A Pilot Study Comparing a Community of Practice Program with and without Concurrent Ketamine-Assisted Therapy
V. Tsang, Dragos C Razagan, P. Kryskow, Z. Walsh, S. Dames
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs September 1, 2023 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2023.2253798 via Semantic Scholar
Summary
Depression, anxiety, and PTSD are rising among healthcare providers, and conventional treatments have limited effectiveness. A 12-week pilot program combined a Community of Practice (CoP) group therapy with optional ketamine sessions for 57 healthcare providers. Symptoms were measured before and after the program. All participants showed significant reductions: depression scores dropped by an average of 6.79 points, anxiety by 5.57 points, and PTSD by 14.83 points. Those who also received ketamine had larger reductions, but the difference was not statistically significant, suggesting the group therapy itself drove the improvement.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Retrospective secondary analysis of a pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 57 |
| Population | Healthcare providers |
| Keywords | Medicine Psychology |
| Citations | 10 |
| Key finding | A 12-week Community of Practice group therapy program with optional ketamine significantly reduced depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms in healthcare providers, with the group component appearing to be the primary driver of improvement. |
Abstract
ABSTRACT The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has increased among healthcare providers, while the effectiveness of conventional treatments remains limited. Ketamine-assisted therapy offers a promising alternative; however, few have integrated ketamine with a group-based therapeutic modality. We report a retrospective, secondary analysis of a 12-week pilot of a Community of Practice (CoP) oriented group therapy program with optional, adjunct ketamine for depression, anxiety, and PTSD in a sample of 57 healthcare providers. All participants moved through the treatment as one group, with 38 electing to also receive three adjunct ketamine sessions in addition to the weekly CoP. Symptoms were assessed at baseline and pilot completion with the PHQ-9 for depression, GAD-7 for anxiety, and PCL-5 for PTSD. We observed significant reductions in the mean change among all participants, suggesting that benefit was derived from the CoP component, with or without ketamine as an adjunct. PHQ-9 scores decreased by 6.79 (95% CI: 5.09–8.49, p < .001), GAD-7 scores decreased by 5.57 (CI: 4.12–7.00, p < .001), and PCL-5 scores decreased by 14.83 (CI: 10.27–19.38, p < .001). Reductions were larger, but statistically nonsignificant, among those receiving ketamine. Further research is required to assess the impact of ketamine as an adjunct in group-based therapies.