Quantum Integral Healing Arts

Quantum Integral Healing Arts is an integrative mental health clinic in San Francisco’s Noe Valley, offering ketamine-assisted psychotherapy alongside psychiatry, psychotherapy, acupuncture and massage. It was founded by the psychiatrist Dr Sidney Edsall.

Approach

Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy here is a series of ketamine sessions combined with psychotherapy, using sublingual lozenges or intramuscular injections. A course starts with a consultation and a diagnostic assessment, intentions are set before each ketamine session, and each one is followed by an integration session. The clinic says its protocols draw on Dr Edsall’s work as a site physician in the MAPS Phase III trials of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD, and on its research arm, OpenMind Therapeutics. The team, which pairs Western medicine with Taoist ideas, includes a psychologist trained in Internal Family Systems, psychiatric nurse practitioners, an associate marriage and family therapist, an acupuncturist and herbalist, and a massage therapist.

Who it is for

The conditions the clinic treats with ketamine include depression and anxiety that have not responded to other treatment, PTSD, OCD, substance use disorders, postpartum conditions, PMDD, burnout, and chronic pain or fatigue. It sees individuals, couples and groups.

Practical details

The clinic is on 24th Street and open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Intake starts with a short phone consultation, then an in-person or video intake covering medical and psychological history. Prices depend on the service and the clinician. The team is out of network: it does not bill insurance but provides superbills for reimbursement. Payment is due on the day, and credit cards carry a 3% fee.

Care and safety

Every course of ketamine treatment begins with a comprehensive medical and psychological assessment, and client and clinician build a working relationship before the first medicine session. Ketamine is used at far lower doses than in anaesthesia, and the clinic says clients keep conscious awareness during sessions.