Is Ketamine Assisted Therapy Right For Me? (3 Questions to ask yourself before you start Ketamine Therapy)
Traditional therapeutic practices, such as cognitive behavior therapy, have been around since the 1960’s and are effective at treating general mood disorders. But for someone who suffers from treatment resistant disorders such as depression or anxiety, it can be demoralizing trying all types of therapies and not seeing permanent results. This is what makes ketamine assisted therapy so exciting.
Ketamine therapy is a new, promising therapeutic approach to overcoming treatment-resistant depression, trauma, and anxiety. Ketamine assisted therapy combines traditional talk therapy with the consumption of ketamine, a dissociative medicine that allows you to explore your past experiences from an outside, open, and safe perspective so you can get to the root of your issues and heal the source, not just the symptom.
According to the former Director of the National Institute of Mental Health,Tom Insel M.D., “Studies demonstrate that ketamine reduces depression within six hours, with effects that are equal to or greater than the effects of six weeks of treatment with other antidepressant medications.”
While ketamine is not a one stop fix for treatment resistant issues, it’s showing promise as an effective tool in helping people permanently overcome the barriers that are holding them back in their life.
Here are three questions to ask yourself to see if ketamine therapy is right for you.
Have I hit a roadblock with my current therapy?
Have you come to a crossroads with your current therapy where no matter what you try, you just can’t seem to make any real progress?
Do you find yourself not being able to get to the root of your depression, trauma, or anxiety?
If so, ketamine therapy might be the approach you need to break through your conscious or subconscious blocks and get to the source of your issue.
Ketamine provides a dissociative experience that can help surface a lot of psychological baggage for people that is normally not accessible in our daily lives.
Having a trusted guide next to your side makes the experience more relaxing, while allowing you to glean new insights into the issues that you want to explore.
Do I have any conditions that would prevent me from participating in Ketamine Assisted Therapy?
Although ketamine is one of the most widely used and safe drugs on the planet, it is still a psychoactive agent that has its precautions for use.
Anyone who suffers from the conditions listed below should stay away from ketamine or at least talk to their doctor before using any form of ketamine.
These include:
Hypertension or high blood pressure
History of heart attacks or heart disease
Thyroid disease
Active substance use disorder
Bipolar disorder
Manic episodes
Schizophrenia or active hallucinations
What am I looking to accomplish with ketamine therapy?
Ketamine therapy is not something to be taken lightly or without respect for the process. You will be shining a light on regions of your psyche that may never have had a light shone on them before.
Sessions can be uncomfortable with difficult emotions and memories arising. But, it is usually these tough emotions that need to be confronted in order to heal and move forward with our lives.
You need to ask yourself if you are ready to face those shadow parts of yourself and are willing to do the work that it takes to process and integrate the lessons you learn from your ketamine sessions.
If ketamine therapy is something you feel you are ready to move forward with, I encourage you to reach out to me to book a consultation appointment where we can discuss your therapy in more detail and see if we are a good fit for each other.
If you’d like to know more about my approach to ketamine therapy, please visit this page here.
