Ketamine and Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy for Psychiatric and Existential Distress in Patients with Serious Medical Illness: A Narrative Review.
Journal of palliative medicine January 22, 2025 Roxanne Sholevar, William Kromka, Yvan Beaussant 10 citations
In patients with serious medical illness, ketamine may produce rapid but temporary improvements in psychiatric symptoms such as depression and anxiety, according to a review of nine studies and twelve case reports. The evidence is limited by wide variation in patient groups, treatment settings, dosing, and whether psychotherapy was included. Most reports examined ketamine as a drug alone, not ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP). There is little research on KAP for existential distress, though the findings hint that ketamine used within a psychedelic therapy model could offer advantages over traditional psychedelics. Current treatments for psychiatric and existential distress in palliative care are often ineffective or poorly tolerated.