Fear Extinction with Ketamine: Unlocking Traumatic Symptom Severity in PTSD, Anxiety, & Depression*
Ketamine has unlocked what years of traditional therapy has been unable to access, locked away behind fear.
I know the profound impact trauma can have on a person’s life. Deep-rooted feelings of fear, hopelessness, or shame can feel insurmountable and unchangeable.
Many people come to me feeling stuck in their mental health journey—despite trying various treatments, the patterns of dissociation, emotional dysregulation, and trauma responses often remain entrenched. If you have experienced deep emotional wounds or have long struggled with symptoms of anxiety and depression, finding lasting healing can feel elusive.
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) has proven to be an incredibly effective and transformative tool in the healing process—especially for those struggling with severe trauma or emotional pain.
Ketamine, a medication originally used as an anesthetic, has emerged as a groundbreaking treatment for mental health challenges, offering rapid relief for conditions such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, and complex trauma. Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy provides a unique opportunity to access and heal deep-seated emotional pain and unprocessed trauma.
What is Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy?
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy involves the use of ketamine to facilitate a deeply introspective and healing experience during therapy. Ketamine induces a dissociative state, which enables individuals to step back from their everyday emotional responses, allowing them to process their trauma or emotional pain from a more detached, safe vantage point.
Ketamine works by stimulating neuroplasticity—helping the brain form new connections, which can break the cycles of emotional dysregulation and trauma responses that have often been entrenched for years.
Only a subset of people respond to traditional talk therapy and until recently, there have not been many options for those who don't. If you have struggled with severe trauma, dissociative episodes, or longstanding emotional wounds, ketamine has shown tremendous potential in disrupting negative neural pathways and offering a fresh perspective on longstanding issues.
*Ketamine Therapy Safety Information
Ketamine is used off-label for depression and other mood disorders and is not FDA-approved for these conditions. It is contraindicated for individuals with pregnancy, schizophrenia, psychosis, uncontrolled hypertension, or certain cardiovascular conditions. Risks include elevated blood pressure, dissociation, respiratory depression, and rare side effects like jaw clenching. A medical evaluation by a licensed physicians is required to ensure safety and eligibility.
Why Ketamine is Different
Ketamine targets the glutamate system, offering a novel approach distinct from conventional antidepressants, which primarily act on the serotonin system. This innovative mechanism makes it a promising option for treatment-resistant depression.
A recent study (Wu et al., 2021) shows that ketamine rapidly enhances the formation of new neural connections (dendritic spines) in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a brain region critical for mood and decision-making. This process, driven by dopamine and the Drd1 receptor, begins within hours, aligning with ketamine’s fast-acting mood-lifting effects. By boosting the brain’s plasticity—its ability to adapt and form new connections—ketamine may help reverse the effects of depression, offering hope for those who feel stuck. Ketamine has huge potential to transform therapy and pave the way for future mental health innovations.
One of the primary challenges in treating dissociative disorders or complex trauma is the fragmentation of the self, where parts of the self become compartmentalized as a way to cope with overwhelming or unbearable experiences. These parts often carry their own memories, emotions, and identities, which can create a sense of disconnection and confusion.
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy helps by creating an altered state where individuals can access these parts of themselves more safely. In this state, individuals can work with these parts without being overwhelmed, allowing for the processing of fragmented memories and emotions. Ketamine opens the door for more effective integration of these parts and a pathway to reconnecting them in a way that feels empowering and safe.
A Collaborative Approach to Healing
My approach to Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy is collaborative, combining my experience in trauma, dissociative disorders, attachment wounds, and personality disorders with the powerful healing potential of ketamine.
In my practice, I take a careful and compassionate approach to ensure that each person feels safe and supported throughout the process. The integration of ketamine and psychotherapy provides a dual healing approach: ketamine allows you to access deep emotional material, while talk therapy helps reprocess and integrate those emotions in a healthy, manageable way.
Not everyone will qualify for a ketamine prescription. As a licensed family and marriage therapist, I do not practice medicine. In collaboration with skilled medical professionals, I offer ketamine-assisted psychotherapy to guide you toward healing from trauma’s lasting impact. I invite you to explore this transformative path and wish you strength in your journey to wholeness.
References
Wu, M., Minkowicz, S., Dumrongprechachan, V., Hamilton, P., & Kozorovitskiy, Y. (2021). Ketamine rapidly enhances glutamate-evoked dendritic spinogenesis in medial prefrontal cortex through dopaminergic mechanisms. Biological Psychiatry, 89(11), 1096–1105.
For details on this study or our services, please contact us.