If a friend were to say that they were regularly using ketamine, most people would be extremely concerned. However, with more evidence emerging that drugs like ketamine and other psychedelics can be effective in treating mental health disorders, it is becoming a more common practice.
On April 26. The University of Illinois held a lecture for the Social Work Department on the use of ketamine and other psychedelics in the clinical setting. Presented by Mickensy Ellis-White, the owner of Mpower Counseling, PLLC in Danville, Illinois, the lecture covered the developing practice of using ketamine to treat mental health disorders.
Now, obviously, this in no way, shape, or form means that people should start recreationally using drugs to treat their mental health issues– but when administered in a clinical setting by a trained professional, these drugs have been proven to be a very effective treatment.
But what is ketamine? Often referred to as horse tranquilizers or “Special K,” ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that was first used as anesthesia to treat soldiers on the battlefield during the Vietnam War. Ketamine became a more favorable choice for anesthesia as opposed to phencyclidine, an anesthetic with a similar chemical structure, more commonly known as PCP.
Although the exact mechanism for how ketamine works in the body is still largely unknown, there is evidence for how it affects the brain. When used responsibly ketamine can stimulate the Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) that is responsible for the growth of new brain cells and neural connections in the brain. Ketamine also causes the release of glutamate, a neurotransmitter that supposedly increases neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to change, grow and adapt to new situations.
When administered, ketamine causes a person to feel detached or dissociated from their environment, as well as distorting their perception of sight and sound. This is used in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) to facilitate psychotherapy. During this type of therapy, a patient will receive ketamine through an IV during a monitored session. This can provide benefits like reduced anxiety and suicidal ideation, mood enhancement, and a deeper understanding of the self.
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy can be used to treat many disorders, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, OCD, personality disorders and bipolar I and II depressive phases (but not mania).
It is important to note that a person’s reaction to this type of therapy can vary. During ketamine treatment, some people can experience enlightenment, out-of-body experiences, and visual hallucinations, while others can experience heightened anxiety or unpleasant hallucinations. It is also important to note that long-term use combined with high doses can cause adverse effects, including an increased risk of dependency. And while the chances of developing an addiction from monitored ketamine therapy are rare, it is possible.
The research on the use of ketamine to treat mental health disorders is still new, with much more to learn. It will be interesting to see how this specific field of medicine evolves over the coming years and whether drugs like ketamine will start to become a more common treatment for mental health disorders.
For more information on upcoming lectures on MDMA and Psilocybin visit Psychedelics in the Clinical Setting (illinois.edu).
