Psychotherapy and Ketamine: How Does This Combination Affect the Duration of the Antidepressant Effect?
Psychosomatic Medicine and General Practice June 30, 2026 Viacheslav Zaika, Yan Tytarenko
Combining ketamine with structured psychotherapies such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, behavioral activation, or automated computer training of implicit self-associations may moderately extend the drug's short-lived antidepressant effects in treatment-resistant depression, though the data are mixed. One study found no clear benefit of adding computer training to ketamine alone. The proposed mechanism relies on a ketamine-induced window of heightened neuroplasticity that could help consolidate new cognitive-emotional and behavioral patterns. Current evidence is insufficient to establish standardized protocols, and larger randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm how much psychotherapy contributes to prolonging ketamine's antidepressant efficacy.