Trauma Memory Reconsolidation with Precision Alchemy
Strategic Integration of EMDR with Low-Dose Ketamine
Written by Danielle Ciccone, LPCC, LMHC
Danielle Ciccone, LPCC, LMHC, is a trauma-focused therapist passionate about integrating the healing power of EMDR with the potentiating effects of psychedelic-assisted therapy. She co-developed Ketamine Assisted EMDR Therapy™ and recently co-authored a peer-reviewed study on its application in treating PTSD. Danielle is committed to helping both clients and clinicians explore new frontiers in trauma healing with clarity, care, and precision.
Healing Trauma Takes More Than a Dose — It Takes a Method
Many therapists drawn to psychedelic-assisted therapy, and specifically Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP), hear that the medicine creates significant neuroplasticity and hope that this will naturally lead to breakthroughs in trauma healing. We hear, “It’s like 10 therapy sessions in one!”
When I began to offer KAP in my practice, before combining it with EMDR therapy in the way that I do now, the profound shifts I anticipated just weren’t happening. I had to return to the powerful tools I had already learned as an EMDR therapist, to realize what was really needed.
The real transformation emerged when I combined ketamine’s potential with the precise framework of EMDR therapy to actively target and reprocess traumatic memories.
This blog shares how I discovered, along with my colleague Michele Topel, that integrating the two in the specific way that we call Ketamine Assisted EMDR Therapy™ was the missing piece for meaningful and sustained trauma resolution.
Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy Alone — or Separate from EMDR — Falls Short
There is a synergy, but it needs to be harnessed strategically
My early experiences with Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) brought clients a degree of some improvement, but the results were mixed.
Some clients reported feeling lighter, more hopeful, more self-compassionate, or gaining new insights. Yet these benefits proved to be fleeting at times. Others reported that little seemed to change, beyond feeling calmer during the journeys or simply having an interesting experience.
When EMDR sessions were scheduled during the integration period—usually within a few days after a ketamine session—the results improved, but remained inconsistent.
At times, clients would come into EMDR sessions feeling more open or emotionally flexible after KAP. But the connection between the two experiences felt fragmented, as if the therapeutic potential of the ketamine session wasn’t being fully carried into the EMDR reprocessing work.
What became clear was that, while KAP could support openness and create favorable conditions for change alongside EMDR therapy, the disjointed combination wasn’t consistently facilitating the kind of trauma resolution that I believed was possible.
Refined Integration Creates More Robust Trauma Healing Through Memory Reconsolidation
When paired together, EMDR and low-dose ketamine create a kind of magical alchemy—EMDR provides the roadmap, while ketamine deepens the journey, allowing healing to unfold in a profound way.
As the potential of combining ketamine with EMDR therapy became clear, so did the need for a more intentional and precise approach.
I began to wonder about and experiment with the approach of combining low-dose (“psycholytic”) ketamine with EMDR reprocessing, in the same session. This opened up a world of deep trauma reprocessing sessions, with breakthroughs that I hadn’t seen before.
I eventually met and partnered with Michele Topel, another skilled and curious EMDR therapist who had also been experimenting with blending these two modalities.
Together, we spent countless hours collaborating, experimenting, and refining the process that has evolved into Ketamine Assisted EMDR Therapy™, a deliberate integration of EMDR’s structured reprocessing with the psycholytic ketamine-assisted state to deepen and accelerate trauma resolution.
Our work centered on several priorities:
- Maintaining the integrity of the eight-phase EMDR framework
- Determining, in collaboration with our partnering medical providers, the optimal dosing of ketamine that would still allow the client to meaningfully participate in EMDR reprocessing
- Aligning the timing of ketamine self-administration and EMDR memory reprocessing in a way that would optimize memory reconsolidation, a key mechanism for transformation
- Grounding the integration in a clear scientific rationale, drawing on existing research, and developing a specific method that could be replicated
Together we finally discovered what we believe to be the most optimal way to bring these two power tools together. The results have been incredibly rewarding to observe.
The Power of Personal Experience to Appreciate the Synergy between EMDR and Ketamine
Experiencing the integration of EMDR and low-dose ketamine firsthand can offer a powerful perspective on what’s possible in trauma healing
One of the most compelling lessons about the potential of Ketamine Assisted EMDR Therapy™ came not from research or clinical observation, but from personal experience. Participating in my own low-dose ketamine assisted EMDR sessions gave me an intimate understanding of how these two approaches can work together.
While EMDR alone had already helped me move through significant memories, the addition of ketamine created a state that allowed certain layers of material to come forward and resolve more fully. It was a powerful, embodied experience—difficult to describe in words, but profoundly felt on a deep level.
That firsthand experience deepened my confidence in the method and affirmed what I was seeing in clients: when EMDR’s structured trauma-focused framework is paired with the powerful neurobiological and subjective effects of low-dose ketamine, the work can reach a new level of depth and durability.
Scientific Basis for Ketamine Assisted EMDR Therapy™
When science meets clinical intuition: what we saw in the room, we confirmed in the data.
As my experience with this method deepened, I knew it was essential to validate what I was witnessing in sessions through research. I co-authored a peer-reviewed article titled “Ketamine Assisted EMDR Therapy™ for PTSD: investigating the synergistic effects of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy”, published in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology (view article).
This retrospective chart review examined eight clients with PTSD and found significant symptom reduction when low-dose (psycholytic) ketamine was integrated with EMDR reprocessing. The findings confirmed what I had seen clinically: combining these modalities allows for deeper and more lasting transformation than either approach alone.
Publishing this work was a meaningful step in bridging experiential insight with scientific validation—and I hope it paves the way for further research in this emerging field.
New Possibilities for EMDR Trauma Therapists
The development of Ketamine Assisted EMDR Therapy™ has highlighted an important truth: lasting trauma healing requires a precise clinical approach.
Ketamine can open a powerful neurobiological and psychological window, but without a structured trauma-focused framework to guide the process, its potential often remains unrealized. By pairing EMDR with low-dose ketamine in a thoughtful, strategic way, we can help clients move beyond temporary relief toward true transformation.
For clinicians exploring the intersection of trauma therapy and psychedelic medicine, this integration offers a map to help navigate the journey.
When applied with care and skill, it can expand what’s possible in our work and create deeply satisfying change in the lives of those we serve.
Resources
- Access Consultation and Introductory + Experiential Trainings in Ketamine-Assisted EMDR Therapy™ (co-sponsored by Precision EMDR): Click Here
- Read the Research: Click Here
- Develop and Deepen Your EMDR Skills:
- Precision EMDR Basic Training: Click Here
- Precision EMDR Refresher Course: Click Here
References:
Duek, O., Korem, N., Li, Y., Kelmendi, B., Amen, S., Gordon, C., Milne, M., Krystal, J. H., Levy, I., & Harpaz-Rotem, I. (2023). Long term structural and functional neural changes following a single infusion of ketamine in PTSD. Neuropsychopharmacology: official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 48(11), 1648–1658. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-023-01606-3
Ecker, B., Ticic, R., & Hulley, L. (2023). Unlocking the emotional brain: Eliminating symptoms at their roots using memory reconsolidation (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003200653.
Kolp, E., Friedman, H. L., Krupitsky, E., Jansen, K., Sylvester, M., Young, M. S., & Kolp, A. (2014). Ketamine psychedelic psychotherapy: Focus on its pharmacology, phenomenology, and clinical applications. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 33(2), 84–140. https://doi.org/10.24972/ijts.2014.33.2.84
Passie, T., Guss, J., & Krähenmann, R. (2022). Lower-dose psycholytic therapy – a neglected approach. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, Article 1020505. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1020505
Shapiro, F. (2018). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): basic principles, protocols, and procedures (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
Topel, M., & Ciccone, D. (2025). Ketamine Assisted EMDR TherapyTM for PTSD: investigating the synergistic effects of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/20008066.2025.2572861
