Ketamine for PTSD with Steven Radowitz, MD
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Steven Radowitz, MD joins to discuss the state of the research into ketamine treatments for PTSD. Dr. Steven Radowitz is the Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder, Nushama. He believes psychedelic medicine’s framework of neuroscience, mystical experience, and integration therapy is the future of mental wellness, and current solutions often fall short, treating symptoms without addressing underlying issues. Dr. Radowitz and the Nushama team have administered thousands of ketamine journeys for mood disorders and are known to be best-in-class and among the most experienced globally.
In this conversation, Dr. Radowitz shares the journey of his career in medicine and how he got involved in the treatment of mood disorders with ketamine. He discusses the way he works with patients to determine the best dosing of ketamine for their unique therapeutic needs and the way dosage intersects with the durability of the changes. Dr. Radowitz emphasizes how ketamine promotes neuroplasticity, which allows patients with PTSD to open a critical response window when confronted with triggers and re-code memories of trauma. In closing, Dr. Radowitz discusses the importance of integration and highlights the way psychedelic therapies empower patients to be their own healers.
In this episode you'll hear:
Using both psycholytic and psychedelic doses of ketamine and how therapeutic approach differs between the two
Stories of transformation from Dr. Radowitz’s ketamine practice
The practices Dr. Radowitz recommends for patients following ketamine infusions
How Dr. Radowitz uses music in his ketamine practice
Quotes:
“As much as we segregate all these mood disorders into separate disease entities… there’s actually a common seed for them all—there’s just different manifestations. But I say about 95% of the people who come in here [for ketamine treatments] have some type of trauma.” [4:56]
“The dose doesn’t always correlate with the experience—it usually doesn’t. I can give people the same dose, with the same music, same everything, and they'll have completely different experiences each time.” [13:23]
“What we do here is to create a medically safe and an emotionally safe environment for [patients]. But the medicine is them—they’re the therapists in the end. … I want them to realize it’s all coming from them. They have everything they need within themselves to heal.” [32:15]
Links:
The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael A. Singer
Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender by David R. Hawkins