Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy: opportunities and challenges
Medical Research Archives January 1, 2024 Daniel Kleinloog
Ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic, produces antidepressant effects through the glutamatergic system and neuroplasticity, which can be enhanced when combined with psychotherapy. The dissociative state induced by ketamine should be viewed not as a side effect but as an opportunity for psychotherapeutic intervention. Augmenting psychotherapy with subanesthetic doses of ketamine yields a synergistic effect that increases and prolongs improvements in depressive symptoms, general well-being, and quality of life.