Author: N.N.
Sapo, March 18, 2024
[Image taken from the article: Lukasz Palka]
Alexandre Almeida had already tried almost everything and was about to give up when he discovered, through ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, a way out of the alcoholism that was destroying him and his family relationships. “I got my family back, my sanity, and my joy of living,” he admits.
Alexandre Almeida spent years trying to save himself from chronic alcoholism. After decades of failed treatments and numerous relapses, he nearly lost hope of ever recovering. “I went through all kinds of treatments, but without success. I was treated at a hospital, where at one point they told me they didn’t know what else to do for me. It was a shock, but it was the reality. I had hit rock bottom,” he recalled.
Alcohol dependence syndrome, or alcohol use disorder—commonly known as alcoholism—is a chronic, multifactorial disease. Several factors contribute to its development, including the amount and frequency of alcohol consumption, the individual’s health status, and genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors.
Data from the Service for the Treatment of Addictive Behaviors and Dependencies (SICAD) indicate that the prevalence of alcohol dependence in Portugal rose from 3% in 2012 to 4.2% in 2022. Another recent study estimates that there are 58,000 Portuguese patients with alcoholism and 750,000 heavy drinkers.
An illness whose effects extend to the family
Alexandre Almeida wanted to recover from a persistent alcoholism, but the unsuccessful treatments, the feeling of failure, and the addiction almost always caused him to make the mistake of turning to alcohol again.
“I was on the verge of losing my family; my children had stopped talking to me, and my wife was sick with despair because she didn’t know what else to do and was about to end our relationship—which would certainly have been the end of me,” he recalls.
“My wife tried everything, but she was also my saving grace when she suggested The Clinic of Change to me. I went there having lost all hope, which is only natural after so many treatments, so many clinics, and so many failed attempts,” he says.
After a diagnostic consultation, he was deemed eligible for treatment. “The treatment consisted of psychotherapy combined with ketamine administration. With this medication and the support of my psychotherapist, I was finally able to get to the root of my problems, understanding the reasons behind so much suffering and why I turned to alcohol. If there were things from the past weighing on me, I never imagined just how much,” he emphasizes.
Clinical studies on the effects of psychotherapy combined with ketamine in alcoholics [also known as psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy] show an 86% abstinence rate six months after treatment, with no adverse effects, in contrast to rates below 25% when compared to conventional methods.
“Psychotherapy that is supported or facilitated by a medication—in this case, ketamine [or cetamine]—will provide access to a range of psychological and psychic material, or psychic content, which in turn can be addressed in psychotherapy,” explained Victor Amorim Rodrigues, a psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and clinical director of The Clinic of Change.
“Although we also have all the antidepressant benefits of the drug, we are in fact committed to psychotherapeutic work in order to prolong—in the long term, that is what we want—the therapeutic effects of this treatment,” he says. “There are other ways and other settings where these dissociative and psychedelic effects of the substance are avoided as much as possible. Not only do we not avoid them—and this is indeed what sets us apart from other ways of using ketamine therapeutically—but, on the contrary, we want these effects to occur. What is essential, in fact, is to have trained psychotherapists, as is the case with us, since we have many years of experience,” asserts the doctor.
Psychotherapy using ketamine is emerging as a promising approach to the recovery of patients with alcohol use disorder. Recent studies indicate that ketamine, when combined with psychological therapy, can lead to significant benefits, including a reduction in alcohol cravings, a decrease in withdrawal symptoms, and an overall improvement in the patient’s mental health. In addition, ketamine appears to facilitate introspection and the resolution of underlying emotional issues that often contribute to alcohol abuse.
A New Chapter, A New Life
Alexandre Almeida admits that he is living a new life today. “The traumas of the past haven’t disappeared, but they’ve been resolved and put behind me, and they no longer cause me suffering. Today I’m free from alcohol; I’ve regained my family, my sanity, and my joy of living. And how good it is to be alive,” he adds.
“It would actually be selfish of me to talk only about my own suffering, because those around me were suffering just as much—or even more—than I was. I’m sharing my story in the hope that it might be helpful to those who are suffering and going through the same pain I went through,” she concluded.
Cases such as that of Alexandre Almeida and various findings suggest that psychotherapy with ketamine [psychedelics] may represent a new and effective therapeutic approach to help individuals overcome alcohol addiction and maintain long-term sobriety. However, further studies are needed to fully understand the mechanisms underlying the scientific findings, as well as to optimize this promising form of treatment.
The Clinic of Change is a healthcare provider registered under number E166508, located at Rua das Picoas, 12, Ground Floor, 1050-173 Lisbon, with operating license number 22863/2023, and registered with the ERS under number 39467.
Clinical Director: Professor Victor Amorim Rodrigues, M.D., Psychiatrist, with professional license no. 31127, issued by the Portuguese Medical Association.
