Clinics specializing in the treatment of mental health issues are popping up all over the world; they stand out for their use of ketamine, a hallucinogenic drug used recreationally but which, in medically controlled doses, achieves what antidepressants cannot. In Lisbon, it’s called The Clinic of Change. It treats managers and businesspeople for burnout, among other conditions.
Author: André Macedo
October 4, 2024
Sales of psychedelic-based medications used to treat depression and other mental health conditions are expected to reach 4 billion euros over the next five years and are generating growing interest among investors. There’s a little bit of everything on the lab benches of the dozens of biotech startups conducting research in this field of mental health in search of a new blockbuster. The ripple effect of this investment will be reflected in the products that will become increasingly visible on the market over the next few years, as well as in the number of patients receiving treatment.
MDMA, ketamine [or cetamine], certain types of mushrooms, and other substances are being studied and tested extensively. What was once thought to be merely a relic of the 1960s associated with the hippie movement—and which today was, to some extent, confined to recreational users and microdosing enthusiasts—has broken free from the fringes and the realm of illegality to burst onto the scene in doctors’ offices with the status of a medication.
Lisbon has no startups conducting research in this highly sensitive field, but a little over a year ago, in July 2023, this stagnation was broken with the opening of a clinic in Saldanha—approved by all national regulators—where ketamine is used to treat people suffering from prolonged depression and various serious mental health issues. What is extraordinary about this trend that is beginning to take hold in Portugal is that even investment funds from countries with extremely strict criminal laws against recreational drug use—such as Singapore—are increasingly investing capital in this brave new world.
The explanation for this chemical gold rush is the most obvious of all when it comes to money: mental illness has gone from being a shameful burden to a highly profitable and attractive market. Psychiatric disorders are found in our next-door neighbor’s home, affect the colleague we work with, or are even present within our own homes. […]
The polar opposite of make-believe and prejudice
Meanwhile, depression has come out of the closet and has become a perfectly natural topic of conversation. […]
Newspaper articles, television reports, and radio broadcasts reflect this sudden surge in cases, as if we were facing a mental health pandemic. Of course, not everything we read, hear, or see is accurate; there is a lot of speculation and too many generalizations, but that does not mean this is merely a temporary illusion—the problem exists, it is widespread, and its severity cannot be disputed.
Doctors, lawyers, accountants, elite athletes, managers, and businesspeople—no one is immune to depression. The reasons are intrinsically linked to our lifestyle: pressure of any kind, long work hours, the constant connectivity driven by cell phones, and intense professional competition… these are, generally speaking, the common problems reported by an increasing number of people—not to mention biological causes or those related to traumatic experiences.
Depression—whether mild or severe—alcoholism, and drug addiction—even among people who were, until a certain point, able to function professionally—have become increasingly prevalent and have turned into a serious public health problem. There is no shortage of patients, which means that the global market for antidepressants is worth nearly 20 billion euros every year. In Portugal, 33,000 packages are sold per day, which means that 12 million boxes are prescribed annually—equivalent to more than one box per inhabitant, although the per-capita distribution is not exactly that—even so, it is obviously an enormous figure.
Given this widespread use of antidepressants, what is the state of mental health among the Portuguese population? If we take these sales figures at face value, the diagnosis is crystal clear: we’ve hit rock bottom—which may be a huge exaggeration. If we look at this excessive consumption with some detachment, we realize that there may be a problem behind the problem—beyond overprescribing and overconsumption, often without a doctor’s prescription, what stands out is the inability of conventional antidepressants to partially or fully resolve the illness they are supposed to treat. They do produce results, of course—clinical evidence clearly demonstrates this—but there are conditions that still lie beyond their chemical reach. This is precisely where the work carried out by The Clinic of Change comes in.
Launched by a group of partners—notably Paulo Duarte, former president of the National Association of Pharmacies, and clinical psychologist Carla Mariz—this medical team not only conducts conventional psychotherapy sessions but has also expanded its arsenal of treatments: they have combined psychotherapy with ketamine, achieving, through this combination, a high cure rate among patients with treatment-resistant depression—that is, those who do not respond to other types of treatment. […]
