Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy | Widening Circles | Asheville

what is ketamine?

FACT: Ketamine is one of the most widely used drugs in modern medicine and is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines.

What is Ketamine?

Ketamine is a synthetic pharmaceutical compound, most commonly used in surgical settings, including pediatric surgery, due to its excellent safety profile.

In the last two decades, ketamine has been increasingly clinically applied at subanesthetic doses as an off-label treatment for various chronic and treatment-resistant mental health conditions, such as depression, alcoholism, substance dependencies, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders, and other psychiatric diagnoses.

How Ketamine Works

Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic, causing a sense of detachment from one's body and surroundings. It acts as an NMDA antagonist in the glutamate neurotransmitter system and an opioid receptor agonist. In depression, ketamine may stimulate neural growth, potentially offering relief from habitual thought patterns underlying mood and behavior. The exact mode of action is not fully understood, and research continues to explore additional mechanisms.

Why Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy?

At Widening Circles, we believe ketamine is most effective when paired with psychotherapy.

Ketamine has the potential to create a non-ordinary state of consciousness, facilitating a profound transpersonal or mystical peak experience. These sorts of peak experiences have been shown to expand one’s sense of self and understanding of existence and may enable you to access your own healing wisdom.

We offer a psychotherapy program that will prepare you for your ketamine sessions, encourage you to explore your mind while within the ketamine space, and assist you in integrating your experiences afterwards.

Digital image by Joshua Moore, LMHC, BCN
used with permission

is Ketamine right for me?

Before participating, you will be carefully interviewed to determine if you are a good candidate for ketamine treatment. This will include a thorough review of your medical and psychiatric history.
Some medical and psychiatric conditions are not safe for therapeutic ketamine, including: active hallucinations, untreated mania, unstable angina (chest pain/heart disease), uncontrolled hyperthyroidism, uncontrolled hypertension, increased intracranial pressure, or evidence of liver disease. A previously demonstrated allergy to ketamine excludes one from treatment.