Ketamine-Assisted therapy

Ketamine-assisted therapy

We are the first European clinic to offer ketamine-assisted psychotherapy as an alternative to other more common treatments for mental disorders.
Our team of world-class professionals warmly welcomes those who might be interested in this specific type of care for their health condition.

WHY KETAMINE?

ESTABLISHED SAFETY

Ketamine is a medication, which has long been used to induce general anaesthesia (for adults, and, even more frequently, in paediatric surgery, as well as during dental procedures) and to alleviate pain. Ketamine was introduced into clinical practice in the 1960s and its safety has been well established over the intervening 50 plus years.

HIGH EFFECTIVENESS

Over the last two decades, ketamine has increasingly been accepted, in both the USA and the EU, as an effective option for the treatment of depression. Its efficacy in this indication has been documented in numerous clinical studies, ranging from 30 to 70 % within the week following the administration, depending on the individual study. Moreover, in the recent years, the indications for ketamine treatment have also come to include anxiety disorders, eating disorders. and post-traumatic stress disorder.

RAPID ONSET OF EFFECT

Ketamine is considered a rapid-acting antidepressant. This means that in up to 50 % of patients who experience an antidepressant response, the antidepressant effect occurs on the day of administration and lasts for an average of about 5 days. Rapid symptom relief has also been observed in other indications and may be an alternative or addition to standard therapy. We work to prolong this effect by means of assisted therapy.

TREATMEN RESISTENT CONDITIONS

The effect of ketamine in the treatment of mental illness has also been documented in people where previous treatment has been shown to be less effective or without any effect. It therefore gives hope to patients who have not experienced a feeling of psychological relief for many years.

KETAMINE IS NOT JUST AN ANAESTHETIC

As an antidepressant, ketamine is used in much lower doses than those used for general anaesthetic purposes, so it does not induce general anaesthesia or cause a loss of consciousness. At this dose level, the effects of ketamine may typically include:

KETAMINE AND PSYCHOTHERAPY

DIFFERENT NEEDS, DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO THERAPY

The psychotherapeutic framework is an essential part of the ketamine-assisted therapy. However, each client’s need for psychotherapy is individual and therefore two different approaches to treatment are distinguished:

Treatment with an emphasis on the psychotherapeutic framework – some clients benefit most from the therapeutic processing of the ketamine experience, and therefore, in this approach, the ketamine experience is framed by multiple therapeutic sessions.
Treatment with an emphasis on the pharmacological effect – some clients benefit most from the pharmacological effect of ketamine, and therefore there are multiple ketamine sessions in this approach.

The appropriate treatment approach will be thoroughly discussed with the client by the doctor based on the results of all the examinations. Together they will choose the most appropriate treatment for the client.

PHARMACOLOGICAL EXTENTION TO PSYCHOTHERAPY

The method of working with ketamine, as used at our clinic, is referred to as ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. It combines the advantages of psychological counselling (psychotherapy) with the direct biological antidepressant effects of the pharmaceutical. This means particularly the direct antidepressant and anxiolytic effect of ketamine. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is therefore a pharmacologically-assisted psychotherapy, a de facto extension to psychotherapy and is therefore suitable for a wide range of mental disorders.

Our experience shows that ketamine-assisted psychotherapy can provide patients who already work in long-term psychotherapy with significant insights that can be used for their further psychotherapeutic work.

STRENGTHENING LONG-TERM CHANGE

In addition to conventional psychotherapy, ketamine allows the experience of an expanded state of consciousness, ie a state of changes in perception, thinking and experience. This state, according to growing scientific research, allows insight and gradual change of dysfunctional psychological mechanisms that are the basis of mental illness.

During treatment, a whole range of emotions and memories, which are less accessible in the normal state of consciousness can be reached. This experience, set in the context of systematic psychotherapy and carefully integrated into everyday life, then forms an ideal way to deepen the treatment process of our clients and make it more effective. Often also for people where previous treatment has proved less effective.

PSYON: ONE OF THE MOST QUALIFIED TEAMS IN THE WORLD

The cornerstone of the treatment lies in the psychotherapeutic process, which involves the client and our specially trained therapists. We are proud that our therapists are the first specialists in the Czech Republic (and one of the select few hundred worldwide) to have completed official, legal and mostly international training courses in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy:

Our therapists accompany the client during the entire course of treatment. Their role is to secure a safe and humane environment, which is essential for the therapeutic process, and to provide professional support so as to maximize the benefits of the therapy for the client.

INDICATIONS

We offer ketamine-assisted therapy for the treatment of depressive disorders, anxiety disorders (social phobias, generalized anxiety disorders, OCD), eating disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The effectiveness of treatment for individual indications may also vary within the individual story of each of our clients. We will be happy to discuss it with you as part of an examination with our psychiatrist. Relevant scientific publications are available here.

THE EFFECTS OF KETAMINE-ASSISTED THERAPY

Despite ketamine-assisted therapy being an effective tool for the treatment of mental illnesses, we would like to emphasize that it is not a cure-all and is not suitable and/or effective for everyone. Every client therefore needs to go through a careful evaluation and indication process before starting ketamine-assisted therapy. It is our priority that the treatment we provide should always be safe and meaningful for the client.

what our clients says

What did the client expect from the treatment and how was or was the expectation not met? If you are thinking about ketamine-assisted therapy or are just interested in it, the interview can bring you a lot of interesting information literally first hand.

Pavla shares part of her journey with ketamine-assisted therapy, including what her decision to start treatment looked like, how the examinations went, what her concerns were, and how she assessed the overall benefits of treatment after three months.

HOW THE TREATMENT WORKS

KETAMINE SESSION

At this session, the client is given ketamine and has their own therapeutic experience of an expanded state of consciousness. We will prepare the client for this experience in advance and familiarize them with the basic psychological tools they will be able to use during the session. We will guide the client through the experience and be available for their needs. Before and after the experience, the client will also go through a medical examination to ensure maximum safety throughout the process.

INTEGRATION SESSION

We believe the integration of the ketamine experience, its processing and talking about the impact it has had on how the client see themselves in the world are critical to helping them achieve the longer-term changes to their life that they are seeking. Thus, apart from helping the client to reflect on their ketamine experience, we will also be trying to pay attention to their everyday life experience. We will be looking for functional mechanisms to assist the client with happier living.

PRICING OF OUR SERVICES

Ketamine-Assisted Therapy	Clients of VZP/VOZP/ZPŠ/ČPZP*	Selfpayers*
1) INITIAL ONLINE INTERVIEW **	600 CZK	600 CZK
2) COMPREHENSIVE PSYCHIATRIC EXAM	1 500 CZK	4 500 CZK
3) PHYSIOLOGICAL EXAM	1 800 CZK	1 800 CZK
4a) KETAMINE-ASSISTED THERAPY (1 Therapist) ***	13 – 18 000 CZK	23 – 31 000 CZK
4b) KETAMINE-ASSISTED THERAPY (2 Therapists) ***	21 – 28 000 CZK	31 – 41 000 CZK
TOTAL (1 Therapist)	16 900 – 21 900 CZK	29 900 – 37 900 CZK
TOTAL (2 Therapists)	24 900 – 31 900 CZK	37 900 – 47 900 CZK

* The prices include a foreign language surcharge. ** Not a medical procedure.
*** Some of the procedures, which are part of the ketamine-assisted therapy treatment, are not among those covered by medical insurance. | All prices include VAT.

Repeated Ketamine-Assisted Therapy	Clients of VZP/VOZP/ZPŠ/ČPZP*	Selfpayers*
TARGETED EXAMINATION BEFORE THERAPY	750 CZK	2 250 CZK
a) REPEATED KETAMINE-ASSISTED THERAPY (1 Therapist)	10 750 – 18 000 CZK	18 750 – 31 000 CZK
b) REPEATED KETAMINE-ASSISTED THERAPY (2 Therapists)	16 750 – 28 000 CZK	24 750 – 41 000 CZK
TOTAL (1 Therapist)	11 500 – 18 750 CZK	21 000 – 33 250 CZK
TOTAL (2 Therapists)	17 500 – 28 750 CZK	27 000 – 42 250 CZK

* The prices include a foreign language surcharge. | All prices include VAT.

media echoes

WHO IS BEHIND THE PSYON CLINIC?

Psyon was started by a team of leading researchers and practitioners in the field of mental health, including neuroscientists, physicians and psychologists. The Psyon team includes:

Do you feel that ketamine-assisted therapy could be for you?
Let us know and we’ll get back to you in a few hours.