Ketamine is a safe, legal medication prescribed off-label to treat a variety of mental health diagnoses, including depression, anxiety and PTSD. It has rapidly acting antidepressant and mood-enhancing effects, which can begin to take effect within hours after treatment, and lasting for several weeks after. It works by blocking the brain’s NMDA receptors and by stimulating AMPA receptors, which may help form new synaptic connections and boost mood-regulating neural circuits. Ketamine has also been shown to enhance neuroplasticity for lasting symptom improvement.

Ketamine’s classification as a psychedelic is largely a semantic and subjective discussion. Clinical, academic, bioethical, and commercial entities largely disagree on the formal definition of “psychedelic.” Ketamine works on different parts of the brain than “classic psychedelics” (psilocybin and LSD). However, those who support ketamine’s classification as a psychedelic cite its neurobiological (physical) and phenomenological (mental characteristics) similarities to classical psychedelics. They also point to the similarity in client outcomes through various psychedelic therapy modalities in clinical research, despite a difference in neurological mechanisms of action. The most notable commonality between all psychedelics, ketamine included, is the promotion of neuroplasticity, which is considered a critical component of their therapeutic effect.

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy is a holistic modality in which ketamine is prescribed in conjunction with psychotherapy. All medical activities, including patient eligibility, ketamine prescriptions and clinical follow-ups, are done by Journey Clinical’s in-house medical team of psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners. Journey Clinical also matches eligible patients with a KAP-trained, licensed psychotherapist in your area for preparation, dosing journey and integration sessions.

Ketamine treatment has been most widely studied in people with treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, OCD, bipolar depression, anxiety and eating disorders. People with certain conditions such as psychosis generally are not candidates for therapeutic ketamine.

Therapeutic ketamine can feel like floating outside one’s body, pleasantly leaving your physical self behind. Some people gain a heightened sensory awareness; colors may seem brighter. The effects of ketamine, which most patients find relaxing. These dissociative effects can make you feel “far from” your body, and facilitate shifts in perception that can often feel expansive in nature. Your motor and verbal abilities will be reduced, so you’ll be lying down in a comfortable position during the experience. Once these effects subside, we’ll spend the remainder of our appointment giving you space to process and discuss your experience. While it may feel hard to articulate what happens during the experience, patients feel like the insights gained are clear.

Journey Clinical is a platform for licensed psychotherapists to incorporate science-based psychedelic therapies in their practice safely and effectively, starting with Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP). Journey Clinical’s in-house medical team takes on patient eligibility, prescriptions and outcome monitoring, while I take on the therapy. Their collaborative care model is designed to deliver personalized treatment plans to meet your individual needs and improve long-term outcomes

If you would like to explore the possibility of doing KAP with me, please book a free Discovery Call or email me at meg@meglear.com.