Ketamine Treatment for Depression, Anxiety, Pain, and Trauma

Ketamine has been used safely as an anesthetic in medical settings for decades. In March 2019 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Ketamine for the treatment of depression in adults who have tried other antidepressant medicines but have not benefited from them (treatment-resistant depression). In addition to treating depression, we now utilize Ketamine in a multitude of therapeutic ways to reach those “stuck” in anxiety, pain, and trauma conditions.

Ketamine is a novel therapy that works differently and uniquely, by reducing immunity-compromising inflammation (that may be a casual factor in depression) and repairing damaged connections and pathways with synaptogenesis. Ketamine’s entropic effects also promote neural flexibility which produces brain health. And, the dissociative effects of Ketamine, experienced at expertly calibrated doses, creates a fresh canvas for resolution of psychological issues.

Ketamine Can Heal the Brain

Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers naturally occurring in the brain. They send information between neurons by crossing a synapse. Electrical signals are not able to cross the gap between most neurons so they are changed into chemical signals to cross the gap.

Neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine are dysregulated in depression, causing changes in behavior, emotions, and cognition. Neuropathways, the routes along which neurotransmitters move about the brain, also become damaged or shut down completely, making it difficult for neurotransmitters to operate in areas of the brain. Think of these systems as roads (neuropathways) with cars (neurotransmitters) on them – when someone is depressed, certain roads are damaged or closed off and cars are breaking down. This can cause quite a bit of blockage to normal functioning of the brain. High levels of chronic anxiety and depression can also flood the brain with a stress hormone, cortisol, which reduces the brain's  plasticity and operation. 

This is where Ketamine therapy can change brain structure.  Ketamine is a power agent of neurogenesis.

Ketamine has a unique action, in that it works in the glutamate system of the brain, where most traditional antidepressant medications primarily work in the serotonin and dopamine systems. This is important because glutamate is the brain’s most abundant excitatory neurotransmitter, making Ketamine able to reach previously unaccessed regions of the brain.

Ketamine operates on the brain’s N-methyl-d-aspartate (NDMA) receptors, which can help to rapidly restore neuropathways by growing new synapses for neurotransmitters in areas of the brain impacted by severe depression. Ketamine treatment can also clear excess cortisol and “reset” the brain.  Patients report increased clarity in thinking, creativeness, and calmness.

Ketamine Can Open the Mind

Therapeutic use of Ketamine is a method to help break down the boundaries of the ego, of consciousness and defensiveness, which provides a doorway to healing and growth through energy transfer and alteration in perception.

Ketamine has shown to be a catalyst that expands the mind in the experience of a new way of being. Entrenched ways of thinking and perceiving can be dissolved during the process of ego dissolution and sensing that one is a part of something greater.

The expansion of one’s mind often coincides with a change in perspective and opens a space for healing on a deep level. Whether you experience a mystical journey or just a welcomed feeling of distance between yourself and the depression, you can enjoy this opportunity to consider your life and its challenges from a new angle. You may be able to notice what it’s like not to feel burdened by your problems and appreciate the newfound space you feel. There is a lightness that comes when your true Self is separated from the pain of depression and anxiety. 

When the Self is traumatized it becomes splintered. These disconnected parts struggle to thrive and are often in conflict with one another. Ketamine assisted psychotherapy enables the fractured Self to become consolidated and whole.

This experience is the most powerful form of radical mindfulness, without all of the clutter of your conscious mind and ego. Explore wisdom and lessons you can glean from your internal source.  Open your heart and mind. Experience the relief. Enjoy improved emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical health.

Integration is Essential to the Ketamine Journey

At Lake View Psychotherapy we deliver Ketamine therapy in a very unique format to our patients.  Our collaborative approach, where a physician and therapist combine talents, enables patients to be accompanied by compassionate and caring guides on their healing journey into health and wellness. 

Secure support and meaningful integration are essential components of the transformational Ketamine journey. Therapeutic processing at every stage of treatment deepens, accelerates, lengthens, and amplifies Ketamine effects.

Our approach to intention is quite different than merely setting objective goals with the conscious mind. Instead, intention is manifested in preparation for the psychedelic journey. Entering into and being in the state of intention acts as a doorway and ushers the traveler gently into journey space.

Thoughtfully curated music acts as a “continuous carrier wave” that wondrously floats the traveler from beginning to end. Music tethers the traveler so that one is free to venture and return.

At journey’s end, skillful processing aids in consolidation of the awakened mind, heart, spirit, and body.

This is Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy.

Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy is Different

Over the past several years, many clinics have come into existence offering Ketamine treatment administered by IV (intravenously) without a psychotherapeutic component. In most instances, treatment is provided by medical professionals who do not specialize in behavioral health care. In these settings, Ketamine’s psychedelic effects are viewed as “undesirable side effects” and thus are avoided. In contrast, we believe ketamine can benefit patients with a wide variety of diagnoses when administered with psychotherapy and using its psychedelic properties, without need for intravenous (IV) access. We use oral lozenge and IM (intramuscular injection) forms of Ketamine administration and invite an altered state conducive for psychic material to be reached. We are also specialists in mental health care and have a deep understanding of conditions that affect the mind, heart, and soul. This is what distinguishes our Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy from the others. 

Recent research has shown that the powerful rapid reduction in depression symptoms associated with Ketamine treatment is directly related to the medication’s fast acting dissociative effects.  When researchers examined mediators of Ketamine׳s antidepressant response, dissociative side effects reliably predicted the most robust and sustained antidepressant results.

Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy is the safely guided experience of a psychedelic journey into wholeness and health, that produces the best results from Ketamine medication.

Cost of Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy

We do not bill insurance for K.A.P. or any aspect of this treatment. All payment is made directly to our office based on fees set.  You may choose to proceed with the usual course of treatment, which consists of about 6-8 sessions in the initial phase with periodic booster sessions as follow-up. Or you may opt for a partial course of treatment. We may also customize your treatment if your needs are unique. We will discuss this with you and develop a plan that is most likely to be helpful.  

In general, our fees are:

• Initial Consultation (30-60 minutes) COMPLIMENTARY (no fee)

• Medical Assessment (90 minutes) $250 each

• Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy Sessions (4 hours each session) $600 each

For most individuals, we are able to ascertain whether Ketamine treatment will be helpful within the first 3-4 sessions. If we determine Ketamine is not producing a good response for you, we may recommend further treatment be discontinued.

Your Luminous Minds Journey Begins Here.

To schedule a KAP Consultation appointment or to request additional information, you may:

• Self-schedule a Consultation Session on the “Let’s Connect” tab on this website;

• Email us at: lakeviewpsychotherapy@gmail.com;

• Call our office at (757) 552-0884.