Ketamine therapy has become known for its ability to combat depression and other mood disorders. In recent years, ketamine therapy has surged in popularity, and it has arrived and begun expanding in Boulder. There are numerous private clinics and places where people experiencing persistent depression can go to receive the treatment. The center, known as the Guerra Fisher Institute until its rebrand last August, offers several different therapy options for difficult-to-treat behavioral health conditions.
Ketamine is the newest addition to the list, arriving in spring of last year. People with depression who have previously tried at least two antidepressant medications and felt little or no improvement from them meet the criteria for treatment-resistant depression. Haddad said treatments like ketamine provide options for patients who may not be getting relief through more traditional treatments.
Ketamine is a dissociative drug that is sometimes used as an anesthetic. But at the Center for Interventional Psychiatry, patients receive a sub-anesthetic dose of ketamine through an intravenous needle over the course about 40 minutes, said Bill Kromka, an attending psychiatrist at BCH who administers the therapy.
While receiving the ketamine, people may experience a wide range of effects, such as altered consciousness, perceptual distortions, or even out-of-body-type experiences.
Some people report feeling reduced physical tension. Others have sometimes reported anxious feelings. Ketamine comes with some risks and side effects, and it is a substance with potential for abuse, doctors say. However, Haddad said, the drug is safe when used at a controlled dose in a supervised clinical setting.
