Personality profiles and trauma history in ketamine therapy for mood and anxiety disorders: A latent profile analysis of short-term outcomes.

Three personality profiles—Easygoing Extraverts, Average, and Reserved Introverts—emerged among 184 patients receiving ketamine-assisted therapy at a Canadian clinic. Reserved Introverts had more severe baseline depression and anxiety. All profiles showed improvements in depression and anxiety one week after treatment, but personality did not predict differential symptom change. Patients with a trauma history experienced greater reductions in depression and improvements in physical quality of life than those without. Personality relates to baseline mental health severity but not short-term treatment response, while trauma history may indicate greater benefit from ketamine therapy.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Ketamine-assisted therapy is emerging as a fast-acting intervention for treatment-resistant depression and anxiety. However, individual response to treatment varies, and little is known about how personality traits and trauma history influence outcomes. This study investigated whether distinct personality profiles emerge in a real-world sample of patients undergoing ketamine therapy and examined how these profiles, along with trauma history, relate to baseline symptoms and short-term treatment outcomes. A total of 184 patients seeking ketamine-assisted therapy at a Canadian clinic completed baseline assessments, including the Mini-IPIP (personality), PHQ-9 (depression), GAD-7 (anxiety), and WHOQOL-BREF (quality of life). Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify personality-based subgroups. Paired-sample t-tests and ANOVAs were conducted to examine differences in symptom severity and change scores after treatment. Three personality profiles were identified: Easygoing Extraverts, Average, and Reserved Introverts. Reserved Introverts reported significantly higher baseline depression and anxiety than other profiles. While all profiles showed improvements in depression and anxiety one-week post-treatment, the personality profiles did not predict differential symptom change. However, participants with a trauma history showed greater reductions in depression and improvements in physical quality of life than those without. Personality traits relate to baseline mental health severity but not short-term response to ketamine. Trauma history may predict greater benefit from treatment. These findings support further integration of personality and trauma assessments into personalized care approaches.