Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP)

What is ketamine?

Ketamine is classified as a general anesthetic. In that role, it has been used in surgery for decades and has a strong reputation of safety. Ketamine is so safe, it’s often used during children’s surgery and for adults who can’t tolerate other anesthetics.

How does ketamine treat depression?

Depression is often treated with antidepressant medications. When these drugs work, they’re life saving, but here’s the problem: antidepressants fail to improve depression in up to 35% of all patients. You still have hope for recovery with ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. Dr. Lifschutz safely and successfully uses ketamine-assisted psychotherapy to help patients who haven’t responded to their antidepressants for a long time, even 10 years. You don’t need to continue struggling with depression. 

Ketamine very effectively treats severe depression and suicidality, but it’s most notable for producing quick results in patients with treatment-resistant depression.

Ketamine is a versatile drug that produces different results depending on the dosage used. For anesthetic purposes, a high dose is administered; at a low dose it’s a powerful pain reliever.

Ketamine has another exceptional use: It directly affects levels of glutamate, a brain chemical that’s essential for regulating your mood. In addition to restoring normal levels of glutamate, studies suggest that ketamine may also help repair damaged nerve connections in your brain.

Treatment-resistant depression develops when your depression doesn’t improve after taking at least two different antidepressants. When ketamine is infused intravenously it relieves treatment-resistant depression within days for most patients.

Ketamine works so well that the US Food and Drug Administration approved SpravatoⓇ for lifting depression in March 2019. Spravato contains a form of ketamine, esketamine, that’s administered as a nasal spray in the office of a certified provider.

What is ketamine-assisted psychotherapy?

True to its name, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) combines ketamine with therapy. When you come in for the treatment, you will begin by having a talk with Dr. Lifschutz and do some relaxation exercises. After that, you'll have a choice to listen to music or just relax. From there, you will take the ketamine either orally or with an injection. During the next 45-60 minutes, your brain will expereince ketamine, and it can take a variety of forms. The doctor will be there to support you, but many patients recall an out of body experience.

During the Ketamine experience, you can experience deep emotional issues. With his guidance, you will experience connecteions with your emotions thoughts and connections. You will see how your thoughts trigger emotions. With your new insights, you can drive results by vchanging negative patterns that lead you to negative thoughts.

During the third hour, you will gently come out of the Ketamine experience, and you spend an intehration hour with the doctor to apply what you learned to your life. This is different from IV therapy, where you speak about your experience and the doctor helps you to understand and process your revolations.

The doctor recommends having three ketamine sessions.

Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic, which means that at the right dose, it induces a pleasant dream-like state that helps you relax and allows your brain to retrieve memories and events. During KAP, you can access deep emotional issues and talk about them with Dr. Lifschutz.

With his guidance, you’ll identify connections between your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, and how they trigger your depression. With your new insight, you can drive results in your life by changing negative patterns.

Combining therapy with ketamine is the key to long-lasting results because you learn how to control your emotions and behaviors.

Dr. Lifschutz has worked with patients who have not responded to antidepressant medications for 10 years. With ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, he has witnessed amazing results, as patients shed their depression.

If you struggle with ongoing depression despite taking medication, call David H. Lifschutz, MD, or schedule an appointment online.