Awaken Mental Health FAQs
Find answers to common questions about Awaken Mental Health, including location, appointments, services, insurance, and how to get started.
Basic Info
Awaken Mental Health is located in Portland’s Old Port at 225 Commercial Street, Suite 300, Portland, ME 04101.
The first step is to contact us to schedule a consultation or ask any questions you may have. From there, we can help determine what type of care may be the best fit for your needs.
Yes. Awaken Mental Health offers care in person in Portland, Maine, and some services may also be available online depending on the type of appointment, provider, and clinical fit.
Awaken Mental Health provides psychiatric care for children, adolescents, and adults up to age 55. The right provider and service will depend on age, symptoms, goals, and treatment needs.
We support people navigating mood, anxiety, attention, trauma-related, and other mental health challenges. Treatment recommendations are personalized based on your history, goals, and clinical needs. We also provide comprehensive medication management and monitoring.
Awaken Mental Health may accept select insurance plans, including Aetna, Harvard Pilgrim, Maine Community Health Options, and UHC/Optum. We do not currently accept any other form of health insurance. Please contact us directly to confirm current insurance participation and benefits.
If your plan is out of network, we may be able to provide billing paperwork that you can submit to your insurance company for possible reimbursement. Coverage varies by plan, so we recommend checking your out-of-network mental health benefits directly with your insurer.
You can reach Awaken Mental Health by phone at 207-631-2383 or by email at ksmith@awaken-mental-health.com.
Traditional Psychiatric Treatment & Medication Management
Learn more about psychiatric treatment, medication management, assessments, prescriptions, monitoring, and what to expect during care at Awaken Mental Health.
Treatment at Awaken Mental Health is a collaborative process between you and your provider. Sessions may focus on understanding patterns, processing emotions, building coping skills, improving relationships, supporting nervous system regulation, and helping you move toward meaningful change. When clinically appropriate, treatment may also include psychiatric medication, lab work, diagnostic testing, or coordination with other providers.
Yes. Awaken Mental Health provides psychiatric medication management for children, adolescents, and adults up to age 55. Medication recommendations are based on a comprehensive assessment, current symptoms, health history, treatment goals, and ongoing clinical monitoring.
Yes, when clinically appropriate. After an assessment, a provider may recommend medication as part of a personalized treatment plan. Medication is not always the right fit for every person, and recommendations are made collaboratively based on your needs, preferences, and clinical history.
A medication assessment typically includes a review of your mental health symptoms, medical history, current and past medications, family history, treatment goals, and any concerns about side effects or daily functioning. This helps your provider determine whether medication may be helpful and what options may be appropriate.
Yes. If you are already taking psychiatric medication, Awaken Mental Health can review your current prescription, symptoms, side effects, treatment response, and overall goals. Your provider may recommend continuing, adjusting, changing, or further monitoring your medication depending on your clinical needs.
Yes. Ongoing monitoring is an important part of psychiatric medication management. Follow-up visits may include reviewing symptom changes, side effects, dosage, effectiveness, safety considerations, and whether the medication continues to support your treatment goals.
In most cases, yes. Follow-up appointments help ensure that medication is working as intended and that any side effects or concerns are addressed. The frequency of follow-up visits depends on the medication, your symptoms, your response to treatment, and your provider’s clinical recommendations.
Yes. Medication may be one part of a broader mental health treatment plan. Depending on your needs, your provider may also recommend therapy, lifestyle changes, skills-based supports, coordination with other providers, or additional evaluation.
Most medication management sessions are 30 minutes. Therapy visits are usually 50 to 55 minutes long. Session length may vary depending on the provider, type of service, and treatment plan.
Treatment typically begins with a 60-minute initial consultation. If you and your provider agree to begin a course of treatment, you will make a plan for follow-up sessions. Session length and frequency may shift depending on your goals, progress, symptoms, and what is clinically appropriate.
The length of treatment depends on what you are working on. Some people come for short-term support around a specific issue, while others benefit from longer-term treatment focused on deeper emotional patterns, trauma, relationships, identity, or ongoing mental health support.
Your first session is typically a 60-minute initial assessment. You and your provider will talk about what brings you in, your history, current concerns, goals for care, and what kind of support may be most helpful. In some cases, additional sessions may be needed to complete a full assessment.
Our clinicians draw from evidence-based and trauma-informed approaches. Depending on the provider and your needs, treatment may include psychotherapy, medication treatment, behavioral and lifestyle changes, family or relationship-focused work, or referral for services outside the practice.
No. Many people begin treatment knowing they feel stuck, overwhelmed, disconnected, anxious, or unhappy, but they may not know exactly why. Treatment can help clarify what is happening and what kind of support would be useful.
No. Treatment can support people in crisis, but it can also be helpful for personal growth, emotional insight, life transitions, relationship patterns, stress, identity exploration, grief, burnout, and prevention.
A good fit often feels safe, respectful, collaborative, and useful. It is okay to ask questions, share preferences, and check in over time about whether the work feels aligned with your goals.
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy / KAP
Learn more about ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, including how KAP works, what to expect, safety considerations, group and individual options, and whether it may be a good fit.
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, or KAP, combines ketamine treatment with therapeutic support before, during, and after the medicine experience. The goal is not just symptom relief, but also insight, emotional processing, nervous system support, and integration.
Ketamine treatment alone often focuses primarily on the medication’s biological effects. KAP includes preparation, therapeutic support, and integration so that insights or emotional material that arise during the experience can be processed and connected to meaningful change.
KAP may be considered for people experiencing depression, OCD, trauma-related symptoms, grief, emotional stuckness, burnout, or patterns that have not shifted through traditional approaches alone. A clinical evaluation is required to determine whether it is appropriate.
Ketamine is FDA-approved as an anesthetic and is commonly used in medical settings. Its use for many mental health conditions is considered off-label. Off-label prescribing is common in medicine, but it requires careful screening, informed consent, and medical oversight.
KAP typically includes a medical and psychological screening, preparation sessions, one or more ketamine medicine sessions, and integration sessions afterward. Preparation helps you feel informed and grounded. Integration helps you reflect on the experience and apply insights to your life.
During a medicine session, you are supported in a safe and intentional environment. Many people experience changes in perception, emotion, body awareness, memory, or sense of self. The experience is temporary, and your care team monitors and supports you throughout the process.
Medicine sessions are longer than traditional therapy sessions. The exact timing depends on the treatment format, but you should expect to set aside several hours for the session itself, recovery time, and post-session support.
The number of sessions varies. Many KAP treatment plans involve a short series rather than a single session, often in the range of several medicine sessions with preparation and integration support. Your provider will recommend a plan based on your needs, response, and goals.
Yes. Awaken Mental Health offers ketamine treatment in both individual and group formats. Group KAP can provide a powerful sense of connection and shared support while still allowing each person to focus on their own internal process.
Group KAP takes place in a small, intentional setting with clinical guidance and medical oversight. Participants prepare together, move through the medicine experience in a supported environment, and engage in integration practices designed to help process and make meaning of the experience.
Ketamine has a long history of medical use, but it is not appropriate for everyone. Safety begins with screening. Your provider will review your medical history, psychiatric history, medications, blood pressure, substance use history, and other factors to determine whether KAP is a safe and appropriate option.
Yes. After a ketamine session, you should not drive or return to work immediately. You will need a trusted adult to take you home, and you should plan for a quiet, low-demand rest of the day.
Insurance coverage for ketamine-assisted psychotherapy varies and is often limited because ketamine for mental health is commonly considered off-label. Some parts of care may be eligible for reimbursement depending on your plan. Please contact us directly to discuss current payment and insurance options.
No. KAP is not appropriate for everyone, and it is not a quick fix. It may be a good fit for people who are open to deep therapeutic work, preparation, emotional processing, and integration. A consultation and clinical evaluation are the best way to determine fit.
KAP may be worth exploring if you feel stuck in traditional treatment, are seeking a deeper therapeutic process, or are interested in a treatment model that combines medical care with emotional and psychological support. The first step is a consultation.