Used as an anesthetic for decades in hospital settings, ketamine has psychedelic properties when applied in low doses. In this context, treatment with ketamine in assisted therapies is aimed at people with, among other conditions, depression, addiction and eating disorders. To discuss this new path that combines psychedelics with psychotherapy, Lisbon will host the conference "Ketamine Psychotherapy - Clinical Evidence and Brain Mechanisms" on September 20. British psychiatrist David Nutt will be in attendance. We spoke to this expert.

INTERVIEW || David Nutt is one of the biggest names in the world when it comes to psychedelic drugs. In an interview with CNN Portugal, Nutt talks about the use of ketamine in the treatment of depression and addiction, an alternative that is gaining ground in the scientific community. The psychiatrist also talks about the advances and promises of this therapy, which he guarantees will be cheaper than conventional therapy and even more effective in the short term. "It's going to be the biggest innovation in the next 20 to 30 years," he says.

Only through rigor, open debate, information, research and scientific evidence can Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy exist for the benefit of the individual with psychiatric illness. An opinion piece by psychiatrist Victor Amorim Rodrigues, clinical director of The Clinic of Change.

Suzete Costa, Research Advisor at The Clinic of Change, was awarded the Helen Clark-Journal of Pharmaceutival Policy and Practice (JoPPP) Prize, which recognizes talent and work done in the field of pharmaceutical policy and practice.

Ketamine treatment at The Clinic of Change, recently opened in Lisbon, is aimed at people with conditions such as depression, addiction, post-traumatic stress, anxiety and eating disorders.

Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is a form of therapy that uses psychedelics "with solid evidence of efficacy".

He is the Clinical Director of The Clinic of Change and he explains to us what innovative things are being done in this area and how to reverse these figures. There's an innovative treatment that's worth knowing about, find out what "Ketamine" is and what it's used for.

Reference centers in hospitals around the world are looking to psychedelics such as ketamine as an effective way of treating various psychiatric illnesses such as depression. Are these substances the future of medicine for mental illness? "They are already the present and are making their way," admits clinical psychologist Carla Mariz.