Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy

Ketamine is a powerful drug traditionally used in anesthesia, but it has immense promise in mental health care. Dedicated psychiatrist Margaret Miller, DNP, LMSW, and the team at Greenwich Avenue Psychiatry in Greenwich, Connecticut, have extensive knowledge of ketamine’s benefits. The team combines ketamine with talk therapy for optimal results.* Call Greenwich Avenue Psychiatry for more information on ketamine-assisted psychotherapy or request an in-person or telehealth visit online today.

What is ketamine-assisted psychotherapy?

Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy uses talk therapy supported by the medication ketamine to treat psychiatric disorders.

Ketamine was originally approved as an anesthetic and can help treat chronic pain. However, five decades of clinical experience and research uncovered its potential as a treatment for psychiatric conditions.

Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is an emerging psychedelic medicine field that’s transforming mental health treatment. The Greenwich Avenue Psychiatry team is passionate about ketamine-assisted psychotherapy’s potential and leads the way with this transformative approach.

What role does ketamine play in psychiatry?

The way ketamine works isn’t entirely clear. What doctors know is that ketamine blocks the action of a neurotransmitter (glutamate) in your brain. Glutamate affects functions like understanding, memory, and learning. Ketamine affects a specific glutamate receptor called N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA).

In addition, ketamine increases chemicals like dopamine, endorphins, and brain neurotrophic factors that influence your mood. These effects help to boost low mood in people with depression and other psychiatric disorders.

Ketamine has two significant benefits over other medications. First, it can help people when other antidepressants haven’t worked. Second, its effects can be almost instant in some cases and usually far quicker than oral antidepressants (which can take 4-6 weeks to start working).

In a therapeutic setting, ketamine is a powerful tool for various mental health problems, including treatment-resistant depression. Greenwich Avenue Psychiatry’s experienced providers are highly skilled in delivering ketamine-assisted psychotherapy in a safe, controlled environment.

What does ketamine-assisted psychotherapy involve?

Ketamine is available as an infusion, where the drug enters your bloodstream through an arm vein or an intranasal spray. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy can increase treatment effectiveness compared to a standard ketamine infusion.

Ketamine-assisted therapy differs from traditional approaches that combine oral medication with talk therapy. During the crucial integration phase, the Greenwich Avenue Psychiatry team works with patients so they can make sense of their experiences and the new insights they gain during treatment.

The integration phase is central to your treatment because it promotes neuroplasticity — lasting changes in brain function and thinking that improve mental well-being long-term.

Greenwich Avenue Psychiatry is committed to harnessing ketamine-assisted psychotherapy’s potential, offering patients new paths to healing, improved mental health, and personal growth.

Call Greenwich Avenue Psychiatry to discover how you could benefit from ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, or request an appointment online today.

*Available starting in Spring 2024