Ketamine Therapy – for Patients Suffering From Depression

KETAMINE

Victory Recovery Partners will offer ketamine therapy to those substance use disorder patients who our psychiatric and medical providers believe would benefit from such treatments.

What Is Ketamine

Ketamine is a medicine that was first used as a painkiller in the 1960’s for wounded soldiers on the battlefields of Vietnam.   More recently, ketamine has been heralded as a potential breakthrough drug for treating severe depression and substance abuse cravings.

Benefits

• Ketamine can alleviate depression that is often associated with substance use disorder. In fact, for some patients, ketamine can ease symptoms of depression within just a few hours.
• Ketamine may also lessen cravings for alcohol and cocaine by “targeted memory re-writing” – essentially weakening positive memories associated with substance use.

Risks

• When abused, misused, or consumed not under the care of a qualified physician, ketamine can provoke altered sight, sense of sound, and hallucinations.

 How Ketamine Works

• Prescribed by VRP physicians and psychiatrists as part of a comprehensive treatment plan for refractory depression, alcohol, and cocaine abuse which may inhibit successful substance use disorder recovery.
• Administered under careful supervision of VRP’s medical professionals via intravenous infusion.
• 30-60 minute infusion sessions that take place at VRP outpatient treatment centers.
• Typically, treatments begin in short intervals to achieve stability in depression symptoms then take place every one to three months.

Which Patients May Benefit from Ketamine Therapy

• Patients who have been diagnosed with clinical depression, a condition that often ‘co-occurs’ with drug or alcohol addiction and can impede achievement of lasting recovery.
• Patients whose recovery and abstinence goals can be facilitated by ketamine, as determined by VRP medical professionals.
• Patients with suicidal thoughts in which other treatments have been ineffective.

Costs / Insurance Coverage

• While physicians and psychiatrists are permitted to treat patients with ketamine, the FDA has not approved this for treatment of depression at this time and it is considered “off label use”. Consequently, most insurance plans do not cover costs associated with ketamine therapy.
• VRP offers affordable cash-pay rates for ketamine therapy at our centers.

Making an Appointment

• Call VRP to schedule a consultation to see if Ketamine is right for you.
• Ketamine therapy is available for patients enrolled in VRP’s substance use disorder treatment program. VRP will also consider patients not enrolled in substance abuse treatment after proper consultation.