Michal Klau-Stevens
(860) 233-6914
Ketamine-Assisted Therapy
Nothing seems to work.
You’ve tried antidepressants, and they don’t help much. The heavy feeling is like a black cloud around you that doesn’t lift, and getting through the day is exhausting.
Feelings of fatigue, lack of motivation, anxiety, stress, and overwhelm have been part of your life for years. Sometimes, the symptoms are stronger but don’t improve over time, and life feels like a struggle.
Tears well up throughout the day, and you can’t share the depths of your sadness, even with loved ones.
Specialized therapies, like EMDR and somatic therapy, haven’t helped either.
The therapies you’ve tried over the years have helped in the short term (maybe), but you haven’t had lasting results. You wonder if there is a glitch in your brain chemistry or if you feel like your brain needs some repair.
It’s time to try a different approach.
You are ready to explore a cutting-edge therapy to cut through the depression and get off the emotional rollercoaster.
Other modalities have not broken through your defenses, and you’re ready to take them down in the pursuit of finding healing.
At this point, you are willing to invest some extra time and money to see if this is the treatment that finally makes a change for you.
Ketamine-Assisted Therapy can work quickly.
Someone described this therapy as “taking the express elevator instead of the stairs.” It’s a good description and explains why, for some clients, I think it’s an excellent approach in the therapeutic mix.
For many people, a 6–8-week course of Ketamine-Assisted Therapy can make a substantial change in levels of depression, anxiety, and PTSD, moving them from high scores on screeners to lower scores, or even remission, in a reasonable period. Some people may need occasional booster medicine sessions to maintain improvement.
While mood changes can happen quickly, sustained symptom improvement usually requires changes in the environment and behaviors. Those changes are best supported through engagement in traditional therapy techniques that strategize how to make shifts effectively and safely in one’s life based on the insights gained through the medicine sessions.
Some people, unfortunately, do not respond to Ketamine therapy. There is no way to tell in advance who will respond and who will not. Studies show that Ketamine-Assisted Therapy, in which therapeutic clinical work takes place while the medicine is administered, leads to the best results.
Ketamine helps new neurons grow in the brain.
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that provides a highly effective antidepressant and sparks the growth of new neurons, opening new neural pathways. Brain cells stressed or damaged from high cortisol levels, substance use, or other imbalances in certain brain hormones can regenerate new growth.
Therapeutic use of Ketamine over several weeks can open up new thought patterns and lead to lasting behavior change, mainly when used in conjunction with traditional therapy techniques to enhance insights, make meaning of the ketamine experience, and anchor new behaviors.
The mood boost starts quickly from the dosing session, then the medication continues to work, growing new neurons in the brain for about a week.
A typical course of therapy usually involves a few preparation sessions, then weekly medicine sessions for 6-8 weeks, and weekly integration sessions during treatment.
Ketamine-Assisted Therapy is a real trip.
Ketamine brings on a psychedelic experience to create rapid shifts in the psyche. The psychedelic journey can be transformational, allowing for insights that are not accessible through other means.
The non-ordinary state of consciousness comes from heightened brain activity that connects parts of the brain that do not otherwise communicate with each other in such a way. This activates heightened senses, thoughts, and bodily sensations.
Ketamine-Assisted Therapy helps people break through psychological defenses and “get out of their story” to see things from a new perspective. It can be an effective treatment for about 70% of people who experience treatment-resistant depression and can also be used to reduce anxiety and symptoms of PTSD.
Because the journey can be such a powerful experience, the gold standard of care is to have a psychedelic-trained therapist present during medicine administration. This takes full advantage of the non-ordinary state of consciousness to do therapeutic work.
What does this therapy look like?
Oral ketamine sessions take place either in my office or in your own home. If IV ketamine is indicated, the session will take place in an IV ketamine clinic. We will make sure the setting is conducive to a productive journey.
There are some physical and mental health contraindications for Ketamine, and the prescriber will have the final decision on whether or not you are eligible to use this medicine and what dosage is appropriate for you.
Before we begin with treatment, we will do some preparation sessions, which involve talk therapy and homework, and explore the issues that might arise during medicine sessions while learning techniques for navigating the psychedelic landscape.
We will work out the logistics of whether I will sit with you or you will have another sitter, and get clarity on issues around informed consent during non-ordinary states of consciousness.
Administering ketamine requires a medical session.
Oral ketamine sessions take place either in my office or in your own home. If IV ketamine is indicated, the session will take place in an IV ketamine clinic. We will make sure the setting is conducive to a productive journey.
During the medicine session, you will wear an eye mask and listen to a curated music soundtrack while experiencing your psychedelic journey. Either I or your sitter will be with you during the session.
The psychedelic effects usually last between 45 and 90 minutes. You should plan not to drive for at least two hours after taking Ketamine. Depending on the setting and arrangements, we may be able to do some therapeutic talk during the tail end of the experience.
We will work out the logistics of whether I will sit with you or you will have another sitter, and get clarity on issues around informed consent during non-ordinary states of consciousness.
Does this sound different from your previous experience?
That’s because it is different.
The logistics are a bit more complicated and may look different from what you’ve experienced in the past. It involves more than taking an antidepressant or anxiety pill each day.
It can be worth it because it can create significant shifts in just a few weeks.
Working with a prescriber is required.
Because I am an LCSW, I do the therapy part, while a prescriber does the medical management. I collaborate with prescribers to use different modes of administration, including IV, intramuscular, oral, and nasal, in clinic settings or at home.
Each mode of administration has benefits and risks and offers different experiences, challenges, and conveniences. We will discuss what might work best for you and fit within your budget and time constraints.
It comes with a bit of stigma, though. <em”Do you want me to do psychedelic drugs? Is that even legal? Wasn’t that shut down in the ’60s with the hippies? I had crazy trips when I did drugs when I was younger, and I don’t want to do that again! Didn’t Matthew Perry die from a Ketamine overdose?”
“Psychedelic Drugs? Really?”
It comes with a bit of stigma, though. “Do you want me to do psychedelic drugs? Is that even legal? Wasn’t that shut down in the ’60s with the hippies?
I had crazy trips when I did drugs when I was younger, and I don’t want to do that again! Didn’t Matthew Perry die from a ketamine overdose?” This therapy does have some misconceptions and stigma attached to it.
Let’s talk about all of that.
Ketamine therapy is legal in all 50 states and is generally considered an “off-label” use of the pharmaceutical medicine (many medicines are used off-label). Spravato nasal spray is FDA-approved for use with treatment-resistant depression.
As I mentioned earlier, Ketamine-Assisted Therapy is, in some ways, a cutting-edge therapy. In other ways, its use hearkens back to ancient indigenous healing practices. The controversies around it now get all involved in political, ideological, policy, and power dynamics that link to social control, pharmaceuticals, money, the War on Drugs, and more. It goes deep, Folks. I’ll be happy to talk with you about it to help you decide if it is an appropriate therapy.
Therapeutic use of psychedelics is very different from recreational use. I place great importance on set and setting, preparation, integration, safe access, storage, and use. Bottom line: Ketamine is a very safe pharmaceutical when used in a therapeutic setting with proper controls in place, and it is considered the next wave in psychiatric treatment, which has not seen much change since the early 1980s.
Call me to discuss whether this might be a promising therapy approach for you. The first step to feeling better is just a phone call away. Set up a free consultation, and let’s explore if Ketamine-Assisted Therapy could be your next step.