Waterloo clinic offers psychotherapy using ketamine therapy

A Waterloo clinic is treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety with ketamine treatments, a drug traditionally used as an anesthetic in medical or veterinary surgery.

Jules Fitzsimmons recently went through the program at Field Trip Health for PTSD, anxiety and depression. She said she suffered for years after the traumatic deaths of her family members.

“Those ketamine treatments literally saved my life,” Fitzsimmons told CTV News.

She said she tried other therapies, with no luck, before trying ketamine treatments.

“A friend of mine whose partner works with RCMP officers with PTSD, they suggested that I give this a try,” Fitzsimmons said.

Health Canada has authorized ketamine’s use for the treatment of limited medical conditions.

“Ketamine is an amazing drug that focuses on certain neuroreceptors in the brain and it kind of resets your brain,” said Rosalie Shorney, a clinic manager at Filed Trip Health. “It helps build new pathways and makes your brain more fertile for change.”

Eight clinics across Canada currently offer the drug treatment.

Ian Ruberry, Field Trip Health’s CEO, said the results speak for themselves.

“Ketamine shows response rates of 70 per cent in treatment-resistant patients for depression. It’s safe and effective when used in a controlled environment and when you combine it with psychotherapy, ketamine effects become more enduring and more profound,” he explained.

In some cases, patients feel like it’s helped them regain control of their lives.

“It was just wild to me that releasing that trauma and it’s still there, those images will never go away,” Fitzsimmons said. “But I feel like it’s pushed to the side now and I’m living my life again.”

The program is not covered by OHIP and costs around $1,000 a session. Most clients require around six sessions, according to staff at Field Trip Health.

“This is a pretty intensive project or program,” said Ruberry. “It’s a 16 and a half hours of therapy over three weeks, as opposed to a regular, you know, maybe three or six.”

The clinic is the first of its kind in Waterloo and has been offering ketamine treatments since Oct. 9.

“What it’s given to me, I would have paid triple knowing how I feel right now, and the results I’ve had,” Fitzsimmons said.

More info can be found here.

Health Canada said ketamine clinical trials are underway to learn more about the drug’s safety and effectiveness. Changes to the treatment are possible if new health risks are identified.