Field Trip Health Houston’s psychedelic healing with ketamine helps patient with depressive anxiety – Houston Chronicle

An episode of a CNN show about psychedelic drug treatments sent Spring resident Katy Parr on a quest.

Psychedelic healing was the topic on host Lisa Lings This Is Life series on CNN.

The story centered on three individuals: one who used psilocybin on his own, another who tried ketamine with a psychiatrist and a third who had treatments of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (commonly known as Molly or Ectasy) with the nonprofit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies.

Parr was so intrigued that sometimes the show became too overwhelming to watch.

I had to stop several times and cry, she recalled.

Parr has experienced depressive symptoms since adolescence and began therapy at 25. She has anxiety, major depressive disorder and complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

In the past, Parr has been prescribed several different selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a class of drugs used as antidepressants. The experience only set her back, she said.

Therapy, however, has been essential for her treatment. The idea of coupling it with psychedelic healing, as she saw on CNN, seemed promising.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Clinic Field Trip Health brings ketamine-based therapy to depression treatment

Parr called her therapist, who replied, I think youd be an incredible candidate for this.

Chloe Chew gives a tour Friday, March 11, 2022, at Field Trip Health in Houston.

Her therapist was actually in the midst of training with MAPS but not yet able to prescribe anything.

She recommended Field Trip, Parr said. She knew that they had a new office here, right in our backyard.

Field Trip Health Houston at 4310 Westheimer, opened in May. The company, which now has 12 locations globally, launched in Canada in 2019.

Field Trip Health says on its website that clients using ketamine-assisted psychotherapy report 92 percent improvement with anxiety and 89 percent with depression one month after treatment.

Parrs treatment began at the end of September.

During the first psychedelic exploration session, Parr received two small doses of ketamine and was monitored for her reaction.

This appointment sets the stage for the correct dosage moving forward. Its also a time for psychotherapists to gauge how the body will respond to ketamine.

The goal is to get you into a psychedelic space, Parr said. Thats where the healing happens.

She had six more psychedelic explorations, and during each, her dosage increased.

Youre in an enclosed room in a zero-gravity chair that reclines, Parr said. She had a weighted blanket, eye shades and headphones pumping out a curated playlist.

Field Trip Health, photographed Friday, March 11, 2022, in Houston.

Her guide, psychotherapist Bobbie Russell, was in the room and there to help if she picked up on any signs of distress.

The psychedelic explorations are paired with full integration appointments, when Russell and Parr could discuss what happened.

It helped me understand what all of this was about, Parr said.

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She scheduled three weeks with six explorations and three integrations. She went from feeling high at the lower dosages to having a full psychedelic experience later on.

Its almost like youre jerked into a different reality, she said.

The experience was cathartic.

This medicine is bringing you on a journey, Parr said.

Russell was drawn to merging psychedelics with therapy after reading studies of how effective the option has been.

I knew my clients deserved the absolute best treatments we could give them, she said.

Field Trip Health sources ketamine from licensed medical suppliers and employs a trained team of health professionals to support treatment. All treatments are completed with supervision and on-going monitoring to ensure safety.

Russell said the treatment is an option for individuals with depression, anxiety, PTSD or chronic pain.

I want them to know that there is hope, she said.

Many of her clients have treatment-resistant depression. Theyve tried everything, but they dont have symptom reduction, Russell said.

Bobbie Russells shoes sit next to crystals Wednesday, March 16, 2022, at Field Trip Health in Houston.

With ketamine, she has seen a change in her patients. She said that the treatment, which is short term and lasts four to six weeks, is about 80 percent effective.

Its safe, she said. Its medically monitored. Its evidence-based and its effective.

Therapists are also trained to deal with trauma and to work with veterans.

A common concern, Russell said, is that ketamine will be addictive. Another is that the drug alone will treat a symptom. Neither is true, Russell said.

Its the medicine and psychology working together, she said. Its not the drug itself.

Russell said talk therapy sessions help patients integrate the psychedelic experiences to create long-lasting, positive outcomes.

One of the main lenses she uses for therapy is the internal family system, which explores an individuals subpersonalities in order for them to better understand identity.

Russell uses the Pixar film Inside Out to explain the concept. The main character Riley is faced with a move across the country, and her emotions guide her on the journey.

Crystals and coloring books, photographed Friday, March 11, 2022, at Field Trip Health in Houston.

All of these parts of herself have different feelings and ideas of how Riley should react, Russell said. Their views are informed by life experiences. Sometimes, they can be our worst critics, but they are there to guide us and keep us safe.

By building understanding of these aspects, clients can better spot their triggers and guide their own responses.

Pairing the therapy with psychedelics holds immense promise for patients, Russell said.

It empowers them to make informed changes in their behavior and reaction to stress, she said.

For Parr, the internal family systems approach was a game changer.

Its helped a lot with how I speak to myself, like moving past negative self talk, she said.

And when it came to changing her reaction to stress, Parr put that to the test, shortly after completing her treatment with Field Trip Health.

About a week after her last individual session, she went through a divorce. She said the therapy helped her take in stride what, in the past, would have been impossible to handle.

I think this happened at just the right time of my life, Parr said. I was able to accelerate the therapy in that psychedelic space. Out of that session I got so much.

Some clients come into Field Trip Health skeptical about the treatment, Russell said.

Theyve tried everything and dont believe this is going to work, she said. But theyre out of options.

After a month, they return telling a different story, she said.

Bobbie Russell, a social worker, poses for a portrait Wednesday, March 16, 2022, at Field Trip Health in Houston.

Theyll say, For the first time in my life, I dont have crippling anxiety. For the first time, Im not depressed, she said. And that is why I get up every day to go to work. My clients say they feel better.

That doesnt mean they are cured, Russell added. But their baseline is better, she said. They leave treatment with hope, with a renewed view of life and with new skills.

Parr, for instance, said she will face depressive symptoms for the rest of her life. In the past, that realization could make her feel hopeless, like depression was lurking on the horizon.

But the ketamine treatments, in conjunction with her usual therapist, have given her a different outlook.

It helped me focus on the fact that its not always going to be like this, she said. Even when I dont have access to joy in those moments, I know it will be available to me in the future.

She added, The work that Ive done is helping me change my relationship with depression and see it more as a teacher in my life instead of a monster always following me around.

Peyton is a Houston-based freelance writer.

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Field Trip Health Houston's psychedelic healing with ketamine helps patient with depressive anxiety - Houston Chronicle