Ketamine Assisted Therapy

Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy

Ketamine has been long regarded as a psychedelic and only that. However, long before its recreational uses, it was used by anesthetists and psychologists to treat pain, used as anesthesia medication, and more recently to fight depression. Even so, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy was a relatively little-known treatment option until recently.

In recent years, ketamine-assisted therapy has gained popularity as a promising treatment for various mental health conditions. More accurately, the efficacy of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy has been explored in more depth. The results are enough to turn the tide in favour of this medication.

At Victoria Wellness, we believe in providing the best possible options to our patients. As such, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is offered to our clients in a safe and comfortable environment, an ideal setting for therapy sessions and mental healing.  Please note, assessment and provision of this therapy is provided by our partner Ketamine Health & Wellness.  It is not conducted by or on-site at Victoria Wellness.

However, before you choose to get the treatment, it is a good idea to learn more about ketamine and KITE.

What is Ketamine?

Ketamine is an anesthetic medication most commonly used in hospitals and emergency centers for pain and anesthesia. Medical professionals often opt for Ketamines due to their swift induction and pain-numbing properties.

Medically, the effects of Ketamine therapy is the “creation of dissociative anesthesia, amnesia, maintaining the respiratory drive, and sedation.” It is one of the earliest discovered anesthetic agents and has been used since then. In fact, the safety of Ketamine treatment was so relied upon that children’s hospitals used it during surgeries and in the ICU. 1

Ketamine works by blocking the N-Methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA), BDNF, and AMPA receptors. 2 However, the effect of the drug also causes synaptic plasticity.

It was first used in psychotherapy by a Mexican psychiatrist, Salvador Roquet, in the 1970s. Soon after, psychiatrists worldwide took an interest in the drug, however, the advancements were lost upon the arrival of newer medications.

Apart from taking away the pain, it creates what doctors call “dissociative anesthesia.” It is a state where a person goes through a “dream-like” state and feels disconnected from the environment around them. Due to this trance-like state, ketamine is used as a recreational drug. However, when used in a controlled environment and at the appropriate dose, it can be useful in stabilizing the mind and for treatment-resistant depression.

How Does It Work?

The treatments work primarily by blocking certain receptors and increasing the production of glutamate. Glutamate is a crucial neurotransmitter in our brain that is essential for learning and memory.

It wasn’t until a few years ago that researchers found it worked as an antidepressant. Although doctors were already using it for treatment-resistant depression and as an anti-suicidal medication, understanding how the medication works explains how it has a far better outcome than other traditional drugs.

In 2020, research that was conducted at the University of Alberta, Canada, found that Ketamine therapy demonstrates its clinical effects within 2–4 hours of giving it. That in itself is amazing, but the key finding was in the duration. They found that Ketamine’s antidepressant properties last anywhere from 1 week (after one infusion) to 18–19 days (after repeated infusions). 3 The study also concluded that ketamine treatments worked on unipolar, bipolar, anxious/non-anxious depression, PTSD, and most major depressive disorders.

Ketamine-assisted therapy works using the dissociative effect. Most current methods give emphasis on the “set and setting” of the therapy. 9 Meaning the psychiatrist considers the patient’s preparedness for the therapy, mental health before therapy, and the overall environment to predict how patients respond to the drug.

Ketamine-assisted therapy works by altering some of the brain’s neurochemistry levels to help the patient get out of the constant despair and chronic pain. Most mental conditions work in such a way that it is difficult for patients to leave the mental spiral. This therapy induces a mental state dissociated from the body, which allows patients to receive the full benefits of therapy.

The brain’s AMPA receptors, which are essential for synaptic plasticity, are also activated. By rewiring the brain and forming new neural pathways, this drug lessens the symptoms of mental health illnesses.

When the patient receives a tiny dosage via IV infusion during a session of ketamine-assisted therapy, the drug starts its effects within a few minutes. The infusion is normally given over the course of 45 to 60 minutes and is monitored closely.

This treatment is an “experience-oriented” branch of psychiatric treatment. 10 In the researcher’s own words, “The patient’s experiences under (ketamine) drug effects can be considered meaningful and potentially insightful material, which can then be utilized in collaboration with the therapist to facilitate therapeutic progress” 11

This approach combines Ketamines and therapy to provide a unique experience. The out-of-body experience is key here since it allows access to deep states of consciousness, allowing the therapist to explore and work through underlying emotional issues that may be contributing to their mental health condition.

As the patient reaches a more favorable state of consciousness, the psychiatrist/therapist guides them through their condition using a variety of techniques best suited to the patient’s condition.

Another mode of treatment is using time after the period of acute drug effects.

This method is based on the fact that since the drug creates a duration of enhanced neuroplasticity (the time when the brain is more malleable or susceptible to suggestion), that allows for more accessible cognitive and behavioral interventions. 12

Using the effect of the medication to increase the benefits of therapy reduces the time required for complete healing, all the while smoothening the journey for the patient.

What Does Ketamine Assisted Therapy Treat?

Ketamine-assisted therapy is used to treat PTSD, Addiction, Depression, and Treatment-Resistant Depression. Practitioners use ketamine for anxiety, because it often leaves people caught in a tangle of confusing and painful emotions.

The antidepressant effects of treatments in our KITE program can have a positive effect on the stress response, traumatic memory, and physical symptoms of trauma. A recent study showed 75% of participants experienced improved mood four hours after their first session.

Ketamine for depression can be a useful alternative for “treatment-resistant” depression. For some, traditional treatments just don’t work. Clients may benefit from ketamine’s short-acting, long-lasting benefits, even after a single dose.

Research done with real patients also shows that about 44% of the patients with multiple co-morbidities and ultra-resistant depression improved after receiving six intravenous ketamine treatments. 4

Ketamines also work and are used regularly to treat patients with suicidal tendencies. It helps to increase both sleep duration and quality, as well as improving the circadian rhythm.

Surprisingly, Ketamine therapy also has a positive cognitive effect. Although a therapeutic dose of Ketamine creates drowsiness and anesthesia, a lower dose improves the patient’s cognitive ability. 5 This effect works on the hippocampus, which is also the site of many mental health conditions.

Ketamine has also been recorded to improve different domains of memory in patients with depression, including visual and verbal learning, attention, and processing speed. 6

An unexpected benefit of Ketamine treatments are its metabolic effect. Researchers agree that most patients with mood disorders also struggle with hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and hyperglycemia: all leading to metabolic syndrome.

These metabolic conditions are tied to high inflammatory reactions or high C-reactive protein. Depressive patients who have high C-RP are 38% more likely to develop metabolic cognition than others. Not only that, studies find that how the patient will respond to antidepressants somewhat depends on the inflammatory markers in their blood. 7

Ketamine treatments, in addition to the anti-depressant effects, also exert anti-inflammatory effects. Hence, it breaks the negative effect on inflammatory markers and reduces the risk of metabolic syndrome.

Lastly, Ketamines have become popular in mass media recently because of their potential in treating a variety of addictions such as cocaine use disorder (CUD) 8 and alchohol use disorder (AUD) 9

Ketamine therapy has been approved as a treatment for depression and drug-resistant depression. It’s also approved for use with anxiety, PTSD.

Ketamine for Depression

IV ketamine is well-known as an effective depression treatment. It’s helpful for reducing general depression symptoms, as well as suicidal thinking. It also helps people who struggle to feel pleasure, a key feature of bipolar disorder.

IV ketamine treataments can be a useful alternative for “treatment-resistant” depression. This means that even people who haven’t had success with traditional depression treatment may benefit from the method. It’s short-acting, and its benefits can last for a long time, even after a single dose.

Ketamine IV treatments combined with talk therapy allow clients to explore the emotions, memories, and experiences that tie them to addiction and the accompanying emotional and mental difficulties. Because of its effectiveness within just a few sessions, this therapy is becoming more widely available.

What makes our treatments so effective at Victoria Wellness is how they are intertwined with our evidence-based therapies and our holistic treatment process.

In conclusion, it has to be said that ketamine-assisted therapy has redefined how we view psychotherapy. With the help of safe, non-addictive drugs like Ketamine, our therapists help our patients face their mental health challenges with strength, integrity, and confidence.

What Are The Benefits?

From our discussion above, it’s apparent that ketamine is an effective drug of choice to treat mood disorders, depression, PTSD, addictions, bipolar disease, and other mental health conditions, especially when combined with therapy.

Here are the benefits of ketamine-assisted therapy over other therapeutic options:

  • Privacy and comfort: Can be availed in the privacy and comfort of a private setting. The experience of getting the drug is often described as pleasant and dreamlike, eliminating fears and anxiety of extreme experiences.
  • Access to the subconscious: Allows us to peek into our subconscious without necessarily having to experience the feelings ourselves. In a normal, regular state, we have sets of defences in place. These defences are even stronger for those suffering from mental health conditions. Usually, when a specific emotion is triggered, pain, panic, or similar reactions are triggered. The treatment helps in somewhat bypassing that therefore increasing the depth of therapy.
  • Results that last: The effects can endure for weeks or even months after the initial dose, unlike standard antidepressants, which can take several weeks to start functioning.
  • Safe and reliable: People with mental health disorders have a safe and effective treatment option in ketamine-assisted therapy. It has received substantial research and has proven to be successful in easing anxiety, and depressive symptoms. A growing body of research supports the use of ketamines (delivered intravenously) for PTSD. The anti-anxiety and antidepressant effects can have a positive effect on the stress response, traumatic memory, and physical symptoms of trauma.  A study showed 75% improved their mood 4 hours after their first session.
  • Ketamine Therapy for Depression: IV Ketamine is well-known as an effective depression treatment. It’s helpful for reducing general depression symptoms, as well as suicidal thinking. It also helps people who struggle to feel pleasure, a key feature of bipolar disorder.
  • Treatment Resistant Depression: IV Ketamine can be a useful alternative for “treatment-resistant” depression (TRD). This means that even people who haven’t had success with traditional depression treatment may benefit from the method.
  • Increased Quality of Life: By lowering the symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD, ketamine-assisted therapy can increase the quality of life for persons with mental health issues. This can result in better communication between people, more output, and an overall higher quality of life.

Why Ketamine Integrated Therapy Experience? (KITE)

Any good therapy is better than none of course. Our in-patient, residential treatment program offers an immersive, retreat-like experience. Our program helps you reset, practice, and be totally free to focus on yourself, without the usual people, places, and distractions.

The combination of our holistic techniques, evidence-based methods, along with Ketamine-assisted therapy is a powerful combination that can be a very effective program, especially for those suffering from treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

Who Is Eligible for Ketamine Therapy?

In general, most people are good candidates for  ketamine therapy. A few conditions require special consideration and MAY make someone ineligible for this specific treatment, such as:

  • Uncontrolled high blood pressure
  • Certain serious heart conditions
  • History of Bipolar Mania, hallucinations due to schizophrenia, and severe dissociative disorders such as multiple personality disorder

Otherwise, most medications do not negatively interact with Ketamine Treatments, including antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and medications used to treat common health conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes.