Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is famously a difficult diagnosis to cure. Often, traditional psychiatric drugs don’t work, or don’t work well enough, and the condition can go on to have life-altering effects. For the past few decades, though, alternative therapies like ketamine treatment have shown promise, particularly when combined with other forms of mental health care. For one, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, or KAP for PTSD, has shown itself to be a useful tool in treating the disorder.
What is KAP for PTSD?
Ketamine treatment is known for its ability to quickly deliver relief to many people with drug-resistant forms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD. First used as an anesthetic in the 1960s and 1970s (and continuing today), ketamine’s uses for treating mental health disorders became clearer in the 1990s. Today, many people use it as a form of therapy. Likewise, psychotherapy, or talk therapy, has a long history as an effective tool for helping people to identify and alter difficult emotions and behaviors.
In recent years, KAP for PTSD has emerged as a powerful combination therapy that can help patients come to important points of realization and acceptance. During a KAT for PTSD session, a psychotherapist administers a dosage of therapeutic ketamine treatment before helping to guide the patient through their experience.
What to Expect from Your Session
Like a traditional ketamine treatment, a KAP for PTSD session includes an initial dose of ketamine. Patients can expect to receive that dose in a number of ways, including a lozenge, nasal spray, or intravenously. After the dissociative effects of the drug have begun to take effect, you might feel a sense of extreme relaxation, disconnection from your body, or even have a psychedelic experience.
The euphoric effects of the ketamine are mined to deepen your psychotherapy experience. During the remainder of your visit, your therapist will help guide you through difficult emotions and memories that may arise as a result of the ketamine treatment. Ketamine is useful, in part, because it lowers a person’s defenses, allowing a patient to explore feelings they would otherwise repress.
Following your ketamine treatment, you and your therapist will discuss what came up during the session and develop tools for dealing with the emotions and memories you would like to be more comfortable with. Psychotherapy will likely continue for weeks as you explore these new realizations and emotions that came up during your ketamine treatment.
If this combination therapy sounds like a good fit for you and your experiences, book a consultation with a professional to take the next steps in your healing.
Contact Bluewater Psychiatry