- Nov
- 09
- 2022
Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Mini Series Part 2 | Ketamine-assisted therapy in psychiatry: Spiritual, group and meditative frameworks potentiating clinical benefits
In the second part of a three-part mini series on psychedelic assisted therapies in collaboration with the Institute of Integrative Health and Wellness (IIHW) Dr. Scott Shannon will explore how the psychedelic framework of relationship, music, set and setting can exploit the malleable effects of ketamine on consciousness. He will review his data about group ketamine-assisted psychotherapy for healthcare workers and his experience training a few hundred professionals in an experiential group model of KAP. Scott will compare and contrast ketamine to MDMA for the treatment of trauma and speculate about the spiritual benefits of this well-known agent. Dr. Elias Dakwar will discuss the results of his research investigating ketamine coupled with mindfulness training on use-related measures in cocaine- and alcohol-dependent volunteers, as well as discuss the broader significance of ketamine and non-ordinary experiences in…
About Speaker
Speakers
Dr. Scott Shannon, MD
Medical Director – Wholeness Center
Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry – Columbia University Department of Psychiatry
Elias Dakwar, MD researches novel treatments for addictions with the support of several grants from NIDA and NIAAA. A special focus of his research has been evaluating sub-anesthetic ketamine infusions for cocaine use disorders in both laboratory and clinical settings, as well as investigating ketamine infusions as an adjunct to mindfulness-based treatment, motivational interviewing, and other behavioral frameworks for alcohol, cannabis, and opioid use disorders. He has a more general interest in the impact of non-ordinary experiences, and of the interventions that might occasion them, in psychiatric treatment.
Moderator
Dr. Rael Cahn, MD, PhD
Clinical Associate Professor – USC Department of Psychiatry
Director – USC Center for Mindfulness Science
Rael Cahn is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist working at the USC Department of Psychiatry with extensive personal experience as a meditation practitioner and experience teaching mindfulness meditation practices to clinicians and patients alike. His research expertise is in the neuroscience of meditation and altered states of consciousness. He is currently using EEG and fMRI methods to investigate the neurophysiologic mechanisms underlying states of meditative awareness in beginning as well as long-term meditators. In addition to his work investigating the neural bases of mindfulness and the clinical impact of such practices, he is currently coordinating a study in collaboration with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) assessing the epigenetic changes underlying the treatment of PTSD using MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. Going forward, he is pursuing studies assessing the clinical efficacy of psychedelic-assisted therapy with a specific interest in the synergy between mindfulness and meditative practices and psychedelic therapy in transforming symptoms of trauma, depression, anxiety, and addiction.