Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy for Treating Comorbid Chronic Pain and PTSD

Ketamine hydrochloride (DIN: 02246795, 02246796) will be administered over 40-min intravenous (IV) infusion twice per week on non-consecutive days for the first two weeks of study treatment (four treatment sessions in total). We will use a standard dose of 0.5mg/kg which has demonstrated efficacy in safety in individuals with PTSD.

The Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) will be an 8-week group program adapted from a protocol developed to treat PTSD to include psychoeducation about chronic pain and mutual maintenance factors through which chronic pain and PTSD facilitate each other. The MBCT group will be delivered by trained professionals in weekly 2-hour sessions through Microsoft Teams. The 8-week program will include 1) mindfulness techniques; 2) psychoeducation regarding chronic pain, PTSD and stress responses; 3) psychoeducation on mutual maintenance factors that contribute to negative interactions between pain and PTSD symptoms, 4) promoting mindful awareness of these factors' impact on daily life and 5) feedback and supportive group discussion of exercises. Participants will be asked to complete daily mindfulness exercises between sessions to practice skills learned for a recommended minimum of 20 minutes per day.