Ketamine treatment clinics proliferated after the Food and Drug Administration approved ketamine as a treatment for acute depression in 2019, leading to the westward expansion of IV clinics that have made treatment available to many Americans without much regulation.
Healthcare providers are divided on whether ketamine should be used strictly as a pharmacological intervention or whether psychotherapy and other types of monitoring should be incorporated alongside the drug’s administration. Studies have shown that administering ketamine without psychological support reduces depressive symptoms and suicidal tendencies within hours.
However, some researchers suspect that this pharmacology-only perspective may remain an advantage. A group of scientists announced Tuesday a clinical trial at Massachusetts General Hospital in hopes of figuring out what exactly ketamine and the resulting trips provide.
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