Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
“biggest breakthrough in depression research in a half century”
Are you looking for help with Depression, Anxiety, and OCD?
Ketamine is one of the most popular analgesics and anesthetic drugs used worldwide and is prominently listed as one of the World Health Organization’s Essential Medicines. It is commonly used in ICUs, emergency rooms, surgical environments, and in diagnostic procedures. However, near the turn of the century, clinicians began to notice an interesting side effect. Patients given Ketamine were seemingly experiencing a significant decline in depressive symptoms following their procedures. Continued research has demonstrated its efficacy in the temporary reduction of depression and other psychiatric disorders. In 2012, researchers hailed it as the “biggest breakthrough in depression research in a half-century”.
Today, Ketamine is quickly becoming one of the most effective treatments for depression. Those suffering from moderate to severe depression or treatment-resistant depression have finally found some relief. In addition, Ketamine has also been used to treat anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Love Discovery Institute has long been a proponent of several alternative therapies, including some psychedelic treatments, and has taken the undeniable efficacy of ketamine and incorporated it with world-class therapy.
What is ketamine-assisted therapy?
When integrated with a therapeutic process, Ketamine is quick-acting medicine that can also help individuals explore new perspectives, memories, and unconscious material which may come to the surface during treatments. This allows a skilled therapist to help individuals further explore their associations and belief systems that armor their identity and their conditions. Ketamine doesn't change our identity but it can help us understand and relate to it without the walls we psychologically attempt to keep up.
Are ketamine treatments safe?
Ketamine is a thoroughly tested and safe prescription medication that has been used to treat depression and other mental health disorders. When combined with therapy, a number of well-reviewed studies have empirically demonstrated that ketamine can help individuals deal with everything from anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other ailments that can affect their mental health and our wellbeing.
By itself, ketamine has demonstrated antidepressant qualities that can help individuals feel substantially better within days of their treatment. Ketamine's relatively immediate effects can help individuals shorten the length of time for antidepressants to become effective. Reducing the amount of time of a depressive episode is critical with acute depression or when suicidal ideation may be present. For many individuals seeking support, ketamine has become a life-saving alternative medicine that many other drugs or therapies can't match.
How does the ketamine-assisted treatment process work at Love Discovery?
We work with ketamine in the context and for the purpose of mental health healing. The protocols at Love Discovery Institute include a multidisciplinary collaborative approach to addressing depression. With a therapeutic goal in mind, we first work with our clients for a minimum of three, 50-minute therapy sessions. This allows us to better understand you, your story, and how depression affects you. The etiology of depression can vary significantly and may stem from a number of biological, environmental, and social factors. Before we can determine if Ketamine is appropriate, your therapist needs to understand how some of these factors contribute to and sustain depression. This also provides context to healing as many of these factors will generate themes and psychological modes of operation.
Following the initial sessions, we will determine if ketamine can be prescribed. The prescribing physician will assess and evaluate your treatment to ensure that all contraindications are considered and that ketamine can indeed be a suitable treatment.
Once approved, individuals will receive dose-specific lozenges in the mail. The patient will be scheduled for three Ketamine-assisted virtual sessions and will have a trusted personal guide by their side. Additional support and processing are available in between sessions. A patient can assist with unlimited group sessions and unlimited messaging is available.
Following the completion of the treatment, a follow-up therapy session will explore adherence to ketamine and help explore how the experience may be related to depression or any of the therapeutic themes previously explored. Follow-up ketamine sessions will also be evaluated at that time. After the session, most individuals experience a lifting of their depression within days, however, in most cases, individuals normally experience several ketamine sessions and a varying number of psychotherapy sessions before longer-lasting symptoms can improve.
The Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Process
Ketamine can be a powerful treatment but we believe it requires the upmost care. We manage this delicate treatment through several phases.
1
We begin all treatment journeys with 3 sessions of therapy to help us understand you. It’s important to develop a therapeutic relationship so that we can help you determine if Ketamine-Assisted Therapy is meant for you and so that we can help you process what you experience during and after treatment.
2
A consultation with a prescribing physician to ensure you are physically prepared for Ketamine-Assisted Therapy. Once our therapists have helped determine that you are psychologically prepared, a Ketamine protocol can developed specifically for you. It’s an integral part of the therapeutic process.
3
Ketamine prescribed lozenges are mailed directly to your home from our authorized pharmacy. We use a fast and secure shipping service to ensure your medication arrives within days of your scheduled treatment.
4
3 Ketamine-assisted sessions are conducted virtually with one of our therapists and with your trusted guide, in-person, in your home.
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3 additional treatments may be available as necessary.
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Additional support and processing is available in-between sessions.
5
A follow-up consultation and review of your healing process is evaluated. Together with your guide and prescribing physician, you will determine the level of progress and decide whether continued treatment with or without Ketamine would be right for you.