Ketamine therapy
Why do we treat with ketamine?
Confirmed safety
Ketamine is a drug commonly used in pediatric and adult anaesthesiology, in dentistry, and for pain control. Its safety for humans is confirmed.
Treatment effectiveness up to 70%
The efficacy of ketamine in the treatment of depression is documented by many scientific studies. In 30–70 % of treated patients it takes effect within one week of administration. In recent years, ketamine therapy has expanded to include other indications as well.
Rapid antidepressant effect
In up to half of the people who respond to ketamine therapy, the effect sets in on the day of administration and lasts about 3–10 days. The aim of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is to substantially prolong the duration of this effect through psychotherapeutic work.
New hope for treatment-resistant disorders
KAT has been shown to work in people for whom previous treatments have proved to be less effective or completely without effect.
The Healing State of Expanded Consciousness
It provides insight into mental contents that are difficult to access in conventional therapy (e.g. unconscious processes, old memories, unmet needs, etc.) and assists in their processing and healing.
Wide range of treatment indications
In recent years, treatment has expanded to include indications other than depression: anxiety disorders, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Pharmacological extension
of psychotherapy
Our method of working with ketamine is called ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy combines the benefits of psychotherapeutic treatment with the pharmacological effects of ketamine, primarily its antidepressant and anxiolytic properties. The resulting synergy helps fully exploit the potential of ketamine and, conversely, significantly enhances the psychotherapeutic process. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is therefore pharmacologically assisted psychotherapy, i.e. an extension of psychotherapy. As such, it is suitable for a wide range of mental health problems.
We know from experience that even for clients who are already in long-term psychotherapy, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy can lead to significant insights and breakthroughs that they can use in their future psychotherapeutic work.
State of expanded consciousness
fosters long-term change
In contrast to conventional psychotherapy, ketamine allows the client to experience an expanded consciousness – a state of altered perception, thought and experience. According to a growing body of scientific research, this state allows insight into the dysfunctional psychological mechanisms underlying mental illness and their gradual change.
It provides insight into mental contents that are difficult to access in conventional therapy (e.g. unconscious processes, old memories, unmet needs, etc.) and assists in their processing and healing. In other words, it helps us discover who we really are.
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is therefore an effective means of augmenting psychotherapy and facilitating long-term change, which is something ketamine alone usually cannot provide.
Effects of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy
What does the treatment help with?
In the field of mental health, ketamine is currently used as an off-label therapy. This means that the drug may be used for indications other than its primary purpose (in the Czech Republic, this is only general anesthesia and analgesia in the case of ketamine). Such use is regulated by law and is permitted on the basis of comprehensive scientific evidence for each individual indication.
This is in line with our focus on clients who have tried other treatments for their condition in the past (e.g. psychotherapy and/or pharmacotherapy).
Depression and depressive spectrum disorders
Ketamine-assisted treatment can be effective even in cases of treatment-resistant depression.
Anxiety disorders and OCD
These include social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and others.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Clients suffering from PTSD can also greatly benefit from ketamine-assisted treatment.
Mental anorexia and mental bulimia
Eating disorders are also something ketamine-assisted therapy can help with.
Ketamine-assisted therapy
The psychotherapeutic framework is an essential part of the treatment process in ketamine-assisted therapy. However, since the need for psychotherapy varies widely from person to person, we offer two different approaches to treatment:
Some clients derive the greatest benefit from therapeutic processing of the ketamine experience. For them, we use an approach in which the ketamine experience is preceded and followed by multiple therapy sessions.
Some clients benefit primarily from the pharmacological effects of ketamine. In these cases, we use an approach that involves multiple ketamine sessions.
The doctor will discuss these options and the results of the examinations in detail with the client, and together they will choose the most suitable treatment.
Full course of ketamine-assisted therapy
Detailed course of therapy01
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Initial online interview
The first step for anyone interested in ketamine-assisted therapy is an initial online appointment. During the call, we will discuss the client's expectations and answer any questions.
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Comprehensive psychiatric evaluation
Before starting ketamine-assisted therapy, each client must undergo a comprehensive psychiatric assessment by our psychiatrist.
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Physical examination
To ensure that ketamine-assisted therapy is a safe choice for the client, a physical examination with blood sampling and heart tests (echocardiography or ECG) is required.
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Ketamine-assisted therapy
The ketamine-assisted treatment itself is a series of at least five sessions consisting of preparation sessions, ketamine session, and integration sessions.
Team of world-class professionals
We are proud that our therapists are almost the only ones in the Czech Republic and among the select few hundred people worldwide to have completed official training in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, mostly from abroad. Some of the most important training programs include:
I felt that a change had been set in motion. I learned to let go of things and go with the flow.
