Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy in Los Angeles: How this therapy can be effective for treatment-resistant depression
Are you suffering from Treatment-resistant depression?
If you have been suffering from depression, despite years of talk therapy, or antidepressants, you may understandably feel defeated or skeptical that any treatment can offer relief. If this resonates, you may be experiencing treatment-resistant depression which occurs when depression symptoms do not respond to the standard antidepressant or cognitive behavioral therapy treatments. Before you swear off therapy for good, check out this article explaining how Ketamine has been shown to be effective for treatment-resistant depression.
Ketamine Treatment for Chronic Treatment-Resistant depression
Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy’s growing field has shown promise for mental health conditions which have been notoriously difficult to treat. Ketamine has been found to be effective for treatment resistant depression, OCD, and suicidality. The current standards of care for depression and suicidality have been ineffective at creating lasting relief for clients and some practices border on traumatic. The current protocol for suicidality when a client is determined to be a risk of harm to themselves or to others is hospitalization. This can either be voluntary or involuntary where the client is often heavily medicated, and placed in the care of professionals they have no rapport with. The pathologization of suicidal clients was born from the desire to keep them safe, often proving successful in the short term, but leaving them traumatized and afraid of sharing their thoughts openly with mental health professionals in the future.
Ketamine, Statistically Proven to be Effective
Ketamine, a analgesic anesthetic, has been found to decrease suicidality after a 40 minute subanesthetic dose. A systematic review found that in several studies ketamine was found to reduce suicidal rating scores directly following treatment and in another review it was found that benefits persisted up to 10 days post treatment with effects strongest within the first 72 hours (Witt et.al, 2020). Receiving ketamine treatment does not require hospitalization which allows a client experiencing acute depression symptoms to get relief in the comfort of a familiar office and with care from professionals they know and trust.
Why Does Ketamine Work for Treatment-resistant Depression?
While Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy at Flourish Mindset is not an emergency mental health treatment, it can help to get you unstuck, if you are experiencing persistent depression. Because ketamine promotes neuroplasticity, it can improve symptoms of depression by restructuring negative irrational thoughts, helping you change your behavior, build healthy coping skills, and reduce a sense of hopelessness. Ketamine is safe for use with most psychotropic medications. This means clients do not need to stop taking their antidepressants in order to participate in ketamine assisted psychotherapy.
What is Neuroplasticity?
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change, grow, or adapt. When struggling with treatment resistant depression, clients often struggle to implement new healthier mindset and behaviors. These new thought patterns and behaviors relieve depression symptoms and allow for greater access to mental health services. Ketamine combined with integration therapy from highly trained professionals can help place the brain in a state of consciousness in which it is primed to receive the benefits of therapy and in turn create growth, and change.
What to expect in my KAP session in LA?
Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy provides a curated experience in which the client develops a relationship with their therapist and medical provider who work as a team. Flourish Mindset provides ketamine assisted psychotherapy in Los Angeles, California to help people struggling with treatment resistant depression.
First you will meet with your medical provider for a medical evaluation.
Next, you will meet with your therapist to have a preparation session, set goals, and establish a connection and intention for your treatment.
You will then have your medicine session in which your prescribed medication is administered by a licensed healthcare professional. You will receive psychotherapeutic support from your therapist during the session.
Last, you will have a follow up integration session within 24 to 48 hours of your medicine session to help integrate your healing and implement changes and growth to reach your goals.
A full course of treatment is between 4 - 6 sessions
No More Sterile Medical Offices
At the Flourish Mindset Los Angeles office, We provide a comfortable space, with a welcoming warm environment. We know the setting of treatment has a significant impact on the therapeutic experience. This is why we put care and intention in all the details of making our space feel calming, and healing. From candles, to adjustable lighting and carefully curated music, we create a full experience intended to bring forth healing.
Begin Ketamine therapy in Los Angeles Today
Persistent treatment-resistant mental health issues can leave you feeling defeated and unsure how to move forward. At Flourish Mindset our skilled team of therapists understands that each person’s journey to healing is unique and may require individualized care. If you are ready to Get started on your journey to relief from treatment resistant depression and take the next steps in your treatment with Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy follow the simple steps below!
Get to know our therapists here
Begin your new and exciting journey to healing
Sources:
Witt K, Potts J, Hubers A, et al. Ketamine for suicidal ideation in adults with psychiatric disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis of treatment trials. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 2020;54(1):29-45. doi:10.1177/0004867419883341
