Ketamine-Augmented Hypnotherapy
Dirk Revenstorf, Joost (j.b.c.) Mertens, Martin Schipplick
Preprints.org June 30, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.20944/preprints202606.2224.v1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Ketamine-augmented hypnotherapy (KAHT) |
| Topics | Esketamine Ketamine |
| Key points | Argues that ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, specifically ketamine-augmented hypnotherapy, represents a promising augmentation strategy for treatment-resistant conditions by enabling new affective and cognitive connections through transiently altered states of consciousness. |
Abstract
The therapeutic use of ketamine and other psychoactive substances in psychiatry is attracting growing research interest, particularly in treatment-resistant depression and related conditions refractory to conventional care. Ketamine exerts direct pharmacological antidepressant effects through NMDA receptor antagonism and downstream neuroplastic mechanisms; its combination with structured psychotherapy represents a promising augmentation strategy, though one that remains largely experimental and is currently recommended only for patients who have not responded to established treatments. By transiently attenuating self-referential processing and the dominance of habitual evaluative frameworks, psychoactive substances may enable new affective and cognitive connections — creating a window of opportunity for therapeutic change that is difficult to achieve through endogenous means alone. This potential appears transdiagnostic, extending beyond depression to trauma-related disorders, substance dependence, and other serious psychiatric conditions. The present article describes the theoretical and neurobiological foundations of altered states of consciousness relevant to this work, and presents preliminary clinical experience with ketamine-augmented hypnotherapy (KAHT) as a specific implementation of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on ketamine, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| From PCP to MXE: a comprehensive review of the non-medical use of dissociative drugs. | 2014 | Historical analysis | |
| A Dendrite-Focused Framework for Understanding the Actions of Ketamine and Psychedelics | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Neuroscience and the Near-Death Experience: Roles for the NMSA-PCP receptor, the sigma receptor and the endopsychosins | 1990 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| A unified model of ketamine's dissociative and psychedelic properties. | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| An Integrative Approach to Ketamine Therapy May Enhance Multiple Dimensions of Efficacy: Improving Therapeutic Outcomes With Treatment Resistant Depression. | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |