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As clinic manger and Dr. Rivas' fiancée, Libby oversees the day-to-day operations at Innerbloom, ensuring our patients have the best possible experience.
Team Bio
Alisa has called the Central Coast home since 1993. She has over two decades of experience as a licensed therapist and is thrilled to serve as a compassionate guide for patients of Innerbloom Ketamine Therapy.
Team Bio
Justin was raised in Connecticut and relocated to the Central Coast in 2008. He earned his Bachelor's degree in anthropology from Pomona College, followed by a Master's degree and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. He obtained his license as a psychologist in 2011.
Team Bio
Cindy grew up in Southern California and moved to the Central Coast in 2004. She received a bachelor’s degree from Vanguard University, a Master’s Degree from Chapman University and became a licensed marriage family therapist in 2013.
Team Bio
Dr Rivas is a board-certified, acute care and trauma surgeon with over 11 years' experience administering ketamine. Before founding Innerbloom Ketamine Therapy PC in 2022, Dr Rivas worked on the frontlines of emergency and trauma medicine in Santa Maria, CA, and Austin, TX.
Team Bio
Eli is one of seven pups from a small town in the central valley of California called Hanford. She's our official Innerbloom Ketamine Therapy brand ambassador and regularly greets and holds space for our patients who are receiving their IV ketamine infusions.
Team Bio
Currently, IV ketamine is not covered by insurance. However, we anticipate that this may change as awareness grows regarding the applications, efficacy, and safety of ketamine. We have the capability to generate superbills, essentially invoices that include specific procedure and diagnosis codes. Following the completion of your infusion, upon your request, we can provide you with a superbill to submit to your insurance company. Depending on your insurance provider, you may be reimbursed for a percentage or potentially the entire cost of your treatment.
We do not prescribe oral ketamine or any other form of ketamine for at-home use. For more detailed information on why we follow this policy, please follow this link - https://www.innerbloomketamine.com/blog/be-very-cautious-of-at-home-ketamine-therapy
Ketamine therapy will not be offered to individuals with uncontrolled hypertension, unstable heart disease, significant active substance abuse, pregnancy, glaucoma, psychosis, schizophrenia, type 1 bipolar disorder, or severe liver disease
Ketamine is administered at a sub-anesthetic dosage, with an initial dose of 0.5 mg per kilogram of body weight. The dosage may be modified or increased during subsequent infusions, or it can be maintained at the same level based on your diagnosis and response.
Therapy is broken down into an induction phase and a maintenance phase. The induction phase consists of six infusions over a course of 2-6 weeks, while the maintenance phase is offered as needed following induction which typically involves returning once a month, once every other month, or even longer depending on your needs and state of mind. We offer a package of six infusions typically over a course of 2-6 weeks. We can tailor infusions to fit your schedule. For example, we can offer one infusion per week for six weeks or two infusions every week for 3 weeks, etc. We individualize therapy protocols based on your response and your schedule, although we encourage multiple sessions over a short period of time.
Common experiences include the sensation of floating or the sensation of watching yourself over your physical body. As a dissociative anesthetic, you may experience the so called “out of body” feeling with separation of mind and body. If you experience undesired or unpleasant sensations, the infusion can be stopped if treatment is given intravenously. However, this is not the case for oral, nasal, or intramuscular routes of administration. In this case, one must wait for the effects to wear off. A health care provider is closely monitoring you and can help if anything becomes uncomfortable such as nausea or anxiety. Additionally, our golden retriever, Eli, is usually available during your infusion for love and support.
Research suggests that ketamine, when used as a sole treatment, can achieve response rates exceeding 70% in certain cases. Integrating psychotherapy with ketamine therapy is believed to enhance and extend these outcomes. At our clinic, we have observed an 82% response rate, and our protocol includes ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. This achievement is particularly significant for patients who have not found relief with traditional antidepressants. A notable aspect of ketamine therapy is its rapid efficacy in reducing depression symptoms, sometimes within hours of administration.
Standard IV infusions are 40 minutes, although patients may stay for up to 90 minutes to allow for effects to wear off. Onset is 4 minutes, duration about 40 minutes, and expect 2-3 hours for the effects to dissipate. Intramuscular injection effects are immediate since the entire dose of ketamine is given at one time. These patients may leave when they choose although we encourage staying at least 40 minutes after injection.
Some experience side effects like nausea or fatigue during or after therapy, however, this is typically at higher doses. One can expect a mild elevation of blood pressure and heart rate during therapy, hence the importance of close monitoring and careful screening of patient’s medical history prior to treatment. We do have medications to treat anxiety, nausea, and changes in heart rate or blood pressure.
No. Driving or operating heavy machinery can be dangerous as the effects of the medication can last hours after treatment has stopped. Patients require a ride home after therapy.
Please continue to take your medication as directed. We will thoroughly review all of your medications to ensure there are no interactions. It's important to note that if you are using benzodiazepines or Lamictal, ketamine may not be as effective, and adjustments or increases in ketamine dosage may be required.
Treatment resistance occurs in approximately 15–20% of patients. If you do not experience improvement in mood after the treatment series, we encourage you to stop.
Depression, anxiety, PTSD, pain, addiction, obsessive compulsive disorder, postpartum depression, fibromyalgia, and bipolar depression.
We also offer intramuscular (IM) ketamine. IM ketamine is effective, safe, and an option for people who have an aversion to an IV.
We recommend fasting for three hours before therapy, as some patients have reported experiencing nausea with a full stomach. However, we encourage you to stay hydrated and drink plenty of water.
Certainly. If having friends or family present during treatment makes you more comfortable, then, by all means, feel free to invite them. Additionally, please arrange for someone other than yourself to provide transportation for your journey back home.
We encourage you to continue your current means of therapy, especially if they provide benefits to you. We anticipate that your current medications and therapy may work even better after ketamine. It is not uncommon for patients to taper doses or completely discontinue their medications after a series of ketamine infusions. However, please note that discontinuing medications such as antidepressants should be done under close monitoring and guidance from your prescribing physician or provider.
Although a referral is not required, we encourage and welcome open communication with other members of your healthcare team with your consent. We carefully assess your medical and psychiatric history, including current and past medications and therapies.
