The Impact of Media Consumption on Ketamine Therapy Outcomes

An interesting scientific article was published in the Frontiers of Human Neuroscience journal on July 18, 2023. It introduced intriguing insights into the influence of media consumption before ketamine therapy sessions. The study titled "Imprinting: expanding the extra-pharmacological model of psychedelic drug action to incorporate delayed influences of sets and settings," revealed how pre-ketamine session media exposure could significantly impact the therapy's effectiveness, highlighting the importance of the intention-setting process.

The study suggests that limiting one’s media intake before a ketamine treatment could lead to a more therapeutic experience.

Enhancing Ketamine Experiences Through Reduced Media Consumption

The findings in this study suggested that individuals who limited their media intake before undergoing ketamine treatment could achieve more profound therapeutic experiences. This supports the practice of using intention-setting as a potent therapeutic tool in enhancing the effects of ketamine therapy, emphasizing the importance of mental preparation for patients.

Whatever you consume mentally has an impact on your psyche.

The Psychological Diet: What You Consume Before Ketamine Therapy Matters

Let’s draw an analogy between the mind and the digestive system. The article underlines how our mental consumption - ranging from books and social media to news and videos - influences your psyche. Just as the food you eat becomes part of your physical body, the information you absorb plays a crucial role in shaping your mental landscape.

Mindful and intentional media consumption before ketamine therapy is an important part of the preparation stage.

Preparing Your Mind for Ketamine Therapy

At our clinic, we encourage patients to be mindful of the types of media they read, watch, or listen to before therapy sessions. We recommend avoiding violent or intense content, such as horror movies or crime shows to prevent such themes from coming up during their ketamine therapy. We’ve seen patients' ketamine experiences directly influenced by the movies or shows they watched prior to their therapy sessions. Our observations, now supported by this study, highlight the need for mindful media consumption as part of ketamine therapy preparation.

Once you have done all the preparation before the treatment, trust in the process, knowing you did your best to prepare.

Integrating Media Awareness Into Ketamine Therapy Preparation

In summary, understanding and moderating what you mentally consume is vital in preparing for ketamine therapy. The analogy of the mind as a digestive system reminds us to be selective about your media intake, which can support a more positive ketamine therapy experience. Sometimes the ketamine experience is challenging regardless of how much preparation or how strict you are on a “media diet” prior to the treatment session. Trust in the therapeutic process, and find peace in knowing you did your best in being mindful of what you watched prior to your treatment

Scientific article referenced in this blog post:
Garel N, Thibault Lévesque J, Sandra DA, Lessard-Wajcer J, Solomonova E, Lifshitz M, Richard-Devantoy S, Greenway KT. Imprinting: expanding the extra-pharmacological model of psychedelic drug action to incorporate delayed influences of sets and settings. Front Hum Neurosci. 2023 Jul 18;17:1200393. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1200393. PMID: 37533588; PMCID: PMC10390742.

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