Bringing a Sitter to Your Ketamine Session

1. 1

   Before booking — discuss with your clinical team

   Tovani's general framework: a trusted adult should be in the home during sessions. Whether they need to be in the room with you, in an adjacent room, or simply elsewhere in the house depends on your specific clinical picture, session history, and home setup. Have this conversation explicitly with your clinical team — don't assume.

2. 2

   Choosing who — the relationship quality test

   Good candidates: people you trust deeply, who are calm in difficult situations, who don't bring their own anxiety or crisis-energy to your space, who can be present without needing to "help" or fix things. Less good candidates: people with active anxiety disorders triggered by your sessions, people who would feel obligated to constantly check on you, people who would interpret your experience in unhelpful ways.

3. 3

   Preparing the sitter — pre-session conversation

   Brief the sitter on the basics: session will last 1.5-2 hours, you'll be in an altered state for about an hour of that, you'll probably be quiet with eyes closed, they don't need to do anything unless you signal need. Discuss what signals you might give if you need water, the bathroom, or anything else. Clarify what they should NOT do: don't engage you in conversation, don't interpret, don't ask probing questions, don't move you out of your space.

4. 4

   During the session — what the sitter does

   Mostly: be present. Some sitters sit in the room reading or doing quiet work. Some sit in an adjacent room with the door open. Some are downstairs or in the next room over. They're available if you need water, need to walk to the bathroom, or have a question. They're NOT providing therapy, interpretation, or active emotional support — those roles belong to your physician and integration support, not the sitter.

5. 5

   After the session — supportive presence during recovery

   During the 60-90 minute recovery phase, the sitter can be more present — helping with water, walking with you if you want to move around, just being near. Most patients find this a quiet, gentle phase; the sitter's role is supportive presence rather than active processing. Save the conversational debrief for later in the day or next day once you're cognitively normal.

6. 6

   After the session — debrief boundaries

   If you want to talk about the experience later, that's fine. Some patients want to share immediately; some want days of internal processing first. The sitter follows your lead — they don't need a debrief and shouldn't request one. Many patients find that sharing edited highlights later is easier than fully describing the session.

Pre-session preparation: 15-30 minute conversation with the sitter the day before, briefer reminder right before the session. During the session: sitter is in the home for the full 1.5-2 hours. Recovery phase: sitter more actively available for 60-90 minutes. Post-session: sitter can leave or stay based on your preference; most patients want time alone or with the sitter quietly during the evening. Total time commitment for a sitter: 2-4 hours including arrival and departure.

Who this fits best

Sitter support is most clearly beneficial for: patients with significant trauma or anxiety where additional grounding is helpful, first-time patients learning what their sessions are like, patients with home environments where complete privacy isn't practical anyway, and patients whose clinical team has specifically recommended it. Less essential for: experienced patients with established session patterns, patients with low-acuity clinical pictures, and patients who genuinely prefer solo sessions and whose team has determined that's safe. Tovani's clinical team will work with you to determine which framework fits your specific situation.