A somatic, attachment-centered pathway into deeper healing.

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Healing from trauma isn’t always straightforward — but it is possible. Ketamine-assisted EMDR combines two powerful, evidence-informed approaches to help you move through what has felt stuck, frozen, or out of reach.

 

At Empower Women Counseling, ketamine-assisted therapy is offered as an integrative extension of the somatic and attachment-based work already happening in the room. For many clients—especially those carrying complex trauma, chronic stress, or long-standing patterns of emotional pain—ketamine can gently open the nervous system, soften rigid defenses, and support profound breakthroughs that are often difficult to access through talk therapy alone.

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Ketamine is a legal psychedelic medicine known for its rapid antidepressant and mood-enhancing effects. When paired with EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS/parts work), trauma-informed yoga principles, and nervous-system-based somatic therapy, it becomes a powerful catalyst for transformation. Clients often describe the experience as a widening of internal space—an invitation for wounded parts to feel safer, more connected, and more available for healing.

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How ketamine assisted EMDR works?

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EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a proven therapy that helps your brain process and release traumatic memories. When paired with a psycholytic dose of ketamine — a sub-anesthetic amount specifically calibrated to support therapy rather than produce a dissociative state — the healing process can go deeper, faster, and with less distress.

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At this psycholytic dose, ketamine works as an anxiolytic, gently reducing anxiety and softening the protective parts of yourself that have worked so hard to keep you safe. These "protector parts" are a natural response to trauma, but they can also make it difficult to access and process the deeper wounds underneath. With those defenses softened, you remain present, connected, and able to engage with your therapist — allowing healing to reach the core of what needs attention more quickly and effectively than is often possible through talk therapy alone.

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Ketamine also promotes neuroplasticity — your brain's remarkable ability to form new connections and reorganize itself. This creates an optimal window for learning and for building adaptive information processing: the capacity to take painful, fragmented memories and integrate them into a coherent, manageable narrative. Rather than staying locked in the past, your brain begins to update — making space for new perspectives, new beliefs, and a new relationship with your own story.

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Together, EMDR and ketamine work in concert: one guiding the processing, the other preparing the brain to receive it.

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​Ashley Hartman has completed the two part training with the Ketamine Assisted EMDR Therapy Institute, which allows the sessions unfold with care and safety. Ashley works with two local nurse practitioners in the area who tailor a specific protocol to the clients individual needs. 
 

What to expect?

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Your journey begins with a thorough consultation to make sure this approach is right for you. We have partnered with a dedicated nurse practitioner who works exclusively with our clients to complete a comprehensive medical assessment before treatment begins. This ensures your care is safe, personalized, and held to the highest standard from the very start.

Sessions are held in a calm, supportive environment where you remain in the care of your therapist throughout.

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During the ketamine experience, many people describe a sense of expanded awareness, reduced emotional defensiveness, and a gentler relationship with difficult memories. Your therapist guides you through attachment focused EMDR processing in this receptive state — helping your brain finally integrate experiences that have kept you stuck.

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Who is this for?

 

This treatment may be a powerful option if you are living with:

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• Complex PTSD — including trauma that built up over time, across relationships, or throughout childhood

• Grief and loss — especially when mourning feels complicated, prolonged, or impossible to move through

• Attachment trauma — wounds rooted in early relationships that continue to shape how you connect, trust, and feel safe

• Anxiety and emotional dysregulation tied to past experiences

• A sense that traditional therapy has only taken you so far

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You don’t have to have one “big” trauma to deserve this level of care. Many people carry wounds that are quieter — but no less real.

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Psycholytic KAP sessions last 90 minutes and blend beautifully with somatic interventions, attachment work, and Ketamine-Assisted EMDR. These sessions take place either virtually or in the New Lenox office.

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Safety, Support, and Integration

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Ketamine is considered very safe when used in a therapeutic setting. Side effects are temporary and usually involve shifts in perception, sensations of floating, or a gentle softening of boundaries between self and body—all of which can support therapeutic depth when held with care.

The true healing happens in the integration phase—where we weave the insights, sensations, and emotional openings into your embodied life. Integration sessions often include somatic grounding, EMDR resourcing, trauma-informed yoga practices, and parts-based reflection to help your system anchor, soften, and grow.

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You don't have to stay stuck

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Many people who come to ketamine-assisted EMDR have spent years trying to heal. They’ve done the work. They’ve shown up. And yet, something remained just out of reach.

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This treatment exists for those moments — when you’re ready for something different, and ready to finally feel free.

 

​*At this time KAP is only offered by Ashley Hartman - for inquiries please email: ashley@empowerwomencounselingil.com*

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