Advances in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy

Fernando Espi Forcen, MD, discussed his ketamine-assisted psychotherapy and emerging research on psilocybin's systemic effects. Forcen presented on ketamine-assisted psychotherapy at this year’s American Psychiatric Association annual meeting.

Forcen drew a clear distinction between conventional ketamine monotherapy—administered primarily for its antidepressant properties—and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, in which ketamine functions as an enhancer of the psychotherapeutic process.¹ He explained that ketamine's atypical dissociative and psychedelic properties allow the conscious mind to "loosen," creating a window of heightened self-reflection and insight that can be integrated therapeutically: "patients won't see ketamine as a single monotherapy—the combination will be the trick." He characterized the goal of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy as using the drug not only to relieve depression but as "an opportunity to learn about yourself and to have more insights and understanding of oneself."

Forcen situated ketamine-assisted psychotherapy within the broader psychedelic-assisted treatment landscape, noting a practical advantage over psilocybin, MDMA, and LSD-assisted protocols, which typically require 6 to 10 hours per session, compared to approximately 2 hours for ketamine-assisted psychotherapy.² This format, he described, is more compatible with standard psychiatric practice. Forcen expressed optimism that growing societal and regulatory acceptance of psychedelics, including a recent presidential executive order to expand psychedelic research, would increase openness to the ketamine-assisted psychotherapy model.

Forcen argued that psychedelics are reintroducing dimensions of philosophy, spirituality, and transpersonal psychiatry that had been marginalized by the field's shift toward biology, framing this as a broadly welcomed development across medicine, psychiatry, and society. Forcen also added a note on his current research interest in psilocybin's systemic effects beyond depression, including its potential to delay aging and extend fertility lifespan in translational studies.

Dr Forcen is a psychiatrist at McLean Hospital in the division of depression and anxiety disorders.

References

1. Drozdz SJ, Goel A, McGarr MW, et al. Ketamine assisted psychotherapy: a systematic narrative review of the literature. J Pain Res. 2022;15:1691-1706.

2. Yermus R, Bottos J, Bryson N, et al. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy provides lasting and effective results in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder at 3 and 6 months: findings from a large retrospective effectiveness study. Psychedelic Med (New Rochelle). 2024;2(2):87-95.