Ketamine-Occasioned Mystical Experience in Veterans with Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Retrospective Exploratory Analysis.
Kush V Bhatt, Jason N Compton, Em Ellerman, Jyoti Mishra, Dimitri Perivoliotis, James Pittman, Dhakshin Ramanathan, Andrew Bismark
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.) August 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1089/psymed.2024.0040 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractMystical experiences, which may have therapeutic value, occurred in about 17-18% of ketamine treatments among 60 veterans with treatment-resistant depression. In those receiving esketamine, more treatment sessions were linked to higher mystical experience scores; in those receiving racemic ketamine, higher doses were linked to higher scores. The findings suggest that ketamine can occasion mystical experiences in this population.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 60 |
| Population | Veterans with treatment-resistant depression |
| Interventions | intranasal esketamine racemic parenteral ketamine (intravenous or intramuscular) |
| Topics | Depression Ketamine Mystical experience |
| Keywords | Psychedelic |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key finding | Complete mystical experience was reported in 17.02% of esketamine treatments and 18.19% of racemic ketamine treatments, with higher doses associated with higher mystical experience scores in the racemic ketamine group. |
Abstract
Mystical experiences are powerful experiences that may have therapeutic value. Ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic, has shown potential to induce mystical experiences. However, little research has explored this phenomenon, particularly in treatment-resistant depression. We analyzed clinical data from 60 veterans with treatment-resistant depression receiving a total of 189 ketamine treatments. Veterans either received intranasal esketamine or racemic parenteral ketamine (intravenous or intramuscular). The Revised Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ-30) was administered following ketamine treatments to assess the occurrence of mystical experience. A linear mixed model was used to examine the association between MEQ-30 scores and several treatment-related variables including gender, age, treatment number, dose, comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder, and pretreatment depression rating scores (PHQ-9). Complete mystical experience was reported in 17.02% of esketamine treatments and 18.19% of racemic ketamine treatments. In the esketamine group, a greater number of treatment sessions was associated with higher MEQ-30 scores (p = 0.05). In the racemic ketamine group, higher doses were associated with higher MEQ-30 scores (p = 0.002). These findings suggest that ketamine can occasion mystical experiences in veterans with treatment-resistant depression. Future studies should further explore the mystical-type effects of ketamine as a potential contributor to its therapeutic effect in treatment-resistant depression.