You may not associate ketamine with treatment for depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and even addiction. The dissociative medication is mostly known for its use as a surgical anesthetic. In fact, its safe and effective pain-relieving properties have even earned it an “essential medicine” classification by the World Health Organization.
But in the last few decades, ketamine has grown in popularity as a therapeutic tool. And a robust body of medical research confirms its usefulness. In 2019, the first FDA-approved derivative of ketamine for medicinal use in cases of treatment-resistant depression. Since then, the benefits of ketamine-assisted therapy (KAT) have been further developed, and it’s now widely used to treat mental health and substance use disorders.
KAT is primarily used to help people who are either resistant to other forms of therapy, or who struggle to access their feelings during psychotherapy. Often in these cases, people find that ketamine therapy allows them to break through barriers to treatment.
The Sanctuary now offers ketamine-assisted treatment as part of our inpatient rehab program. If you’re considering whether or not ketamine-assisted therapy is a viable option for you, below is some information about our residential ketamine treatment center we hope you’ll find helpful.
Table of Contents
- Residential Ketamine Treatment at The Sanctuary
- Why Choose Inpatient Ketamine Treatment?
- Our Residential Ketamine-Assisted Treatment Program
- Ketamine’s Healing Power and Potential
- How Ketamine Affects Our Bodies
- Start Your Personalized Ketamine Treatment Journey Today
Residential Ketamine Treatment at The Sanctuary
At The Sanctuary, our therapists and licensed clinicians take a distinctly holistic approach to your overall treatment and progress. This means that we don’t just offer KAT as an add-on therapy. If appropriate for you, we’ll thoroughly integrate ketamine treatments into your individualized healing program. This way, ketamine is used in conjunction with the variety of modalities you’ll experience, to create an overall synergistic effect that enhances your ability to heal.
Four weeks is the standard minimum length of stay for most residential rehab programs, including The Sanctuary. And while it may seem like a long time to spend in treatment, the truth is that it’s actually quite a short time to make such a major life change. In these situations, ketamine-assisted treatment can be an incredibly helpful catalyst for the treatment process. It can help you progress through and resolve your traumas faster than you might otherwise have been able to.
Learn About Our Ketamine Therapy Treatment
Why Choose Inpatient Ketamine Treatment?
There are hundreds of outpatient ketamine clinics in the U.S. Administered in this type of setting, though, KAT functions as a standalone experience. Typically, you’ll receive your supervised dose of ketamine over the course of 40 minutes to an hour. At some ketamine treatment centers, your KAT session may include an accompanying therapy session. But then you leave and go on your way. You navigate the next several weeks, until your next ketamine session, alone.
“The problem with this paradigm of [ketamine] treatment is that it puts the patient in a passive position,” says Raquel Bennett, Psy.D. “The patient is not called upon to participate in their own treatment (except to show up for the appointment), and all of the ‘magic’ is attributed to the chemical action of the medication.”
According to Bennett, ketamine sessions can “help the patient talk about material that is too painful or shameful to discuss otherwise,” when used as an integrated part of the psychotherapy process. The benefits of inpatient ketamine therapy include increased safety, a supportive environment, professional administration, and more.
Our Residential Ketamine-Assisted Treatment Program
At The Sanctuary, we take great care to create a controlled and calming environment for you to safely experience your ketamine treatments. We design every aspect of our program to maximize not only the results of your ketamine treatment but also your potential for deep healing.
Our ketamine-assisted treatment sessions last for about two hours and include:
- A special intention-setting ceremony at the beginning of each session
- An intimate, relaxing, and comfortable treatment room
- Administration and supervision by licensed medical professionals
- Two to three staff members in-room to guide guests through their experience
- Organic, anti-inflammatory meals to assist your physical and spiritual detox
- Private meal times (on treatment days) with you and fellow clients receiving KAT
- KAT-specific check-ins with your personal therapist
- A maximum of six guests undergoing KAT at a time
Ketamine’s Healing Power and Potential
Today, biological and behavioral studies continue to prove the usefulness of ketamine as a behavioral health treatment. Ketamine aids the treatment of various mental health conditions like addiction, anxiety, depression, and PTSD. And the positive results of these studies have helped ketamine to become a much more commonly available treatment option.
Each session provides an extra opportunity to begin addressing and changing patterns. Some of our guests have even reflected that incorporating KAT into their treatment program helped them finally feel safe in their own skin. Others were able to feel self-compassion, self-love, and self-forgiveness for the first time.
What Are the Effects of Ketamine?
Ketamine, when administered and monitored correctly, has the ability to increase neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to form and reorganize its neural pathways. Ketamine aids in the production of proteins that can strengthen the brain’s neurons. These neurons can then repair broken “connections,” reroute around them and even form new ones.
When administered in repeat doses over a period of time (typically several weeks), ketamine helps your brain physically change and create new neural pathways, thus breaking old, harmful patterns of thought and behavior. One report describes the mental health benefits of psychedelics like ketamine as being akin to “rebooting a computer to clear out glitches, except when the computer restarts, it has a new outlook on life,” one that’s more “childlike, playful, imaginative, and creative—and less judgmental.”
That’s why KAT complements other treatments, like talk therapy, so well. Many clients find it allows them to break down mental barriers. This helps them to access the feelings at the core of their issues, without becoming overwhelmed. Ketamine’s medicinal qualities can have a positive trickle-down effect on all aspects of your being during treatment – from the mind and body to the spirit and soul.
Research has shown that ketamine-assisted treatment can lead to transformative results after just a few sessions. Compared to conventional treatments, like antidepressants, that’s a relatively short time period for a significantly impactful outcome. When included as part of a residential rehab program, KAT has great potential to help you maximize your time for healing.
Start Your Personalized Ketamine Treatment Journey Today
We understand that you, like so many others, may have already tried countless other treatments for your condition. If those treatments didn’t work for you, that doesn’t mean you need to give up. The Sanctuary offers ketamine-assisted psychotherapy in a holistic, science-based program to support you on your journey to living your most authentic life.
Contact us to learn more about our unique, residential ketamine-assisted treatment program today.
Dr. Forrest is a licensed Naturopathic Physician specializing in retreat-style holistic medicine, natural detoxification and cleansing, mind/body medicine, and regenerative medicine. Dr. Forrest brings to his work a sense of humility, respect, and compassion that is too often absent in the sterile, rigid world of modern medicine. He is deeply honored and grateful to be continuing this work as part of the community and healing that is taking place at the Sanctuary. [email protected]