Understanding Ketamine-Assisted Therapy and the Healing Process
Photo by: Maheshkumar
Healing is the experience of a return to wholeness. In the context of medicine, it can take the form of restoring functionality. In the context of relationships, it can be the process of repairing connection. In the context of psychotherapy, it is the recovery of a sense of self. Across all of its forms, there is a mystery to the act of healing. For example, why is the placebo effect so effective? What exactly is happening when a person chooses peace over years of resentment? Spontaneous remission is, by definition, unexpected and unexplained. Thankfully, we do not always need to know how healing happens in order for it to take place. Instead, our role is to be as present as possible for the process. To be present is to participate in examinations and assessments, implement lifestyle changes that support the healing process, show up for the challenging moments, prepare for recovery, and be open to the fact that there is no guaranteed outcome. In this way, healing is the practice of trust in action.
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP), and the larger field of psychedelic-assisted therapy, offers its own opportunity to put trust into action. After decades of clinical use as an anesthetic given to soldiers, animals, and children, ketamine was discovered to offer significant relief to people suffering from treatment-resistant depression¹ while researchers continue to explore its role in PTSD² and certain anxiety conditions³. Low doses of ketamine are believed to trigger the release of a chemical that promotes the growth of connections between brain cells. The ability to regrow weakened connections - a commonly accepted sign of depression - is believed to be one of ketamine's strongest antidepressant actions⁴. For many people, a single dose of ketamine has shown to offer temporary symptom relief within hours. When followed by planned subsequent doses and a maintenance schedule, the cumulative effect can last weeks to months⁵.
The science is promising and useful when considering the full experience offered by KAP. Along with its neurochemical function, ketamine’s dissociative effects are what place it in the pool of psychedelic-like substances. Similar to other psychedelics, there is an invitation to embrace what can be a dream-like experience of detachment with abstract time and sensory perception. While it is hard for science to explain how this subjective feature of the ketamine experience might contribute to its therapeutic function, it is also hard to ignore participants’ reports of a “psychedelic afterglow” along with positive changes in perspective on one’s life, relationships, and symptoms6.
Photo by: Polina Tankilevitch
As we continue to understand how ketamine works on and within us, the addition of psychotherapy can support the endurance of symptom reduction. Exploring thought and behavior patterns in the period following a dosing session, when the brain may be more open to change, can be especially valuable with the support of a therapist familiar with your history and goals. The feelings, thoughts, and insights that might emerge in the long-awaited absence of symptoms can feel profound. The support of a person trained in the process of relating insight to values-aligned choices can help turn biochemical changes into long-lasting lifestyle changes. And before ketamine enters the picture, it is important to talk with a therapist who can answer questions, explore any fears or worries, discuss goals, and walk you through the process for as many sessions as necessary.
Whether or not your process of healing includes ketamine, it is important to stay informed and aware of your options. It is then a matter of deciding which option inspires you to put your trust into action. For what are you willing to show up with the informed hope for positive change?
Sources
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/668195
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20451253211056743
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/chapter/bookseries/abs/pii/S105435892030020X
https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.2018.18070834
Curious about Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy?
If you’re interested in learning more about how KAP works, who it may be appropriate for, and what the process can look like at Liberation-Based Therapy, explore our Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy services and our approach to collaborative care.
Tatille Jackson, MFT-LP, supports clients in deepening their relationship with themselves, others, and the life transitions that shape them. Her work centers self-esteem, anxiety, personal growth, trauma, relationships, communication, and Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy. Grounded in discernment, emotional safety, and presence, Tatille helps clients move toward greater self-understanding, steadiness, and connection.
