Ketamine Therapy
Our ketamine therapy rooms with garden views
About Ketamine and Its Use in Psychiatry
Ketamine is an anesthetic medication commonly used as a sedative for pain in hospital settings. It is a dissociative class medication. The use of ketamine in low doses for mood disorders is an “off-label,” or non-FDA approved treatment. However, it has been safely used in psychiatry for over fifty years with positive results when administered responsibly. Clinical studies have shown it is effective in treating depression, suicidality, severe anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Patients who suffer from treatment-resistant depression are ideal candidates for ketamine infusion therapy.
In our clinic, patients undergo an initial screening to determine if ketamine is an appropriate fit based on their medical history and psychiatric profile. Ketamine is administered through an IV line or via intramuscular injection by a registered nurse with oversight from Dr. Stevens. The nurse monitors the patient throughout the session and follows treatment protocols. We maintain a soothing, tranquil environment during and after your session to ensure maximal comfort.
A typical treatment cycle has six sessions, each lasting sixty minutes to ninety minutes, over a three to four-week period. After the cycle is complete, occasional maintenance infusions may help to extend the beneficial effects. We will work with you to customize your treatment plan. We will adjust dosing and frequency as we go along based on your feedback and clinical outcomes. We also offer the option of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy in conjunction with ketamine treatment.
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) is a powerful tool that helps the patient feel supported by providing a sounding board for unfamiliar thoughts and emotions that may rise to the surface during ketamine treatment. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy enables the temporary softening of psychological defenses, allowing for deeper self-reflection and psychotherapeutic processing. Ketamine has psychedelic effects, and this has been shown to facilitate profound transpersonal experiences. These types of experiences can help people in a variety of ways, offering important clarity and insight into one’s struggles, adding a spiritual dimension to ongoing therapeutic work, and cultivating a sense of interconnectedness. In a typical ketamine cycle, the therapist will incorporate one or two integration sessions without ketamine, allowing the patient time to regroup and reflect on their ketamine experience while in an unaltered state.
Our Ketamine Nurse, Rhonda Sanchez, RN BSN
Rhonda Sanchez, RN BSN, is an accomplished nurse with a passion for mental health and advances in neuroscience. She worked on a neurology and neurosurgery unit at CHI Baylor St. Luke’s for four years, then discovered her calling for the more holistic arena of behavioral health. She worked at Luna Recovery as Director of Nursing, gaining valuable experience in both the art and science of addiction recovery. As Chief Ketamine Nurse at InnerSpace, Rhonda is attuned to the needs of each patient, and adapts her approach accordingly. She collaborates seamlessly with the supervising doctor and therapists to make the experience of ketamine both restorative and transformational. Rhonda holds a Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Sciences from Baylor University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Texas Woman’s University. She lives in Houston with her husband and two kids and enjoys music, travel, and art.