Depression is a complex and debilitating mental health condition that impacts both mental and physical health. Patients struggling with depression often describe it as a heavy weight or a cloud constantly hanging over them, making everything they do much harder. Even simple tasks like getting out of bed, routine personal hygiene, or running daily errands can feel overwhelming.
As one of the leading ketamine clinics in Indiana, we help patients overcome depression through ketamine therapy. Following ketamine therapy, patients feel like themselves again and are able to resume normal day-to-day function.
But that’s not necessarily the end of the story. One question patients frequently ask is: “Should I continue seeing my therapist after ketamine treatment?”
It’s not a simple yes or no question. The answer depends on the patient’s condition, the reasons they are seeing a therapist, and the patient’s mental health following ketamine therapy. There are also good reasons to continue talk therapy both during and after ketamine treatment. New research shows that ketamine therapy makes talk therapy more effective.
Let’s take a look at how ketamine therapy and talk therapy can work together to help patients make faster progress and achieve a long-lasting result.
Understanding the Mind-Body Connection
The mind-body connection is the connection between an individual’s thoughts, stressors, behaviors, and their physical well-being. Scientists have recognized for some time that emotions impact our physical health, but our understanding of how these emotions influence our physical and mental health is continually evolving.
Understanding the relationship between our thoughts, behaviors, emotions, and actions helps researchers to discover new treatments for depression, anxiety, OCD, and PTSD. Our understanding of the mind-body connection has produced new treatment options and approaches that have proven highly effective against these mental disorders.
Because depression is rooted in both the body and the mind, the key to treating depression effectively lies in addressing both the physical and mental aspects of the disorder. Therapy – also called psychotherapy or talk therapy – addresses the mental and emotional aspects of depression. Ketamine therapy addresses the physical and mental aspects of depression. Together, ketamine therapy and talk therapy can produce a result greater than either treatment on its own.
How Ketamine Therapy Works for Depression
One of the newest – and most promising – depression treatments is ketamine. Traditional depression treatments work by addressing symptoms – either physical or mental – without truly addressing underlying root causes. Based on our understanding of the mind-body connection, we know that only addressing one dimension of depression is not adequate for long-term relief.
Ketamine is an anesthetic medicine with a dissociative effect, which means it produces a feeling of being detached from oneself. This dissociative state produces an effect simultaneously on the body and mind that addresses multiple mental and physical health issues, including major depressive disorder, depression, postpartum depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, and chronic pain.
Ketamine treatment also produces physical health benefits. Patients who receive ketamine treatment often report increased energy levels, better sleep, reduced bodily pain, resolution of chronic issues, and overall better mental alertness. Mood, energy, and emotional health are all improved through ketamine treatment.
Ketamine Therapy and Brain Neuroplasticity
Ketamine treatment produces a window of neuroplasticity in the brain – a period where the brain is more responsive to adaptation. This is why ketamine therapy and talk therapy work well together: therapists can take advantage of the window of neuroplasticity produced by ketamine to help clients make faster progress in therapeutic treatment.
Therapy clients who receive ketamine treatment along with traditional talk therapy have reported they are able to overcome barriers to progress in their therapy sessions. It is thought that the dissociative properties of ketamine help clients to process difficult emotions and memories that they would otherwise be reluctant to tackle.
At KetaKlarity, we can work with your therapist to coordinate care to ensure maximum benefit from ketamine therapy. If you are already seeing a therapist and are interested in ketamine therapy to boost the results from therapy, please contact us at 765-630-8315.
Should I Continue Seeing My Therapist?
Now that we have a better understanding of how ketamine and talk therapy can work together to produce a better result, the answer should be clear: if you are already seeing a therapist you should continue to do so. Ketamine therapy can improve and even accelerate the progress made during your therapy sessions.
If you feel like talk therapy is not helping and you would like to try something different, ketamine therapy is a great option. It can deliver a beneficial result either with or without accompanying psychotherapy.
Find a Ketamine Clinic in Indiana
KetaKlarity is one of the best ketamine clinics in Indiana, and one of the longest established ketamine clinics in the state. We have deep expertise helping patients achieve rapid relief from depression, anxiety, PTSD, and OCD through ketamine therapy. We can work together with your therapist (if you are seeing one) or work directly with you to help achieve the best possible outcome.
Come see the KetaKlarity difference for yourself. We are located in Greencastle, Indiana – west of Indianapolis – and serve patients from Terre Haute, Bloomington, Greencastle, and communities on the west side of Indianapolis. Because we are centrally located, we are less than a half-hour drive for most patients.
If you are struggling with depression and wondering if ketamine therapy is right for you, schedule a consultation with us to get started. We can help you learn more about ketamine therapy and determine if you are an appropriate candidate.
To schedule your consultation, please call 765-630-8315 or request an appointment online.