedin.health/podcast. Transcript The full transcript for this episode is on the episode page: dialedin.health/podcast/episode-34-ketamine-assisted-therapy This episode is educational and informational only. It is not medical advice and it is not a substitute for evaluation, diagnosis or treatment by a licensed provider. Ketamine is prescribed and administered only by licensed medical professionals after screening. If you are in crisis, contact a licensed provider or call or text 988 in the United States.
