December 5-6, 2020
From the event website:
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic also classified as a psychedelic. In the last decade it has become frequently sought as a treatment for depression and mood disorders. This training is designed for therapists, psychologists, physicians, and other healthcare professionals who want to better understand the basics of ketamine and how they can ensure the best clinical outcomes for patients.
While ketamine is a powerful and at promising treatment, effective and safe treatment involves far more than administering the drug itself. This course will teach medical professionals and mental health care providers how they can help their patients safely and legally access ketamine treatment, as well as prepare for and integrate those treatments using a psychedelic-assisted therapy framework.
Participants in this course will learn principles for screening and preparing patients for ketamine treatment, and integrating the insights generated from their experiences into follow up psychotherapy. We introduce a variety of care models including ketamine-assisted therapy, ketamine infusions paired with preparation and integration provided by a separate therapist.
The presenters of this course will present case examples and opportunities to practice real-world discussions role-play exercises. While an overview of infusion session procedures and ketamine effects is provided, complete ketamine administration instructions for medical professionals is beyond the scope of this course.
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the program, participants will be better able to…
- Describe the concepts of Drug Assisted Therapy to their clients
- Describe how ketamine fits into treatment plans for depressive disorders
- Integrate ketamine into their existing frameworks for managing clients with depressive disorders
- Summarize the current understandings of ketamine antidepressant mechanisms
- Recognize clients that might be appropriate for ketamine infusion therapy
- Recognize clients that might NOT be appropriate for ketamine infusion therapy
- Navigate the legal and practical hurdles in accessing this treatment for their clients
- Distinguish between the medical and recreational use of ketamine
- Psychologically prepare their clients for the ketamine sessions
- Assist their clients in integrating the experiences from the ketamine sessions into their larger psychotherapeutic goals
- Employ specific psychotherapeutic techniques to maximize behavioral and cognitive changes during the neuroplastic windows opened by ketamine.
- Describe how ketamine could play a long term role in mental healthcare
For more information, visit the event website.
