What is Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy?
Some people may find relief from depression, anxiety, PTSD, or addiction through traditional therapies and medications, but what if you’ve been trying such treatments for awhile without feeling sufficient relief? What if traditional medications or therapy simply don’t seem to be working for you? A groundbreaking new treatment is emerging, offering hope for those who haven’t found success with traditional approaches. It’s called Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP), and it’s rapidly gaining recognition as part of the next frontier in mental health care.
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy involves using the drug, ketamine, at a low, clinical dose in a controlled setting to promote relief from treatment-resistant conditions, including treatment-resistant depression, treatment-resistant PTSD, treatment-resistant OCD, and addiction. According to research, “ketamine produces a unique spectrum of altered states that are intrinsic to ketamine’s therapeutic effects. When these experiences are embedded in a therapeutic relationship, personal growth, inner healing, greater clarity, and better relationships may well ensue.” Ketamine’s unique and pain-relieving properties can help reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD, among other conditions.
For individuals with treatment-resistant mental health conditions, particularly depression and PTSD, ketamine has shown promise as a fast and effective option. In additional research, ketamine led to significant relief in social anxiety among folks who had not found prior relief. Emerging research also supports ketamine’s effectiveness in addressing chronic pain, OCD, bipolar depression, and addiction. A condition is considered treatment-resistant if someone has not experienced significant relief following trying two different attempted medications or therapies.
Ketamine has been used as an FDA-approved, safe anesthetic for more than 50 years. Ketamine can offer rapid relief for those struggling, often leading to a swift reduction in symptoms and a boost in mood and quality of life.
How does ketamine-assisted therapy work?
In ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, individuals receive a low dose of ketamine while being closely monitored by a trained therapist. The altered state induced by ketamine creates a safe, open space to explore difficult emotions and memories. In this state, the therapist guides you through the exploration of thoughts, feelings, and past experiences that may emerge. Typical barriers and psychological defenses are lowered during the ketamine experience, allowing access to memories and emotions without the usual mental resistance. This enhanced window of processing lasts for two weeks on average for one single clinical dosing of ketamine. This two weeks “dosing” window is considered the window of enhanced neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity references the brain’s ability to form new neural connections and growth. Antidotally, some clients of ketamine therapy notice notably enhanced “breakthrough” learning and growth in bilingual or trilingual language acquisition, electronics and coding, and art and music during and following the enhanced two week neuroplasticity window.
Ketamine and Enhanced Neuroplasticity
Research demonstrates chronic stress, chronic depression, or chronic anxiety literally actively causes premature brain damage through the expedited killing of otherwise healthy brain dendrtic pathways. Clinical ketamine doses integrated with therapy is found to literally grow new brain pathways through the promotion of neuroplasticity. This growth can facilitate profound insights, enabling you to process and work through aspects of discontent, stuckness, or mental or physical pain more effectively. Such a neural “re-wiring” can help folks better process past experiences, decrease the intensity of difficult emotions, and alleviate troubling symptoms, often leading to rapid relief from depression, PTSD, anxiety, and OCD among other conditions.
There are several important factors to discuss with your therapist before considering Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy. EMDR Center of Denver is excited to announce that we will begin offering Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy in January 2025. Contact the EMDR Center of Denver to schedule a free consultation to learn more.
More research on the Effectiveness of Ketamine:
Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy: A Systemic Narrative Review of the Literature
All Things Ketamine video by Tim Ferris
Ketamine: Benefits and Risks for Depression, PTSD & Neuroplasticity by Huberman Lab Podcast
Ketamine for Social Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Crossover Trial
Gessica Cross, LCSW
Gessica Cross has helped people find greater joy and healing from prior trauma, anxiety, and depression, as well as processing sexual and/or gender identify and life transitions. She is formally trained in EMDR and graduated with a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Illinois with honors. She moved to Colorado after completing a post-graduate fellowship in India in which she provided pro bono work among survivors of kidnapping, abduction, and human slavery. She has specialized in helping people recover from situations of trauma, depression, and anxiety for the last ten years. She is excited to work with you!