No Ketamine cowboys at this clinic. What sets Syntonic apart

Concerns about ketamine and ketamine clinics

An article published in the Daily Maverick on South Africa’s cowboy ketamine clinics reported on valid concerns about the use and misuse of ketamine to treat mental health conditions like treatment-resistant depression. The statements made by psychiatrist, Dr Bavi Vythilingum, offered valuable insights into the necessity of appropriate medical screening before ketamine infusions are considered as a treatment option, as well as close medical monitoring by appropriately trained medical practitioners during infusions to prioritise patient safety. Syntonic would like to add another perspective to this important conversation, one that speaks to our very origin.

What makes ketamine so valuable to mental healthcare practitioners

Ketamine, a fast-acting novel antidepressant medication, is not only unique because of its almost immediate and pronounced effects, but also because of its unique mechanism of action. Unlike other antidepressants, which operate on the serotonin system, ketamine affects the glutamate system. Specifically, Ketamine creates a dissociative effect that helps a person temporarily move beyond their usual mental blocks, making it easier to explore deeper thoughts and feelings. As the philosopher and neuroscientist, Sam Harris, reminds us: “few people are ready to confront the sheer significance of their own minds without handrails”. Ketamine can help people access their deeper emotions that often stem from unmet psychological needs, which can be insightful and liberating.

Ketamine infusions not only offer much-needed relief from insufferable depression but can also provide a roadmap to one’s true self, which, when navigated through careful, focused work with a therapist, can become the basis for lasting change.

For decades, there has been competition for funding and research between biological psychiatry practitioners, who focus on the organic brain, and interpersonally-focused psychologists, who focus on the abstract mind. The difficulty with this, we have learned, is essentially that this divide means that one approach is brainless while the other is mindless! It seems more sensible to recognise, as research on the healing properties of ketamine has shown us, that both approaches are best used together to offer people maximal and sustainable life changes.

Syntonic – a balance-based approach to mental healthcare

Syntonic was founded on the belief that the magic lies not only in the medicine. We are proud to offer a safe, effective, and compassion-based approach to ketamine therapy, administered by a team comprised of psychiatrists working collaboratively with psychologists. Our experienced psychiatrists provide comprehensive assessments for potential patients and, where appropriate, prescribe ketamine infusions as ONE part of a comprehensive treatment plan. In synchrony, our skilled psychologists, specifically trained to work with the healing effects of ketamine, help patients psychologically prepare for the infusions and make sense of the insights gained during them, co-constructing individualised approaches to heal wounds, improve relationships, and live a more fulfilling life.

In contrast to the concept of a “cowboy ketamine clinic” that appears to be a growing concern for so many, Syntonic offers responsible, compassionate care that combines the best of biological psychiatry with the meaning-making of psychotherapy to maximise the efficacy of this exciting new treatment protocol. We hope to demonstrate that it does offer hope to those who have struggled with depression for so long. Please visit our website, social media platforms, or even our fantastic clinic at 73 Oxford Road if you’d like to learn more.