What a year it’s been!!
As this busy year creeps toward its end, it’s fun to look back on all we’ve accomplished in our hard work to help find more effective treatment for those who suffer with symptoms that don’t respond to traditional treatment.
Since the early beginnings in my work as a psychiatrist, I’ve been devoted to staying on the leading edge, and to finding solutions for those whose symptoms persist despite their best efforts.
As I’ve added innovative and advanced treatments to my practice to extend our effectiveness. And I’ve discovered that IV ketamine treatment in a series of infusions given closely together, is the most exciting, effective treatment for depression that just won’t lift.
So, we’ve invested time, money, and staff to help us learn more about this treatment for those who need it, and about what it can do.
Interventions and Adjustments
At the beginning of the year, we explored a variety of schedules and extended hours. We’ve continued to adjust them all year. It’s always a moving target as we try to offer an opportunity for everyone to be seen and treated.
Since I began providing ketamine treatment 3 years ago, we’ve been compiling data to learn more about the outcomes with our own patients here, as well as with those who come to us from outside Innovative Psychiatry.
And we’ve consistently been amazed at what we see. But more about that in a bit.
Then, in March, I had the opportunity to attend the International Conference on Ketamine and Related Compounds for Psychiatric Disorders 2018, in Oxford, England.
This conference was the first gathering globally of neuroscience researchers, psychiatrists, and psychopharmacologists specializing in ketamine research for psychiatric use.
This momentous academic gathering explored the rapidly emerging data on the history, development, and use of ketamine, and related compounds in psychiatric treatment — in basic neuroscience, neuroimaging, and clinical studies. How does it work? Why does it work? How can we know? What does neuroimaging tell us about ketamine and the default mode network (DMN)? What’s in the pipeline with esketamine and related compounds? These are some of the questions research has been answering about ketamine. We’re gaining confidence in it as a viable and extremely useful treatment, as opposed to just an experimental treatment that would soon dissipate (as naysayers claimed).
I presented some of my data on treatment of suicidal thinking, and what ketamine can do to erase it in a poster session.
Next, came the first annual American Society of Ketamine Physicians (ASKP) Conference in September, where I saw a number of the same professionals I’d seen in Oxford…again meeting to share insights and experiences with the use of ketamine treatment in psychiatry and in pain management.
Again, we talked about the broad applications of ketamine. And the openness among us sharing information and insights helped to broaden the horizon for all present regarding what ketamine can do to relieve suffering in our patients.
Suffering that, for far too many, had remained unrelieved before ketamine.
Friendships were building at both of these conferences as we learned from each other, asked questions, and exchanged information. I took notes as fast as I could type. The information was compelling, exciting, and clinically useful.
Then, in November, along came KRIYA Conference 2018. Many of the same medical professionals gathered along with a host of others, and something magical happened.
These celebrated and deeply experienced experts in the field of ketamine treatment for psychiatric disorders left any pretense (they might have justifiably possessed) at the door.
Deep connection happened. And a light bulb turned on.
We took notes voraciously, exchanged ideas generously, talked intensively, asked questions of each other, and utilized every second we were together.
We gathered for coffee before the speakers began. Chatted on the steps. Talked on the way in and out, and everywhere in between. And lingered even after we were ushered from the building at the end of the day … then met at restaurants and continued far into the night.
I presented from the podium this time, and appreciated the enthusiastic response my data received. But I have to say, when it comes to the feats of ketamine, it’s hard to not be excited.
In fact, Raquel Bennett Ph.D., the founder of KRIYA, declared in her opening remarks that we’re witnessing, and are also players in, the birth of a new field: ketamine for psychiatric disorders. And that this time will go down in history as a renaissance of psychiatric treatment.
As the year has progressed, those of us in this new field are collaborating and continually refining and improving our methods of treatment as we probe more deeply into the potential of this extraordinary treatment.
The Birth of a New Field
If you or someone you love suffers from depression that has not responded to treatment, this collection of researchers and doctors understands, and we’re all working tirelessly to find answers for you.
You really aren’t alone.
We’re also watching research for more evidence about new areas of ketamine research to show us more ways to apply it.
At the same time, ketamine’s actions inspire more research into why it’s so effective, and pharmaceutical companies are developing new and related medications with the advances in this frontier.
Ketamine treatment consistently shows a strong response rate for treatment-resistant depression and bipolar depression; plus there is exciting emerging data for those with disorders like OCD, social anxiety, and substance use disorders that haven’t responded to other medications.
2018 Innovative Psychiatry ketamine developments include research opportunities.
We continue to collaborate and follow research to find ways to increase those numbers. To make a rewarding life available to more people.
I’ve been busy behind the scenes reviewing new research for upcoming new treatments– like esketamine, rapastinel infusions, and brexanolone infusions for post-partum depression and the exciting work done by the scientists at Neuro-Rx.
Our Experiences at Innovative Psychiatry with You Provides Useful Aid to Other Patients in Other Practices
My experiences with my patients in the last few years inspired me to respond to a Request of Information from the NIH/NIMH on the use of ketamine for suicidal patients — hopefully to help shape future research directions. And … to write an article that we plan to publish in a scientific journal. More information about this should be coming in the weeks ahead.
As a result of all these new connections, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate on an international level.
Over the summer, we began exploring how to serve as a potential study site so we could offer patients the opportunity to participate in clinical research trials with new medications — more on that to come.
This would give people an opportunity to get treatment with a new agent long before it’s available to the general public.
Exciting, isn’t it?
As you know, we’re all about educating our patients.
In addition to our Ketamine Blog, we offer The Ketamine Library for our patients. (Who does that? I can tell you, from my trips around the country and into Europe … no one we know.)
Extraordinary efforts at education. It’s one of the things we’re known for.
2018 Innovative Psychiatry
And we’ve also added Instagram to reach more of our readers. We’re getting the word out about new breakthroughs in treatment.
And have you noticed the facelift to our website menu bar?
You’ll notice a new menu along the top emphasizing our Ketamine Blog. (It should really be called the Ketamine and So Many Other New Things Blog –but that didn’t fit very well!) Seriously, we’ve been busy writing all year.
If you haven’t explored the blog much, jump in — we write about everything from science to heartache, from fear to gratitude, from children to aging gracefully, from friendships to loneliness, from narcissism (STILL such a hot topic!) to ketamine wannabees.
And… we also offer advice, recommendations, and insights on the topics that are hard to find anywhere else — from how to screen a ketamine clinic to why your doctor might not yet be offering ketamine treatment. Check it out!
We write about stories, successes and failures.
I look forward to telling you more about all that and about other new initiatives we have planned, coming up in the new year ahead.
This has been such an exciting year in the advancement of better and more effective treatment for our patients. The ground is rumbling with new breakthroughs for 2019.
Enjoy your holiday season as it unfolds, and remember to take a moment to show kindness to those around you. It’s one of the most important things we can do for each another.
Ketamine Inspires Hope
Lots of inspiring news here. The purpose in all we do is to help you get better. And with the hundreds of medicines at our disposal, only about 2/3 of people psychiatrists treat with all those medicines actually improve.
Ask your psychiatrist to help you get better. But if you’ve tried a couple of medications…or even if you’ve tried 30!…and you don’t feel better, ketamine may really help you.
Ketamine treatment is amazing. It can smash depression, relieve social anxiety, dismantle PTSD, break addiction, and erase suicidal thinking within a couple hours. That’s why we’re celebrating the 2018 Innovative Psychiatry ketamine developments that are saving and restoring lives.
Ketamine treatment seems to demonstrate its greatest power with those who are the most ill, who’ve had the least amount of hope.
If this sounds like you, or someone you love, call us.
We are most thrilled by the opportunity to help you get better, really truly better, and to feel well and able to build the life of meaning you’ve always wished for.
To find the motivation and initiative to pursue, and invest in, those things that are important to you. To build relationships that have the depth and longevity to add strength to your life. Basically, to have the energy to live well, rather than endure.
Give yourself your best hope. Call for an appointment to see if ketamine treatment is right for you.
To the release and restoration of your best self,
