Ketamine psychotherapy for heroin addiction: immediate effects and two-year follow-up.
Evgeny Krupitsky, Andrey Burakov, Tatyana Romanova, Igor Dunaevsky, Rick Strassman, Alexander Grinenko
Journal of substance abuse treatment December 1, 2002 DOI: 10.1016/s0740-5472(02)00275-1 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractIn a double-blind randomized clinical trial, seventy detoxified heroin-addicted patients received either a high psychedelic dose (2.0 mg/kg) or a low non-psychedelic dose (0.2 mg/kg) of ketamine combined with existentially oriented psychotherapy. The high dose produced a full psychedelic experience and led to significantly greater abstinence rates over two years, a greater and longer-lasting reduction in heroin craving, and more positive change in unconscious emotional attitudes compared to the low dose. Both patients and therapists were unaware of the dose given.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Double-blind Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 70 |
| Population | Detoxified heroin-addicted patients |
| Intervention | Ketamine psychotherapy (KPT) |
| Dose | 2.0 mg/kg im (high dose) and 0.2 mg/kg im (low dose) |
| Duration | First two years of follow-up |
| Topics | Psychedelic-assisted therapy |
| Keywords | Addiction treatment Substance abuse treatment Drug rehabilitation Recovery therapy Dependency treatment |
| Citations | 240 |
| Key finding | High-dose ketamine psychotherapy produced significantly greater abstinence, reduced craving, and improved emotional attitudes in heroin addicts over two years compared to low-dose ketamine psychotherapy. |
Abstract
Seventy detoxified heroin-addicted patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups receiving ketamine psychotherapy (KPT) involving two different doses of ketamine. The patients of the experimental group received existentially oriented psychotherapy in combination with a hallucinogenic ("psychedelic") dose of ketamine (2.0 mg/kg im). The patients of the control group received the same psychotherapy combined with a low, non-hallucinogenic (non-psychedelic), dose of ketamine (0.2 mg/kg im). Both the psychotherapist and patient were blind to the dose of ketamine. The therapy included preparation for the ketamine session, the ketamine session itself, and the post session psychotherapy aimed to help patients to integrate insights from their ketamine session into everyday life. The results of this double blind randomized clinical trial of KPT for heroin addiction showed that high dose (2.0 mg/kg) KPT elicits a full psychedelic experience in heroin addicts as assessed quantitatively by the Hallucinogen Rating Scale. On the other hand, low dose KPT (0.2 mg/kg) elicits "sub-psychedelic" experiences and functions as ketamine-facilitated guided imagery. High dose KPT produced a significantly greater rate of abstinence in heroin addicts within the first two years of follow-up, a greater and longer-lasting reduction in craving for heroin, as well as greater positive change in nonverbal unconscious emotional attitudes than did low dose KPT.