Trusted Ketamine Infusion Therapy in Evansville, IN

Information About Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy

Many people have heard of some form of ketamine therapy. Actually, ketamine began its career in pharmacology as a short-acting anesthetic for minor procedures. Its use waned because some people reported hallucinations from it. In terms of psychiatry, that actually was a good thing.

Because of the “side effects” of ketamine, its usage became somewhat limited in medicine. Some innovative practitioners decided to try infusing it intravenously into patients to induce an altered state, which basically bypasses the “default mode network.” The default mode network is the pattern of your thoughts running around, like a hamster on a wheel in the same pattern in your brain, over and over, and without you being able to break out of it. These thoughts can include past recollections of trauma, traumatic associations, as well as terribly self-defeating notions of self-efficacy, self-worth, and a generally despairing and passively nihilistic view of life.

Ketamine got a new lease on life with the introduction of SPRAVATO® - a nasally administered blast of esketamine (a slightly purified variant) right up the nose. This brand-name, stupendously expensive treatment, is FDA approved for serious, suicidal depression. The problem with it is that it is frightfully expensive if your insurance will not pay for it (thousands of dollars per dose). Then, you will have to have multiple doses in the first few weeks with a decreased frequency of dosing thereafter until a course of therapy is completed. This is very time consuming and expensive.

A less expensive way to receive ketamine infusion therapy in Evansville, IN is the original, classic way of IV infusions. However, this requires the insertion of an IV line and close monitoring during treatment. Finally, a very direct, cost effective, and therapeutically potent way to do ketamine therapy is with a single intramuscular shot (like what you get typically when going to the doctor and getting “a shot” for something). The difference is that this “shot” will gently detach you from your default mode network and provide an opportunity for contemplative reflection. In this therapeutic space people may enter an altered state that allows for psychotherapy - or in the case of using ketamine - “psycholytic therapy” - with the default mode network quieted. This allows the patient and the therapist to get at the root of the patient’s issues.

Many people have the idea, “It’s the ketamine that does it” in terms of treatment. It is not. Any healthcare practitioner could theoretically give you the shot if they had ketamine on hand. But the ketamine only permits an unhooking from your typical patterns of thinking and allows you to gain new insights and awareness, so you may address core issues and move from surviving to thriving. This needs to be done in a safe, monitored, and supportive environment.

We have heard of patients that have been infused with IV ketamine and then left alone in a dark room, sometimes with frightful hallucinations that are deeply disturbing. Some have been traumatized. For this reason, it is critically important to have a skilled therapist with you at all times during the session. That’s how we do it at Cady Wellness Institute.

Our nurse practitioner, Margaret Johnson, MSN, APRN, PMHNP-BC, is specifically trained in the use of ketamine therapy. Before that, she trained in multi systems therapy as well as other evidence-based treatment modalities, and is an expert individual and couples’ psychotherapist. Currently, in addition to working full time at Cady Wellness Institute, she is pursuing a fellowship in Integrative Psychiatry through the Integrative Psychiatric Institute.

In terms of ketamine therapy, there are three important factors when beginning treatment – set, setting, and intention. The important thing for a patient to do before a ketamine session is to prepare and “set the intention” regarding what he or she wants out of the session. During the session, the intention is the focus of the treatment.

We have seen dramatic and positive changes with this therapy, sometimes in as little as one treatment. It typically takes five to six treatments for a total course of therapy.

This technique is useful for recovery from trauma, complex PTSD, and severe, crippling depression. To get started with ketamine infusion therapy in Evansville, IN or nearby areas, reach out to us today.