Therapy group following a Ketamine treatment – a case report of a patient with resistant depression

A 44-year-old man with longstanding major depressive disorder who had not improved after multiple medications showed clinical improvement after six months of Esketamine treatment combined with a 30-minute therapy group held after each session. He reported a positive mood, fewer thoughts of death, and better functioning at work and home. He attributed the improvement partly to the group, which provided a peer group and a place to process the treatment experience. Vignettes from the sessions illustrate these changes.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Introduction There are some patients that remain resistant to treatment for major depressive disorder - who were treated with two or more different medications, and did not demonstrate any improvement in their mental-state. These patients can be treated with a new treatment – Esketamine. The recommended Esketamine treatment protocol includes 8-treatment sessions, each session lasts about two hours. In our clinic, we added a therapy group after each treatment. The therapy group is led by two co-therapist and lasts 30 minutes. The patients are invited to share their experiences from the session.ObjectivesWe will present a case report of a 44 year old man, that suffers from a major-depression for years, with symptoms such as loss of energy, recurrent thoughts of death and a decrease in functioning. He was treated with different medications, but there was no improvement in his mental state.MethodsFor the last six months, he was treated with Esketamine and also participated in the therapy group.ResultsAccording to content that he raised in the sessions of the therapy group and following conversations with him and with his close environment, we observed a clinical improvement in his condition – a positive mood, a decrease of the thoughts of death, an increase in his function at work and at home.ConclusionsHe reported that the improvement is more significant because of the therapy group – he found a peer group, a place to process his treatment experience and to share his feelings and thoughts. We will present vignettes to demonstrate.DisclosureNo significant relationships.