Treating Trauma-Related Symptoms with Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy: A Program Evaluation

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice project was to perform a summative outcome evaluation on the impact of Tucson Counseling Associate’s ketamine-assisted psychotherapy program on patients’ trauma-related symptoms as measured by retrospective analysis of pre-and post-treatment screening scores of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL-5). Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder is a prevalent and debilitating mental health condition with limited effective treatment options. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is a treatment modality that combines psychotherapy with ketamine administration and is an emerging off-label treatment option for post-traumatic stress disorder. Due to the novelty of this psychotherapy, there is currently limited evidence for its efficacy in reducing trauma-related symptoms and wide variability in how it is applied. Tucson Counseling Associates, a small private psychotherapy clinic in Tucson, Arizona, has offered ketamine-assisted psychotherapy since 2021 for treatment-resistant mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. This project aims to comprehensively describe Tucson Counseling Associate’s approach to ketamine-assisted psychotherapy and illuminate its effectiveness for treating trauma-related symptoms. Methods: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention framework for program evaluation in public health was utilized to guide the process of this project’s summative outcome program evaluation. PCL-5 score data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel to run descriptive statistics and paired t-tests. Results: For all clients, there was a significant small improvement (p = 0.03; d = 0.46) between pre- and post-KAP treatment PCL-5 scores. For clients with PTSD, there was a significant large improvement (p = 0.01; d = 0.84). For PTSD symptom subscales, there was a significant large improvement in intrusive symptoms (p = 0.01, d = 0.84) and in negative alterations in mood and cognition (p = 0.01, d = 0.88), and a significant medium improvement (p = 0.05, d = 0.64) in avoidance symptoms. PCL-5 questions 9, 11, and 13 demonstrated the greatest improvements between pre- and post-treatment for clients with PTSD. Conclusions: Tucson Counseling Associate’s ketamine-assisted psychotherapy program effectively reduces trauma-related symptoms, particularly in individuals with PTSD diagnoses, as evidenced by clinical and statistically significant improvement in PCL-5 scores after KAP treatment. The greatest improvements were seen in improving persistent negative beliefs, emotions, and feelings of detachment from others. These findings suggest that KAP targets symptoms often associated with attachment wounds in people with PTSD and may more effectively treat the root causes of chronic trauma symptomology.