Ketamine Therapy

What is Ketamine and why is It safe?

Ketamine is a synthetic pharmaceutical compound, classified as a dissociative anesthetic. It is one of the most widely used drugs in modern medicine.

Ketamine is most commonly used in surgical settings, including pediatric surgery, due to its excellent safety profile, particularly around breathing/airway management. It has also been utilized successfully in managing acute and chronic pain conditions due to its analgesic properties.

In the last two decades, ketamine has been increasingly clinically applied at subanesthetic doses as an off-label treatment for various chronic treatment-resistant mental health conditions, such as depression, alcoholism, substance dependencies, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, other psychiatric diagnoses as well as for existential, psychological and spiritual crises and growth.

How does Ketamine therapy help people heal from trauma and breakthrough depression and anxiety?

Ketamine is a fast-acting treatment for individuals with depression and has immediate effects compared to the 4- 12 weeks that traditional pharmacotherapy treatments take to establish an effect.

Ketamine is classified as a dissociative anesthetic, where “dissociation” means a sense of disconnection between mind and body, and from one’s ordinary reality and usual sense of self. The present understanding of ketamine’s mode of action is as an NMDA antagonist working through the glutamate neurotransmitter system. This is a different pathway than that of other psychiatric drugs such as SSRIs, SNRIs, lamotrigine, antipsychotics, and benzodiazepines.

Ketamine also provides a break from habitual patterns of thought that underlie mood and behavior, thereby creating an opportunity for learning new, healthier patterns of thought, and opening up the opportunity to rewire habituated neural pathways in the brain.

Why is integration a key component of the ketamine therapy process?

The administration of ketamine may be most effective when paired with psychotherapy. Our Ketamine Therapy offers a treatment plan that will prepare you for your ketamine sessions, encourage you to explore your inner world while within the ketamine space, and assist you in integrating your experiences afterward. Our work is rooted in our belief in the human potential for growth. This change is best supported within a structured, supportive psychotherapeutic environment with providers who are aware of your issues, hopes, desires, and struggles. Trust and safety with your ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) provider are essential to this healing work and growth; our work together before and after your medicine sessions help foster this connection. We believe all healing is relational and infuse this into each part of the KAP treatment process.

Your Experience Will Be Unique to You

Each of your sessions will be different. They evolve from your own being in relation to this medicine, and it is best to relax into the path that unfolds. Many enjoy the journey, while others do not. You will move through it, and there is always something to learn about yourself, your experience, your wounds, and your healing. Our work with you is to integrate this information into daily life.

Feelings to Expect Post Ketamine Therapy Sessions

Following your ketamine treatment sessions, you may feel improvement in your emotional state and a reduction in symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic manifestations. You may notice that you are a bit different after a ketamine experience, and that difference may feel liberating, allowing for new perspectives and behavior. These shifts may happen during treatment, in the aftermath, and/or in the days and weeks that follow. We are working to allow for a change in patterns of thought, emotions, and behavior that cause you difficulty and distress.

What to expect in your Ketamine Assisted psychotherapy treatment?

The ketamine experience is characterized by the relaxation of ordinary concerns and the usual mindset, all while maintaining conscious awareness. This tends to lead to a disruption of negative feelings and preoccupations

What to Expect with Lower Doses

At lower doses, you will most likely experience mild anesthetic, anxiolytic (reduced anxiety), antidepressant, and psychoactive effects. You might experience increased sensitivity to light and sound, as well as an altered sense of time. Some people experience empathogenic (heart-opening) effects in this dose range. This state may also enhance participation in psychotherapy, as defenses are relaxed, yet communication with others is still possible.

What to Expect with Higher Doses

Higher doses are more likely to produce psychedelic, dissociative states that are largely internal journeys away from the external world. Body sensations are greatly diminished. Such journeys may provide a more robust treatment effect, often assisting in the resolution of existential concerns, encouraging psychological growth, and promoting a positive change in outlook and character that we refer to as a transformative response.

Two to three hours after ketamine administration, clients can return home with another driver. Driving an automobile or engaging in hazardous activities should not be undertaken on the day of the administration, and not until all effects have stopped.