What is Ketamine Therapy?
Ketamine therapy is a treatment approach that utilizes the administration of low doses of ketamine to alleviate symptoms of treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Ketamine therapy typically involves a series of sessions where patients receive intravenous infusions while engaging in therapeutic support, such as psychotherapy, to enhance the therapeutic effects of the medication.
What is Ketamine?
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic medication that was originally developed for use in human anesthesia and is now used off-label to treat mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and PTSD, when they have failed to respond to conventional treatments.
Ketamine, at doses lower than those used for anesthesia, acts as a strong antidepressant with sedative and pain-relieving effects.
What are the Benefits of Ketamine Therapy?
Ketamine therapy has been shown to provide safe, effective, and fast treatment for those suffering from treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, and PTSD.
Safe
Ketamine has been safely used as an anesthetic for adults and children for over fifty years. It is now being used at low doses to treat mood disorders. At Caledon Clinic, ketamine treatment is administered by an anesthesiologist and registered nurses, who will monitor your vital signs with state-of-the-art Masimo monitoring technology.
Effective
Research in the last twenty years has shown that ketamine at low doses has a strong antidepressant effect that is rapid and can be sustained for longer periods when combined with psychotherapy.
Fast
Ketamine is effective in reducing suicidal ideation and improving mood in a short period of time. Ketamine creates a rapid anti-depressant effect (as early as within a few hours of receiving ketamine infusion).
Who Can Benefit from Ketamine Therapy?
Treatment-Resistant Depression
Those who receive ketamine infusions for depression can experience rapid relief of their symptoms during their initial treatment cycle of six infusions. The remission of symptoms does not have the flat or numbing effect of other treatments. Remission can last longer if treatment is combined with psychotherapy, known as ketamine-assisted psychotherapy.
PTSD
Ketamine infusions have shown the efficacy of treatment for people living with trauma. It has advantages over conventional medications in terms of the immediacy of effect. Benefits may be felt even a few hours after ketamine treatment. It may take many weeks or months to develop the same benefits with conventional treatment. Furthermore, many patients experience intolerable side effects from traditional medications. When ketamine infusions are combined with psychotherapy, you can safely process traumatic feelings and begin your journey to healing that lasts.
Anxiety
Ketamine has been shown to provide relief from symptoms of anxiety spectrum disorders such as generalized anxiety, agoraphobia, and panic disorder. When combined with psychotherapy, the efficacy of the treatments is improved, and remission lasts longer.
