The UK’s second ketamine-assisted psychotherapy clinic is set to open in London by the end of the year.
Awakn Clinics London is a psychedelic-focused therapy center to treat addiction and other mental health conditions.
In March, Awakn opened their first clinic in Bristol, offering a course of low-dose ketamine treatments alongside therapy sessions for people suffering with addiction, anxiety, depression, PTSD and eating disorders.
About Awakn London
Awakn is a clinical-biotech company that researches and develops “evidenced-based psychedelic medicine” for the treatment of addiction and other mental health conditions.
Awakn Clinics London will be located on Duke’s Road, near the UCL Hospital and the British Medical Association, in a 5,000 square-foot location. It will feature 8 treatment rooms where psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy treatments, such as ketamine-assisted therapies, will be conducted.
Treatment at the clinic will be available privately for around £6,000, although the company’s ultimate aim is to have it available on the NHS in order “to help as many people as possible.”
It is hoped that the clinic will also be able to provide MDMA therapies as and when marketing and regulatory authorisation is granted.
A milestone for mental health
Anthony Tennyson, Awakn’s CEO commented, “A significant majority of people globally have been either directly or indirectly affected by addiction or mental health conditions.
“Suffering themselves or having family or friends whose lives have been upended by these conditions. The opening of Awakn Clinics London marks a significant milestone not only for Awakn, but for the people of London who have been suffering with addiction and mental health conditions.”
A Manchester clinic is also in the works. In fact, supported by a scientific advisory group of experts in the field, led by Professor David Nutt (who was fired as a senior UK government drugs adviser for saying magic mushrooms were less dangerous than crack cocaine), Awakn’s goals include building a chain of 15 to 20 medical psychedelic clinics across the UK and EU.
What is psychedelic-assisted therapy?
Psychedelic-assisted therapy combines a psychedelic drug experience with a number of psychotherapy talking sessions. The therapy helps the patient make sense of the psychedelic experience and to integrate the perspectives for lasting change.
A recent study found psilocybin-assisted therapy to be four-times more effective at treating depression than antidepressants. Results like this have only added to the expectation that psychedelic-therapy will revolutionise mental health treatment over the coming years.
Psychedelics such as ketamine, psilocybin and DMT are a natural complement to
psychotherapy. This is because they enhance brain cell growth and increase synapses in the brain, improving memory and cognition while allowing new neural pathways to be formed.
How does ketamine-assisted therapy work?
A treatment course at Awakn is quite intensive. It lasts six weeks and includes four ketamine-assisted sessions in between six therapy sessions. There’s also one follow-up session at week nine.
Ketamine injections are used by the clinical staff, who all have decades of experience with psychedelic-assisted therapy and are there to guide you through the experience and keep you safe and comfortable.
Read this article to learn more about ketamine and psychedelic-assisted therapy, as well as how you can access it.
