KAP vs PSIP
A side-by-side comparison: mechanism, evidence, the conditions each treats, philosophical roots, and where they actually disagree clinically.
At a glance
KAP
- Tradition
- Psychedelic
- Founder
- Various (Wolfson, Bennett) (2010)
- Evidence
- Guideline-recommended
- Focus
- Experiential + Processing
- Format
- Individual
- Duration
- Short-medium
PSIP
- Tradition
- Psychedelic
- Founder
- Saj Razvi (2016)
- Evidence
- Emerging evidence
- Focus
- Experiential + Somatic
- Format
- Individual
- Duration
- Medium-term
How they work
KAP
Core mechanism: Ketamine-induced neuroplasticity + dissociative state creates window for psychotherapeutic processing and new learning
Ontology: Treatment-resistant conditions involve rigid neural patterns; ketamine disrupts rigidity and opens plasticity window
PSIP
Core mechanism: Cannabis or ketamine induces primary consciousness state + active therapist relational engagement with somatic defense cascade + completion of truncated survival responses reorganizes autonomic patterning
Ontology: Complex trauma is stored in autonomic nervous system defense patterns inaccessible to ordinary consciousness; psychedelic medicine provides access while relational attunement provides corrective experience
Conditions treated
2 shared · 2 KAP-only · 2 PSIP-only
Both treat
Only KAP
Only PSIP
What each assumes — and misses
KAP
Philosophical roots: James (varieties of religious experience — altered states as data); Grof (non-ordinary states); neuroplasticity research; mystical tradition broadly
Blind spots: Regulatory fragmentation; limited standardization of psychotherapy component; risk of ketamine becoming the treatment rather than catalyst
Therapeutic voice: As the medicine takes effect, just notice what arises without directing it. We'll make sense of it together.
PSIP
Philosophical roots: Merleau-Ponty (embodied consciousness); Porges (polyvagal theory — autonomic defense states); Levine (somatic experiencing — completing survival responses); van der Kolk (body keeps the score); Bowlby (attachment as organizing principle); psychodynamic transference theory
Blind spots: No controlled outcome research; proprietary training model without external accreditation; reliance on cannabis as primary medicine complicates legal and clinical standards; apprenticeship structure creates potential dual-relationship concerns; strong theoretical claims outpace empirical evidence
Therapeutic voice: I'm right here with you. What's happening in your body right now? Stay with that — I'll stay with you.
Choosing between them
KAP and PSIP both sit within the Psychedelic tradition — they share a worldview about what suffering is and how change happens. Differences are more often about technique and emphasis than about underlying theory.
For deeper coverage: see the full KAP and PSIP pages, or use the interactive comparison tool to add more modalities to this comparison.