Benzinga
Published Jul 25, 2022 22:47
Updated Jul 25, 2022 23:40
Why Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy May Be The New Vanguard Of SUD Treatment
By Peter Loeb, CEO of Lionrock
When the Coronavirus pandemic took the world by storm in early 2020, few people had any idea of the long-term complications it would bring. Among them, we now see a new mental health crisis, including substance use disorders (SUDs), which have emerged as a challenging co-morbidity of the pandemic. According to the CDC, drug overdose deaths increased by more than 28% from 2020 to 2021, tallying more than 100,000 last year. And during that same period, a staggering 41.1 million Americans were identified as needing SUD treatment. The data clearly point to the need for more effective and accessible care, including bringing to bear the most cutting-edge treatment offerings to help fight this highly stigmatized mental health issue.
One of the more promising, new treatment methods for mood disorders is the use of psychedelic medications, including ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. Although many associate ketamine with illicit usage, it has proven to be effective in treating depression, anxiety and PTSD, when paired with psychotherapy. And more recently, ketamine has been shown to effectively treat SUDs as well. Considering that esketamine, a derivative of ketamine, is FDA-approved for treatment-resistant depression, a condition that often underlies or co-occurs with SUD, it's not surprising that it benefits those suffering with substance abuse as well.
Given its still experimental status in terms of mainstream use, most providers do not yet offer psychedelics-assisted psychotherapy. While it is one of the few psychedelics which are already FDA-approved for mainstream use, ketamine still carries its own stigma as a recreational drug popular at raves or music festivals. But in reality, it's just one more example of pharmacological solutions already being used to treat SUDs and other mental health disorders. Another example, suboxone, is a combination of medications based on an opioid, which is now widely accepted by the medical community to treat opioid use disorder. The evidence that ketamine is a useful tool to help people struggling with SUDs is accumulating. In fact, in 2018, the NIH published a report titled "Efficacy of Ketamine in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review" that reviewed previous studies and which concluded that "results suggest that ketamine may facilitate abstinence across multiple substances of abuse and warrants broader investigation in addiction treatment."
Here are four reasons why ketamine treatment should be considered a viable option for treating SUDs:
It nearly goes without saying that we have a massive mental health crisis in our country and a critical shortage of therapists and counselors. Although more accepted for mainstream use in the treatment of depression, it's becoming clear that ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is likely an effective tool in the treatment of SUDs as well. There are many paths to recovery, and the addition of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy to our collective toolbox is a new and exciting path towards helping people struggling with SUDs find a life in recovery.
© 2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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