Huntsman Mental Health Institute (HMHI) opened its first outpatient Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) clinic at the HMHI Park City Behavioral Health Clinic. The clinic was established to provide unique and innovative therapies, programs, and research regarding psychedelic medicines.
Benjamin Lewis, MD, serves as the director of the KAP clinic. He has been a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at HMHI and University of Utah Health since 2012 and specializes in the clinical applications of psychedelic medicines.
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that has been used at sub-anesthetic doses to treat depression. While ketamine treatment is considered exploratory and has not been approved by the FDA, studies have shown it can be effective for patients who have not responded to traditional treatments and can result in rapid symptom relief. Current research suggests ketamine works by altering glutamate levels in the brain, which researchers believe can assist with depression treatment, pain management, and anesthesia.
Unlike the Treatment Resistant Mood Disorder Clinic (TRMD) which uses heavily regulated dosages, the new KAP clinic utilizes a flexible and experiential approach. The model of care emphasizes exploring and integrating insights from the ketamine experience within an embedded psychotherapeutic process. Ketamine will be administered orally or intramuscularly, accompanied by music and eye shades, followed by psychotherapeutic interventions with a trained therapist.
The clinic is a self-pay outpatient service focused on emerging psychedelic-assisted therapy interventions and psychedelic integration. A primary mission of the clinic is to conduct research to develop more effective clinical pathways and answer questions regarding the optimal use of ketamine as a therapeutic tool.
