What Can You Treat With Ketamine Therapy?

Ketamine therapy is an exciting new avenue of treatment for many patients. For some, KAP has been a transformative treatment option that has allowed them to break free from the shackles of mental illness. But how do you know if it’s for you? If you’re suffering from depression, anxiety, or unhealed trauma, then ketamine assisted psychotherapy (or KAP) might be right for you. Let’s talk about why and how. 

Can You Treat Depression With Ketamine? 

You may be rightfully wondering: how is taking ketamine going to help my depression? Considering addiction, rising medical costs, and our preconceived ideas of recreational ketamine use, it’s perfectly reasonable to be skeptical of drug use. In reality, ketamine therapies are more similar to a one-time dose of a prescription antidepressant than a recreational drug trip. Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy has been shown to be effective in treating depression, especially in older people who have resisted other forms of treatment. Finding the right specialist can open the door to: 

• Seeing The Big Picture When You’re Having A Bad Day. Many patients who have undergone KAP describe a zooming out effect that helps to put their intense thoughts and feelings in perspective. You might think that this only occurs in-session while the ketamine is being administered, but with the right treatment plan, this perspective can actually become permanent.
• Less Fatigue. Depression can sap away at your energy until it feels like there’s nothing left. Ketamine therapies can help to reduce the brain fog and fatigue that comes part and parcel with depression.
• Changing Your Old Ways Of Being And Doing. Patients who have found success with KAP report a positive shift in consciousness. Ketamine therapies can help you find the tools to break old habits and make new ones. 

Can Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy Help With Anxiety? 

We live in a society that, in many ways, cultivates anxiety. I could spend the entire length of this article talking about all the things that add to our collective anxiety (car noise, poor urban planning, the subjugation of witches and medicine women in the 17th century leading to the establishment of the patriarchal medical establishment). Ketamine therapy can help your anxiety problems by: 

• Fighting Catastrophization. Ketamine promotes neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to form new connections and pathways. This may help loosen the grip of negative thought patterns and make you more receptive to new ways of processing situations without jumping to the worst possible conclusion and fueling anxiety.
• Thinking Positive About The Future.  Anxiety and depression often creates a negativity bias, and we tend to overlook positive possibilities. KAP, by promoting neuroplasticity, might help weaken these negative pathways and strengthen more optimistic ones.
• Calming Your Nervous System. Ketamine blocks NMDA receptors in the brain. This reduces the over-firing of neurons associated with anxiety and promotes a more balanced state.In addition to that, the dissociative effects of ketamine during treatment can induce a sense of deep relaxation, which will allow your nervous system to calm down. 

How Can Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy Affect Addiction? 

A history of addiction doesn’t preclude you from the benefits of ketamine therapy. You might be surprised to learn that ketamine therapy has shown a lot of promise in the treatment of addiction. Patients have reported progress with: 

• Getting Sober. Many active alcoholics have reported a cessation of alcohol abuse after KAP treatment. If you’re an addict who’s struggling to get sober, KAP could be a new option for you. 
• Maintaining Sobriety. Addicts who quit their drug use after Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy have shown relatively low rates of relapse in comparison with control groups. Although relapse into addiction and depression is still a possibility, that risk can be minimized with the guidance of the right counselor. 
• Curing Addiction Altogether. In some patients, their problematic alcohol use was reduced instead of cut out entirely. The perspective shifting power of ketamine assisted psychotherapy can have a persistent effect on even our most deeply ingrained dysfunctions. 

Who Offers Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy In St. Petersburg? 

Integrative Counsel now offers Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy in St Petersburg, Florida in partnership with Journey Clinical. Integrative Counsel takes on the therapeutic portion of the experience, giving you the space to set intentions before you take the ketamine, and to help you work through and integrate what comes up during your dosing session. Journey Clinical’s medical team supports the medical aspects, which includes determining if you are eligible for Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, creating a treatment plan just for you, prescribing Ketamine and keeping an eye on your outcomes. 

Click here to learn more about our KAP offering.

Sunny Ebsary is an educator, multi-modal artist, and writer specializing in the intersection of myth and mental health. Sunny’s writing walks the line between poetic and logical, giving readers a chance to interface with the mind and imagination. Sunny’s been putting pen to paper since he was a child, writing everything from albums, novels, and plays, to essays, interactive games, and of course, many articles! While studying both psychology and writing, he realized his real passion in life was helping others unlock their creative spark. Whether he’s leading a D&D game, directing a production, or diving deep into the brain, you can be sure Sunny will be ushering you toward finding meaning in your life.