How To Help Your Patients Through Challenging Ketamine Infusion Experiences
There is no doubt that ketamine can be a powerful tool for the treatment of depression, PTSD, anxiety, OCD, trigeminal neuralgia, migraines, and chronic pain. As a ketamine specialist, you have the ability to utilize ketamine in a transformative way for your patients. But there are times that someone may have a negative, frightening, or challenging experience. So what can you do to help your patients through these experiences?
Mindset is an important factor in influencing the ketamine experience of your patient. This is why you need to remind them, as their doctor, to be specific with their intention setting.
Encourage Intention Setting
Before the infusion, it is important that your patient has the proper mindset. This means that they need to be specific with their intentions. Encourage them to feel positive emotions such as feeling relaxed, happy, peaceful, pain-free, flexible, accepting, or more loving towards themselves.
Intention setting is the foundation of their ketamine experience, so be sure to educate them on this step. Your patients are the captain of their own ship during this journey and they need to know where they want to go.
Not only is it crucial for your patients to avoid stress before and during the infusion, but you should also cultivate a stress-free environment for you and your staff!
Create the Proper Set & Setting
We always emphasize the importance of creating the right environment for your ketamine patients. This does not only include the music and aroma of your clinic, but your disposition as well. You and your staff need to be fully present and focused on supporting and caring for your patients.
We recommend practicing gratitude and not letting any stress get to you. That way, you are able to fully show up for your patients with a positive mindset!
Each person reacts differently to ketamine. It is your role to choose the right dosage for each of your patients based on how they feel.
Tailor the Optimal Dosage
Having the proper dosage for each patient is vital. Determining this will be based on factors such as their weight and how they felt after their first infusion. That way, you will be able to adjust the dosage moving forward.
Too little ketamine can be ineffective and too much ketamine can be overpowering. Each individual is different and responds to ketamine differently. Therefore, it’s essential to customize the dosage per patient.
Breathing is as important for you as it is for your patients. Remind yourself to relax and stay focused throughout the treatment by taking deep breaths.
Don’t Forget to Breathe!
Not only is it important to remind your patients to breathe, but you as their doctor should breathe as well. This allows you to stay calm and focused on the infusion, while at the same time encourages your patient to breathe properly too.
In fact, why not take a really deep breath now?
Your patients will be clueless about a lot of things before the infusion, making them nervous and fearful. Encourage them to ask questions so that they know where they’re headed.
Invite Curiosity
You will have patients who will experience fear or nervousness before the infusion because they don’t know what to expect. Why don’t you encourage them to ask questions instead? That way, they become more aware of what’s to come and end up curious rather than afraid.
A wise person once said, “It’s really hard to be fearful and fascinated at the same time.” So if they experience any negative emotions, invite them to be curious.
Check out our other blog post on the 4 Things to Let Your Ketamine Patients Know To Expect During An Infusion.
Many emotions will be felt by your patients during the infusion. This is something that they should fully feel in order to make the most of their treatment.
Let Them Practice Acceptance
After encouraging your patients to get curious, remind them to fully feel the emotion. This will take courage on their end, especially when it’s an uncomfortable emotion such as sadness or anger. All of that is completely normal and even encouraged so that they can truly experience the ketamine infusion treatment.
Regardless of their emotions, let your patients practice full acceptance of their experience. Dr. Carl Jung, a pioneer in analytic psychology, once said, “What we resist not only persists but gets larger.”
The treatment doesn’t end after the ketamine infusion. A post-infusion plan is a must in order for your patients to unpack their experience and understand their emotions.
Devise a Post-Infusion Plan
After your patient’s ketamine experience, devise a plan for him/her to unpack their experience. This could mean seeing their psychiatrist, therapist, or counselor. They may even speak with a trusted integration coach. The appointment should ideally be the next day or two after their infusion.
Another way for them to decompress their experience during the infusion is to do some journaling or talk with a trusted, non-judgmental friend or family member. Your patients shouldn’t keep any of their experiences in if they want to make the most of their treatment.
As a ketamine doctor, not only are you the one who provides the infusion, but you also play the role as a guide to your patients on this transformative journey of theirs.
You Are Their Guide
Anyone who goes through a ketamine infusion experience has a lot of courage. But despite that, they need you, their doctor, to guide and be there for them in order to keep them strong and grounded. By encouraging them to practice all the steps above, you’ll be able to help your patients go through this challenging, unique, and transformative experience.
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As a ketamine specialist, you will be dealing with patients who will face negative experiences. There are a few things that you can do to help alleviate their challenges, which we will talk about in this blog post.
Learn the four critical techniques to ensure patients are both mentally and physically prepared for their sessions, contributing to the success of their care and your ketamine clinic.