Ketamine Might Help Alcohol Addiction by Rewiring the Brain

AND SO MUCH MORE –

June 20, 2021 – Clinics across the globe are offering ketamine infusions designed to help patients overcome addiction, and reduce the symptoms of psychiatric disorders. It’s making a controversial treatment choice, partly because this drug is commonly abused by recreational users — it holds the ability to make people feel dreamlike and detached, as well as relaxed and euphoric. The UK’s first publicly accessible ketamine-assisted psychotherapy clinic — Awakn — opened in Bristol recently. Grounded in medicine, it’s run by trained professionals including a doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist and several research scientists. For a charge of around $8,300, patients participate in a course of nine psychotherapy sessions, with three incorporating low-dose ketamine infusions to boost the healing power of the therapy.

Discover spoke to the team at Awakn to find out more about ethics and safety in this emerging industry.

Firstly, is it safe to use a dissociative anesthetic during a therapy session?

Celia Morgan is the head of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy for alcohol use disorder at Awakn and a scientific researcher at the University of Exeter. She says, “When used correctly, ketamine is very safe — it’s administered daily in casualty departments across the world during minor surgical procedures. We use ketamine at much lower doses than it’s used as an anesthetic. And all patients are carefully screened and fully monitored throughout, as safety is a priority.”