Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy: Treatment Resistant Depression

Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has received great interest in research, particularly in the last decade. Currently, Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy is the only legal treatment available.

Are you wondering which patients with treatment resistant depression (TRD) may benefit from ketamine treatment?

In this course, you’ll learn the current medical evidence for Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) for TRD. Ketamine appears to be highly effective for suicidal thoughts. A 70% response rate for IV is commonly reported in studies. While it is not a panacea or magic bullet, ketamine can work as a catalyst to help patients rapidly recover enough from depression to begin to establish a ‘new normal’ of healthy lifestyle habits.

Response rates to conventional antidepressants, according to the STAR*D study, leave too many patients looking for better answers. In this cutting-edge course, you’ll discover the risks, benefits, and clinical response rates to ketamine. You’ll also learn how to weigh various TRD treatment options, such as IV ketamine, esketamine, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). 

• Identify which patients with treatment-resistant depression are appropriate for ketamine treatment
• Summarize the current medical evidence for Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) for TRD
• Outline the risks, benefits, and likelihood of significant clinical response to ketamine
• Explain the differences between ketamine assisted psychotherapy, IV ketamine protocols, and esketamine protocols

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CME/CE Information

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the University of Colorado School of Medicine and the Integrative Psychiatric Institute. The University of Colorado School of Medicine is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The University of Colorado School of Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

In order to obtain your CME credit for this course, you will need to take and pass the CME quiz and complete a CME evaluation after watching the video. The quiz will be linked under the video. The Evaluation will follow automatically. If the quiz is passed, you will be prompted to download your CME certificate immediately after.

Will Van Derveer, MD

Will Van Derveer, MD is Co-Founder of Integrative Psychiatry Institute (IPI). He co-created IPI as an expression of what he stands for. First, that anyone can heal, and second that we medical providers must embrace our own healing journeys in order to fully command our potency as healers. Dr. Van Derveer spent the last 20 years innovating and testing a comprehensive approach to addressing psychiatric challenges which transcends the conventional model he learned in medical school at Vanderbilt University and residency at University of Colorado, while deeply engaging his own healing path.

He founded the Integrative Psychiatric Healing Center in 2001 in Boulder, CO, where he currently practices. Dr. Van Derveer regards unresolved emotional trauma as the most significant root cause of psychiatric symptoms in integrative psychiatry practice, along with gut issues, hormone imbalances, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and other functional medicine challenges. He is trained in Somatic Experiencing, EMDR, Internal Family Systems, and other psychotherapy techniques. His current clinical passion is psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, which he mentors interested doctors in providing. An avid meditator, he has been a meditation instructor since 2004.