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By Ashley Barnes, M.S.
Reviewed by: Mark Hrymoc, MD
Ketamine Therapy
Ketamine Therapy describes a process where the safe and widely used dissociative anesthetic, ketamine, is administered to patients for therapeutic benefit. Due to its safety & short-acting analgesic properties, ketamine became the most widely-used battlefield anesthetic in the Vietnam War. As time has gone on and research has been conducted, Ketamine Therapy has been found to have outstandingly positive effects on mental health outcomes.
Ketamine Therapy is fast acting with many patients reporting noticeable improvement in mental health symptoms by the first or second session. Ketamine Therapy can be conducted through intramuscular injection (IM), intravenously (IV), or nasally, all overseen and guided by a clinician.
Treatment Applications
Ketamine Therapy can be used to treat a variety of mood disorders including but not limited to Bipolar Depression and Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD). Treatment-Resistant Depression describes “depression that doesn’t respond to antidepressants,” also known as treatment-refractory depression (Healthline, 2022). Someone with TRD may try two or more antidepressant medications such as Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and feel no effect. Ketamine Therapy has been researched to have a high response rate in Treatment-Resistant Depression with 70% of patients reporting improvement in contrast with only 15% for another oral antidepressant (Trivedi et al., 2006). If you have a history of recent heart attack, stroke, psychosis (hallucinations, delusions), or bladder inflammation (cystitis), you may not be a candidate for ketamine treatment, or you may require clearance from your physician.
Ketamine has been used as an augmentation agent for psychotherapy, as the treatment helps clients lower defenses and prompts more openness to change. This enhances the and can catalyze deeper and more profound progress in traditional talk therapy. In other words, Ketamine Therapy can help a therapy client find more ease and comfort in opening up.
Ketamine Therapy has been used to treat chronic pain by offering patients welcomed relief. Further, there is growing evidence that Ketamine Therapy can improve the clinical outcomes of those struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and substance-abuse disorders (SUD).
References
Healthline Media. (2020). How to manage treatment-resistant depression. Healthline. Retrieved November 30, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/health/treatment-resistant-depression
Trivedi, M.H., Rush, A.J., Wisniewski, S.R., et al. (2006). Evaluation of outcomes with citalopram for depression using measurement-based care in STAR*D: Implications for clinical practice. Am J Psychiatry, 163(1): 28–40. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.163.1.28.
Ketamine Therapy Center
Ketamine Therapy Center is a treatment branch from the Mental Health Center that specializes in ketamine infusion therapy.
Our doctors offer Ketamine Therapy Evaluations to thoroughly assess patients for ketamine therapy candidacy; from here, they collaborate with patients to develop treatment plans. Our office in the Cedars- Sinai Medical Office towers houses rooms specially designed for patient comfort. Our highly experienced and talented nurses are well-versed in ketamine infusion therapy and help patients feel comfortable as they move through the treatment process. Our therapists are trained in Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy and offer therapeutic guidance to enhance the psychological benefit of the treatment while simultaneously creating a grounded and safe space.
For more information, please do not hesitate to explore our website or contact our office!
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