Depression is one of the most common and difficult mental health challenges, affecting millions of people around the world. It often brings feelings of deep sadness, hopelessness, and a loss of interest in things that used to bring joy, making everyday life feel exhausting and difficult to manage. While treatments like antidepressant medications and talk therapy, such as counseling, help many folks, they don’t work for everyone. Some find that nothing seems to help, leaving them stuck in what’s called treatment-resistant depression. Treatment resistant depression is defined as depression that has not been fully managed through at least one attempted anti-depressant or consistent duration of talk therapy. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depression is the single largest cause of loss of a healthy life.
That’s where ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) comes in. This approach can offer hope to those who haven’t found relief through traditional treatments. KAP combines the use of ketamine—a medication that can create unique, mind-opening experiences—with therapy sessions designed to help people work through their struggles in a deeper way. It’s getting noticed because it can quickly make a big difference for those with depression, helping them see things in a new way and start to heal in ways they didn’t think were possible.
How Does Ketamine Work?
Ketamine works by altering the way certain chemicals in the brain communicate with each other, which helps the brain form new connections and become more flexible in its thinking. This is crucial because depression often disrupts these pathways, causing the brain to become “stuck” in negative thought patterns. When these connections aren’t working correctly, it becomes harder to shift out of feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or worthlessness. According to research, by helping the brain to form new neural pathways and connections, ketamine can break that cycle, making it easier for folks to move beyond their depressive thoughts and emotions.
One way ketamine helps is by calming down a part of the brain called the default mode network (DMN). The DMN becomes active when you’re stuck in endless loops of overthinking, self-doubt, or harsh self-criticism, which are often common in depression. This constant mental chatter can make it feel nearly impossible to break free from negative thought patterns. By quieting the DMN, ketamine creates a kind of “reset” for your mind. This gives you a chance to step back from those repetitive, unhelpful thoughts and approach your emotions and experiences from a fresh perspective, allowing for new ways of thinking and feeling to emerge.
What makes ketamine different is how quickly it works. Unlike traditional antidepressants that can take weeks to notice or talk therapy that can take many sessions to feel any difference, ketamine can reduce symptoms like sadness and hopelessness within hours. This rapid effect can be life-saving and life-changing for people dealing with severe depression.
When combined with therapy, ketamine helps you go deeper into your emotions and process them in a supportive setting with a therapist. This combination of ketamine and therapy not only offers quick relief but also helps create positive changes in how you think and feel, This makes ketamine a helpful option for treating depression, especially for those who haven’t found relief from other treatments.
What Is Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy?
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) is a treatment that combines the use of ketamine with traditional talk therapy. Ketamine, which was originally used as a painkiller, has been found to be very effective for treating depression when used in small, controlled doses. When someone takes ketamine this way, it helps the brain become more flexible and open to change. According to research, it allows people to think more clearly and reflect on their emotions in a deeper way. This makes it easier to break through mental blocks and be more open during therapy. This can help people process difficult emotions or past experiences that might be holding them back. By combining ketamine with therapy, KAP helps people feel better more quickly and makes it easier to create changes in how they think and feel.
While ketamine’s effects can bring rapid relief from depressive symptoms, these changes are often temporary without additional support. That’s where therapy comes in. During a KAP session, the experience created by ketamine allows folks to explore emotions and memories in new ways. Therapists help guide this process, ensuring that insights and progress gained during the session lead to meaningful, lasting changes.
A ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) session is a guided process that combines the effects of ketamine with the therapeutic benefits of therapy. Here’s how it typically works:
- Initial Assessment: KAP begins with a thorough evaluation by a physician with whom we work. This step involves discussing your medical history, mental health challenges, and treatment goals to determine if KAP is the right option for you.
- Preparation: Before your first session, you’ll work with your therapist to set clear intentions and establish a sense of trust and safety. This helps create a safe, supportive environment for the transformative experience ahead.
- Ketamine Session: In a calm and controlled setting, ketamine is administered. As the medication takes effect, you may experience a sense of detachment, deep relaxation, or heightened awareness. These altered states open a unique window to explore suppressed emotions or gain new perspectives. Your therapist remains present to provide support and guidance throughout.
- Integration: After the session, you’ll meet with your therapist to reflect on the experience. This stage is key to making sense of the insights gained and translating them into meaningful, lasting changes in your daily life. EMDR can oftentimes be utilized to bolster the positive effects of ketamine during integration sessions.
By combining ketamine’s fast-acting relief with therapy’s ability to foster deeper understanding and growth, KAP offers a unique and effective approach to healing both the symptoms and root causes of depression.
Benefits of KAP
KAP offers unique advantages over traditional depression treatments:
- Rapid Relief: Unlike most antidepressants, which can take weeks to work, ketamine may reduce depressive symptoms within hours or days. This can be life-saving for those with severe depression or suicidal thoughts.
- Deep Emotional Exploration: Ketamine’s effects create a safe space for patients to explore difficult emotions without feeling overwhelmed.
- Lasting Impact: When combined with therapy, ketamine’s benefits can lead to long-term changes in thought patterns and emotional resilience.
- Hope for Treatment-Resistant Depression: For those who haven’t responded to other treatments, KAP offers a new path forward.
Ketamine may be a good option for you if your depression hasn’t improved with other treatments. Contact the EMDR Center of Denver and schedule a free consultation today to find out if Ketamine might be a good fit for you.
To learn more about the effectiveness of KAP for Depression:
Ketamine: Benefits and Risks for Depression, PTSD & Neuroplasticity by Huberman Lab Podcast
Antidepressant Effects of Ketamine in Depressed Patients
Ketamine for the treatment of major depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis
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!