Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that induces profound relaxation. This drug works by blocking brain receptors, causing a euphoric feeling. Though there are risks associated with casual, recreational ketamine use, doctors have developed a low-dose medical protocol with a minimal chance of addiction.
Medical professionals carefully screen patients and administer safe ketamine doses based on physical and mental health, preventing dependency. They carefully monitor patients during treatment, help them maintain comfort and manage side effects safely.
Ketamine intermuscular injections can enhance talk therapy to help you discover repressed memories, thoughts and emotions. Receiving ketamine therapy in a safe, controlled setting can increase positive results and reduce mental health symptoms.
Ketamine treatment helps patients reach therapeutic breakthroughs quickly, allowing them to make progress and find purpose faster than they could with traditional methods. It’s also an excellent option for those with a treatment-resistant condition because it delivers results that would otherwise be impossible.
What Are Ketamine Intermuscular Injections?
Ketamine injections are safe doses medical practitioners use for various purposes. Ketamine can sedate patients before surgery and make people in hospice care more comfortable, but professionals also use it in integrated therapy to treat various mental health conditions and substance use disorders.
When ketamine enters the bloodstream, it produces the following effects.
- Mild sedation: Under the influence of ketamine, you will feel calm and relaxed. It can also cause temporary immobility.
- Dissociative experiences: Because ketamine causes people to detach from their surroundings, it may seem like you are floating outside your body.
- Pain relief: Since ketamine can make people feel disconnected from sensations, it also relieves pain.
- Hallucinogenic effects: Ketamine’s hallucinogenic effects distort sight and sound perceptions.
During ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, medical professionals administer controlled amounts of this drug via injection to provide relief from conditions such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder.
Your provider will thoroughly screen you before treatment to ensure you are healthy, gathering information about your physical and mental health history. You will sit or lie in a comfortable chair during treatment, and you may receive anti-nausea medication. Providers might dim the lights in the room to reduce heightened sensations. Some providers also supply weighted blankets, special playlists and zero-gravity chairs to enhance patient comfort.
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy combines ketamine injections with talk therapy to help you work through challenging emotions and memories.
Is Ketamine Addictive?
While professional ketamine therapy with a licensed practitioner is safe, ketamine can become addictive if people misuse it. Unsupervised self-administered dosing can lead to dependence or an overdose.
The Food and Drug Administration approved ketamine as an adjunctive depression treatment in 2019, making it the first FDA-approved psychedelic drug for depression. Professionals now consider it an effective way to manage several mental health conditions when used correctly.
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy occurs in a controlled clinical setting, significantly reducing the risk of addiction. Professionals control the substance dosage to help patients complete ketamine-assisted psychotherapy without becoming physically or psychologically dependent.
Benefits of Safe Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is incredibly beneficial in mental health and addiction treatment. Medical professionals administer ketamine injections during KAP sessions to treat patients seeking relief from conditions such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and substance use disorder. Consider the following advantages of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy.
Comfortable Exploration of Repressed Memories and Emotions
Ketamine modulates the brain’s glutamate receptors during a KAP session. Glutamate is a neurotransmitter that can stimulate different brain areas to improve mood.
After taking a safe, controlled dose of ketamine, you can explore thoughts, emotions and memories that your brain would otherwise block or repress. Since ketamine can induce a dreamlike state, it will help you stay calm and comfortable, even when discussing uncomfortable or painful topics. It lowers the brain’s defenses against repressed memories, making them easier to access.
Faster Therapeutic Breakthroughs
In KAP sessions, you can reach therapeutic breakthroughs faster than you could with talk therapy alone. You can further explore different subjects with your therapist and make progress in your healing and recovery.
Effective Symptom Management and Relief
A KAP session can significantly reduce pain, depressive symptoms and anxiety. You may feel prolonged relief from challenging symptoms following KAP sessions. KAP is especially helpful for patients with treatment-resistant depression because it provides support and comfort that traditional methods cannot deliver.
Importance of Safe, Professional Ketamine Therapy
Receiving ketamine therapy from professionally trained, licensed practitioners maximizes ketamine’s benefits and reduces its risks. Working with a licensed professional is essential because ketamine can cause the following side effects:
- Unconsciousness
- Cognitive difficulties
- Agitation
- Depression
- Amnesia
- Muscle stiffness
- Nausea
- Involuntary rapid eye movement
- Salivation
- Dilated pupils
- Tear secretions
- Prolonged visual disturbances
- Slow breathing
A trained provider has the skills and experience to prevent unwanted side effects, helping you safely complete ketamine therapy. During ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, you may experience euphoria, double vision, mild nausea and dissociation, but medical experts can provide care and medication management to maintain your physical and mental safety. They closely monitor blood pressure and vital signs, controlling side effects and maintaining your comfort.
Medical providers also reduce your risk of ketamine addiction by controlling the dosage and ensuring you stay conscious during treatment. A medical expert will tailor your ketamine doses based on your medication sensitivity, medical history and comfort level.
Receive Safe Ketamine-Assisted Treatment From The Sanctuary at Sedona
While ketamine is potentially addictive when misused, it is a highly effective holistic and integrative treatment in a controlled setting. Licensed medical professionals have the knowledge and experience to safely administer ketamine. A medical professional will carefully screen you before a KAP session, determining the safest dosage based on your health and medical history.
Receiving treatment under professional care and supervision helps you decrease depressive symptoms and work through repressed memories in a safe, comfortable environment. The Sanctuary at Sedona offers ketamine-assisted treatment as part of our holistic approach. KAT extends deeper than KAP, combining ketamine therapy and talk therapy with other treatments such as bodywork, energy medicine, breathwork and nutrition.
The Sanctuary offers integrated, holistic treatment because we believe treating the whole person is the key to successful healing and recovery. We combine effective therapies, curating treatment plans based on each client’s unique experiences, health conditions and needs. Contact us today to learn more about our ketamine-assisted treatment and how we can help you find hope and healing.
Learn More About Ketamine-Assisted Treatment:
- How Ketamine Therapy Is Used For Addiction
- Ketamine-Assisted Group Therapy
- How Is Ketamine Therapy Used For PTSD?
He is the Founder, Administrator, Counselor at the Sanctuary at Sedona. He has a BA in Political Science and is currently Senior teaching staff at Four Winds Society, an international school of energy medicine. His credentials also include being an Ordained Minister; a Certified Shamanic Breathwork® Facilitator; a Founding Member Society for Shamanic Practitioners; a Member of Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology; a Member of the National Institute for Holistic Addiction Studies. [email protected]