A Thoughtful Approach to Ketamine Therapy
Evidence-informed care for people seeking new options when conventional treatments have not helped.
Does the idea of another treatment feel like too much?
What if you didn’t have to decide anything today?
If you are feeling overwhelmed, unsure, or cautious about Ketamine Therapy, you are not behind. Many people who explore ketamine therapy arrive with nervous system dysregulation, treatment fatigue or fear of being let down by another healing modality. You do not need to understand everything at once.
You can move through this information at your own pace. You do not need to commit to treatment to learn more. A consultation exists to help you understand fit, safety, and options, not to push you toward a decision.
Start Here
Ketamine is a medication that has been used safely in medical settings for decades. At lower, subanesthetic doses, it is being studied and used in controlled clinical environments for its potential role in mental health and pain management. Ketamine is research-backed & evidence-based psychedelic medicine is the latest treatment option for a variety of psychiatric and pain disorders.
Unlike many traditional medications that work gradually over weeks or months, ketamine is fast-acting with patients often reporting improvement after their very first treatment.
Ketamine therapy is not a cure and it is not appropriate for everyone. It is one tool among many and its effectiveness depends on careful screening, medical oversight, preparation and integration.
What Is Ketamine?
Why People Begin Looking for Something Different
Many people begin researching ketamine therapy after feeling stuck, exhausted or discouraged by treatments that helped only partially or not at all.
For people with trauma histories or sensitive nervous systems, safety, pacing and clarity are often more important than speed. This is why our model emphasizes preparation and integration rather than intensity.
This therapy is for people living with depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance use challenges or chronic pain, especially when these conditions persist despite typical medications or other conventional approaches.
Ketamine Keys is designed for those seeking a medically guided option that acknowledges the complexity of their experience and offers care that is calm, intentional and grounded in both evidence and compassion.
Who This Is For
Ketamine therapy is being explored worldwide for its potential role in mental health and pain management. Our clinic brings together current medical research, clinical experience and a human-centered approach.
Our approach is informed by emerging literature in psychedelic-assisted care as well as real-world clinical experience.
Every treatment path begins with a consultation to determine whether ketamine therapy may be appropriate for you.
A Different Way Forward
Understanding the Process
Ketamine therapy is not a single event. It is a structured process designed to support both immediate experience and longer-term integration.
Please submit the intake form and a member of our team will reach out to schedule your consultation with our physician
OR CLICK HERE to reach out to us for more information.
A member of our medical team will answer your questions regarding the treatment procedure and determine your eligibility for ketamine therapy during your consultation with the physician.
Step 1- Consultation
The medical team here will make sure you have all you need to make the most of your ketamine therapy after your treatment plan has been established.
This typically involves consultation visits with one of our experienced psychologist who will assist in the preparation stages of your treatment.
Step 2- Preparation
Step 3- Treatment
Each session will last roughly 1-2 hours and occur over the course of several weeks or longer.
Your path to recovery begins with a single ketamine therapy session but it may take multiple sessions overseen by a physician to achieve lasting results.
Integration is arguably the most crucial component of the ketamine therapy.
After your ketamine treatments, you will work alongside either our medical team or in some cases, your already established mental health team, to process your experience and evaluate your ongoing therapeutic requirements.
Step 4- Integration
Based out of Victoria, BC
Ketamine Keys Medical Clinic is a physician directed practice providing structured, evidence based treatments in private, carefully supported settings throughout the region.
Services and Treatments
Initial Consultation
All services begin with a consultation to assess your history, current concerns and treatment goals. This process helps determine whether ketamine-assisted therapy may be appropriate for you. The consultation establishes safety, eligibility and next steps before any treatment is considered.
Ketamine therapy may be offered as part of your treatment plan. Care is delivered within established medical guidelines and tailored to the individuals needs. Treatment plans are developed with attention to safety, dosing considerations and supportive follow-up to promote therapeutic benefit and integration.
Ketamine Therapy
Nasal and Oral ketamine therapy may be an option for select patients as part of an individualized treatment plan. This method allows for non-injectable administration under medical guidance and may be considered after careful evaluation and education. As with all ketamine therapy, eligibility, dosing considerations and monitoring are determined after extensive medical evaluation.
Nasal Spray Ketamine Therapy
Meet the Team
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Dr. Jeff Dufresne CCFP MD
Medical Director
Dr. Dufresne is a physician raised in northern Alberta and British Columbia who has been practicing in rural BC since 2020 primarily in the Emergency Medicine and Inpatient field. He has always had an interest in ketamine-assisted care.He brings clinical experience, ongoing engagement with medical research and a patient-centered, thoughtful approach to care. He oversees assessments, treatment planning and clinical protocols for the clinic.
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Angela Jamil
Administrative Assistant
Angela is the Admin Assistant at Ketamine Keys, creating a supportive environment where patients feel welcomed and cared for from the very beginning. She aids in guiding individuals through their ketamine journey, offering grounded support both before and after treatments.
With a warm, intuitive presence, Angela helps foster a sense of strong support, allowing patients to fully engage in their healing and integration process.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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In the 1970s, ketamine was first developed as a surgical anaesthetic, and it is still used for this purpose today. It is a well-tolerated, safe medicine with psychedelic and dissociative effects at specific doses. It also has a rapid antidepressant effect. Ketamine has been found to have favourable mental health effects when administered in a controlled environment.
Ketamine is an FDA-approved anaesthetic that is increasingly used to treat anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders. "Off-label usage" refers to the prescription of a medication that has not been formally approved for a patient's symptoms; it is legal and prevalent, with one in five prescriptions written in the United States for off-label use. The effectiveness of ketamine in treating treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, anxiety, OCD, neuropathic pain, suicidal ideation, and other related mood disorders has been demonstrated.
Ketamine is fast-acting and can sometimes be beneficial after a single dose, whereas the majority of conventional antidepressants take weeks to take action. Therefore, ketamine can be a vital tool for preventing suicide and swiftly alleviating the pain caused by major depressive disorder (MDD). Our clinic's lower doses and administration techniques do not induce anaesthesia but can induce psychedelic effects. -
Ketamine acts as an antidepressant in the brain, increasing neuroplasticity (neuron growth, repair, and reorganisation) via multiple brain receptors and neurotransmitters. Numerous studies have shown that ketamine therapy heals the brain and nervous system by restoring normal neural network functioning in the brain. Ketamine acts as an NMDA antagonist at the receptor level, regulating the availability of the neurotransmitter glutamate in the brain. Other receptors are targeted and contribute to the treatment's acute and long-term effects.
Ketamine has been shown to help improve a variety of mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, pain, and substance abuse disorder. -
Adverse side effects from ketamine treatments are uncommon but if they do occur, they are very brief and may include the following:
Dizziness
Blurred vision
Headache
Nausea or vomiting
Dry mouth
Restlessness
Difficulty with coordination
Difficulty concentrating
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Ketamine can be used to facilitate therapeutic breakthroughs in therapy. In the 1950s, Western medicine started using ketamine for treatments and procedures. Recent studies support its effectiveness for depression, anxiety, addiction, and PTSD. More therapeutic options are becoming available as the legal and medical landscapes evolve.
Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) employs lower dosages of ketamine than those that have been used safely in anaesthesia for decades.
KAP is an approach in which psychotherapy is combined with a single or several ketamine doses. The first consists of sessions in which a low, sub-psychedelic dose of ketamine is utilised as a catalyst for the psychotherapy process; that is, it facilitates communication between the individual and their therapist. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is also a therapeutic method that comprises lengthier immersive sessions in which a full psychedelic dose of ketamine is provided for a more introspective, visionary experience. A series of preparatory and integrating sessions precede these meetings. -
The combination of ketamine and psychotherapy can be more beneficial than ketamine alone.
Your ketamine experience provides additional material to work with in therapy, particularly in the setting of an extended psychotherapeutic partnership. In this treatment model, ketamine is delivered orally using lozenges or intramuscularly (IM). The therapeutic effect of treatment is maximised by increasing physical comfort in a relaxing environment. Repeated administrations of Ketamine may be required to maintain its efficacy. The number of treatments you receive is determined by your physician on an individual basis. -
If you believe you may qualify for KAP, please fill out our patient intake form and email it to us. We will contact you to explain the intake procedure, request any additional paperwork and confirm your eligibility for treatment.
You will receive an initial psychotherapy consultation prior to receiving your first KAP treatment and will complete two or more ketamine sessions followed by virtual integration sessions with one of our clinicians.
After your initial course of treatment, you will be assessed to determine whether further treatment might be beneficial and a specific treatment plan will be created for you. -
Ketamine induces a sense of disconnection from one's usual reality and self, which may induce or amplify, among other feelings, creativity, purpose, perspective, serenity, insight, inspiration, gratitude, empathy, connection to others and the world, openness to new ideas, psychological rebirth and travel outside of oneself. Also possible are visual, auditory and other sensory experiences.
A ketamine treatment can take between one and two hours. Clinical research indicates that peak antidepressant effects occur between 24 and 48 hours following administration, with the majority of individuals experiencing a mood improvement within hours. You should have little difficulty returning to routine activities the next day.
The subjective effects of ketamine can range from slight changes in cognition and bodily experience to full dissociative states in which one feels completely detached from his or her body and all of one's thoughts dissolve, a condition known as "ego dissolution." -
We encourage patients to explore reputable, evidence-based resources to better understand ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. Below are selected articles and clinical references that provide additional context on safety, effectiveness, and current research related to ketamine treatment.
Please see below for https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02791072.2019.1587556
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9207256/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6767816/
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Each individual's experience is somewhat unique. You will likely begin to feel the effects of the ketamine 5 to 10 minutes after administration, with the peak lasting roughly 45 to 60 minutes. The majority of individuals regain their normal level of consciousness within two hours after administration.
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Do not eat prior to your session. Patients must fast for a minimum of six hours before receiving ketamine, which is why we typically arrange treatments in the morning. The final meal should be consumed the night before therapy. The morning of your treatment, you may only consume liquids.
Do not drive following your session. After your treatment, you must have someone else drive for you, and you should not operate a vehicle, machinery or other equipment by yourself until the day after your treatment. You will be given thorough instructions for pre and post treatment. -
Yes. Ketamine does not interact negatively with antidepressants or diminish their efficacy. This will be confirmed with you by your physician during your initial consultation.
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The eligibility of patients for ketamine therapy is at the discretion of the treating physician. Before proceeding with treatment, our medical staff will assess your intake information, conduct a mental health evaluation, and ensure that you are medically fit for care.
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Depending on your needs, you may receive multiple ketamine treatments for a period of several weeks or months. Each session includes an integration component. Your initial session includes a thorough consultation with our physician and a preparatory component to familiarize you with the treatment process and what you should expect. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is not currently covered by insurance in Canada or the US and does often require “out of pocket” payments.
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To begin your wellness journey, please fill out an intake form for a consultation. For more information contact our clinic by email info@ketaminekeys.com and a member of our staff will assist you in scheduling an appointment at your convenience.
Take the First Step
If you’re curious about whether ketamine therapy may be appropriate for you, upload your intake form or send us a message for more information.
CONTACT US
Mailing: PO Box 36060
870 Esquimalt Rd.
Victoria BC, V9A 3M4
Fax: 250-412-6462
Phone: 778-557-2244
Email: info@ketaminekeys.com