psychedelic therapy started : Nagoya Anesthesiology Clinic in Japan

2024.03.19 10:30

名古屋麻酔科クリニック

Nagoya Anesthesiology Clinic (Nagoya, Japan) has started psychedelic therapy (ketamine infusion + music therapy) for mental disorders such as treatment-resistant depression, anxiety disorders, and PTSD on March 14, 2024.

A New Strategy of Psychedelic Therapy

About Psychedelic Therapy

Currently, research on psychedelic therapy using LSD, MDMA, psilocybin, and other hallucinogenic drugs is being actively conducted overseas. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designated LSD as a breakthrough drug after promising results in clinical trials. MDMA and psilocybin have also been designated as breakthrough therapies.

Nagoya Anesthesiology Clinic has been practicing anesthesiology, pain clinic, and psychosomatic medicine for 15 years. In January 2023, we launched the Ketamine Clinic to provide treatment for a wide range of mental disorders. In the past, we have provided more than 1,500 ketamine infusion treatments, accumulating a wealth of experience and knowledge. In addition, we have been providing insightful psychoanalytic therapy (dynamic psychotherapy) with a focus on dream analysis since the clinic's inception, and have conducted more than 1,000 dream analyses to date.

Ketamine has a different mechanism of action from other hallucinogens, acting as an NMDA receptor antagonist and is thought to cause hallucinations and altered consciousness by altering glutamatergic neurotransmission. Ketamine-induced dream hallucinations are considered one of the side effects, but they are also thought to be an effect of getting closer to the unconscious layer and receiving messages from the unconscious layer, which is the mind, to the social self.

What is the "psychedelic therapy (ketamine infusion + music therapy)" that we have started offering?

Our psychedelic therapy is a new treatment approach that combines ketamine infusion and music therapy (mainly ambient healing). This combination makes it easier to approach the unconscious layer, and we believe that it may lead to mental stability by adjusting the gap between the conscious and unconscious. Furthermore, we will attempt to deepen the effect of this therapy by incorporating a dynamics psychotherapy using dream analysis techniques.

In fact, many patients who have undergone this therapy report that their dreams and hallucinatory experiences have increased and that the quality of these experiences has become more concrete. As a result, they feel more clear-headed, stable, and at ease.

This psychedelic therapy is being looked at as a new treatment option for patients who have not responded to traditional therapies. We offer safe and effective treatment tailored to the individual needs and circumstances of our patients.