Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP): Patient Demographics, Clinical Data and Outcomes in Three Large Practices Administering Ketamine with Psychotherapy

Ketamine, the only legal psychedelic medicine for mental health, is typically given intravenously for treatment-resistant depression without psychotherapy, viewing its psychedelic effects as side effects. The authors argue it can benefit a wider range of patients when combined with psychotherapy, using its psychedelic properties without IV access, and its safety supports office or supervised at-home use. They describe Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) as a tailored method and present demographic and outcome data from 235 patients. Findings suggest KAP effectively decreases depression and anxiety in private practice, especially for older patients and those with severe symptoms.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Currently, ketamine is the only legal psychedelic medicine available to mental health providers for the treatment of emotional suffering. Over the past several years, ketamine has come into psychiatric use as an intervention for treatment resistant depression (TRD), administered intravenously without a psychotherapeutic component. In these settings, ketamine's psychedelic effects are viewed as undesirable "side effects." In contrast, we believe ketamine can benefit patients with a wide variety of diagnoses when administered with psychotherapy and using its psychedelic properties without need for intravenous (IV) access. Its proven safety over decades of use makes it ideal for office and supervised at-home use. The unique experience that ketamine facilitates with its biological, experiential, and psychological impacts has been tailored to optimize office-based treatment evolving into a method that we call Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP). This article is the first to explore KAP within an analytical framework examining three distinct practices that use similar methods. Here, we present demographic and outcome data from 235 patients. Our findings suggest that KAP is an effective method for decreasing depression and anxiety in a private practice setting, especially for older patients and those with severe symptom burden.