Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy · Meditation

Adjunctive Ketamine With Relapse Prevention-Based Psychological Therapy in the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder

Grabski M, McAndrew A, Lawn W, et al. · American Journal of Psychiatry, 2022

This phase 2 trial tested whether ketamine, combined with talk therapy, could help people with severe alcohol use disorder stay abstinent. Ninety-six adults were randomly assigned, double-blind, to three weekly ketamine or saline infusions, paired with either mindfulness-based relapse prevention therapy or alcohol education. In this study, the ketamine groups had more days without alcohol at six months than the placebo groups, an average difference of about 10%, and the largest difference was between ketamine plus therapy and saline plus education. There was no significant difference in relapse rates, and the treatment was well tolerated. The authors describe it as a proof-of-concept study with wide confidence intervals, so the results need confirming in larger trials.

Our summaries describe what each study found. They are not medical advice, and the practices at Halcyon are not a treatment for any condition.