During a Ketamine Assisted Therapy session, a client experiences a short-lived but intense subjective experience, which is an effective
alternative to the current medical position in place to treat depression, anxiety, and substance abuse by manipulating neurochemical imbalances in
the brain (at serotonin and dopamine receptors, etc.) using daily medication. Instead, psychedelic medicines such as ketamine have the effect
of growing new dendrites at the ends of neurons in the brain, resulting in more diffuse communications throughout the brain, lending towards mental
flexibility, openness, and more adaptive thinking patterns. Psychedelic medicines also decrease activity in the Default Mode Network (DMN) in the
brain which is responsible for self-referential thinking. In conditions such as depression, the DMN is implicated in negative self-referential
thinking which is a hallmark symptom of depression and other mental health conditions which negatively impact quality of life. Ketamine therapy employs low doses of ketamine – which is a dissociative anesthetic medication, as a way to help treat various mental health conditions. It has been shown to help with:
- Treatment-resistant depression.
- Anxiety disorders that disrupt daily routines.
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
With ketamine treatments, many patients report symptom improvements (especially depression), sometimes hours or even days post-treatment. With
a minimum of six ketamine sessions spaced no more than one week apart, the positive effects are much longer lasting, at times up to one year or
longer, although results are patient-specific. Dr. Gangi offers six Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) sessions and one integration session within a few days after each treatment.
Dr. Gangi, who works in Long Island, New York, collaborates with a Double-Board-Certified Psychiatrist and Licensed Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners to ensure quality ketamine-based therapeutic care is provided in accordance with APA regulations, ethical guidelines, and state licensure mandates. Ketamine assisted treatments are only conducted once a week in-person at a psychiatrist's office which is in Southampton, NY.