For those struggling with chronic pain, PTSD, anxiety or depression, often times, finding a solution that helps can be difficult. However, a clinic in Arapahoe County is exploring new ways to help patients by offering ketamine-assisted psychotherapy.
Mind Spa Denver opened about two years ago in Greenwood Village. It’s where ketamine therapy treatments are emerging as a solution, and where a local patient turned his life around with it. ketamin-assisted-therapy.jpg Kurt Schier has always lived an active lifestyle as a competitive athlete and nationally-ranked gymnast.
"I had some concussions when I was competing," Schier explained. "Between gymnastics and skeleton, I had more concussions than anybody should have."
In his 50s, Schier was also involved in a crash on the slopes as he got wiped out by a snowboarder.
"That last concussion put me on a track that was taking me down a bad path," Schier said.
With 10 concussions in his life, Schier began struggling with his mental health. He said he had gone through therapy alone, but it didn’t help solve or fix everything he had been dealing with.
"I started having really major depression and was having a hard time thinking straight and having difficulty with emotions," Schier said.
Schier then found Mind Spa Denver in 2022. Mind Spa is an outpatient psychiatric clinic specializing in trauma recovery and offering ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. Schier said he didn’t go to there seeking ketamine therapy, but he went through an evaluation, and the medical professionals believed it could potentially help.
"When they mentioned ketamine, it was scary because I am not a drug person. I’ve never experimented," said Schier, who has been a patient for almost 2.5 years.Dr. Ron Schwenkler called ketamine therapy a shift in mental health care. He’s a psychologist at Mind Spa Denver, where many of his patients are veterans, first responders or people who’ve had a traumatic experience."Talking about trauma, it doesn’t always heal the trauma. You have to intervene with those things," Schwenkler said. "That’s really our specialty is how to address those unfortunate events."To help patients suffering with chronic pain, anxiety, depression or PTSD, ketamine therapy is offered in a small, comfortable […]
Colorado clinic explores different ways to address mental health with ketamine-assisted therapy
