“Ketamine Plus Psychotherapy ‘Highly Effective’ for PTSD”
Original Author: Batya Swift Yasgur, MA, LSW – Medscape
A combination of ketamine and psychotherapy may present a new path forward for patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), new research has shown.
Researchers said that the treatment was “highly effective, as seen by the significant improvements in symptoms on multiple measures.” Ketamine, which is a widely used anaesthetic drug, is an “emerging treatment for a number of psychopathologies, such as major depressive disorder and PTSD, with a higher response than other pharmacologic agents.” The current study suggests that ketamine assisted psychotherapy may be a promising avenue for treating PTSD.
The systematic review and meta-analysis of four studies investigating the combined use of psychotherapy and ketamine for PTSD showed a clinically significant reductions in PTSD symptoms in the study participants. These results show a lot of promise for the future of ketamine being used alongside psychotherapy as a treatment option for individuals struggling with mental illness.
It is important to note, however, that these are preliminary findings. Much more research is needed to definitively conclude that ketamine confers sustained benefits to patients. The good news is that larger research studies are underway, hopefully paving the road for mainstream use of psychedelics in therapeutic settings.