Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy treatment of chronic pain and comorbid depression: a pilot study of two approaches.
Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) January 1, 2023 Daniella Batievsky, Michelle Weiner, Shari B Kaplan et al. 8 citations
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAPT) may reduce symptoms in people with both chronic pain and major depressive disorder. In an observational pilot study, ten participants received either high-dose intramuscular ketamine before therapy (psychedelic approach) or low-dose sublingual lozenges during therapy (psycholytic approach). Depression, pain, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms declined in all participants over six sessions. The psychedelic group showed larger and more consistent decreases. No statistically significant differences between the two approaches were found, likely due to the small sample size. The findings suggest KAPT may be effective for this comorbidity, with the psychedelic approach possibly more beneficial.