9th Annual Conference

The use of ketamine assisted psychotherapy for treatment-resistant depression has been shown to be a safe and often effective addition for patients not responding sufficiently to standard of care including SSRIs and psychotherapy. Ketamine is part of the reemergence of the use of psychedelics for the treatment of a variety of mental health diagnoses for which the conventional standard of care has not shown to be effective. The benefit of ketamine is that it is safe, legal, and often very effective. The added benefit of low cost allows it to be used as a treatment modality in the underserved setting. The presentation will cover a brief review of the history of ketamine, its unique pharmacology, various forms of administration, and the efficacy of combining to with psychotherapy to achieve higher rates of success and long term remission of depression.

I have previously presented at IM4US 2016 and am a regular guest on KPFA radio station, present regionally and nationally on the use of medical cannabis, teach weekly as a preceptor and volunteer UCSF clinical faculty at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center. I am also an experienced clinician with regards to using ketamine assisted psychotherapy with underserved patients.

Innovative treatment for depression providing improved access for underserved patients.

Presentation/Lecture with Discussion: present information and engage the learners in discussion about the material.

This session is appropriate for all audiences and skill levels