To answer this question, we firstly need to consider the two distinct approaches that have evolved for treating persistent mental health conditions with ketamine – and how they are different.
Ketamine Therapy (KIT): This approach follows the traditional biomedical model and is typically offered at ketamine infusion clinics. This pharmacological approach is usually referred to as Ketamine Therapy or Ketamine Infusion Therapy (KIT), and is often overseen by certified providers in anaesthesiology or pain management. Patients are closely monitored throughout the process, including vital signs like blood pressure and heart rhythm, and typically leave the clinic approximately one hour after the ketamine administration. In this setting, psychotherapy is not typically part of the treatment plan.
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP): This approach takes a more interdisciplinary and psychotherapeutic approach. Therapists, psychologists, and psychiatric providers collaborate closely with patients before, during and after the psychoactive phase of ketamine administration. KAP focuses on helping patients to process emotions and insights that emerge during their ketamine experiences, and learn how to apply them to their daily lives.
One might surmise that the primary distinction between these two approaches lies in the inclusion of psychotherapy. While this perspective holds true on the surface, a more crucial disparity becomes apparent when we delve into the fundamental assumptions that underlie each approach’s therapeutic mechanisms.
While Ketamine Infusion Therapy (KIT) emphasises that therapy improvements primarily result from neuropharmacological effects, and resulting changes in biochemistry; Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) posits that these improvements are primarily mediated via shifts in subjective experience.
This article is not intended to undermine or oppose either approach; instead, its purpose is to begin by highlighting that taking a divisive stance, polarising KIT against KAP, could severely restrict both approaches from integrating the latest scientific insights into what constitutes effective mental health care.
Increasing bodies of research are suggesting that ketamine’s therapeutic potential lies in its combined neuropharmacological and subjective effects. If your clinic hasn’t yet harnessed the power of integrating insights from both perspectives, you could be significantly limiting the comprehensive benefits ketamine therapy can provide to your clients. If you are on the fence about this statement, please keep reading.
