Mindbloom has launched its new Mastermind Series of psychedelic programmes for overcoming heartbreak, burnout and other unique mental health challenges. 

Led by and developed with leading experts in the field, each programme combines specialised teachings with ketamine therapy.

All programmes will include six ketamine therapy sessions focusing on a specific mental health issue, expert-led audio, video, and written content for preparation, treatment, and integration, practical tools such as meditation, one-on-one coaching and group integration sessions.

The first programme in the Series is ‘Recovering from Rejection and Failure’, led by Dr Guy Winch who is a leading authority on emotional health, and a best-selling author and TED speaker whose talks have received over 30 million views.

Winch’s programme focuses on healing and preventing emotional injuries that people suffer in their personal, professional and romantic lives.

Mindbloom CEO and Founder Dylan Beynon stated: “More than 100 studies and 20 plus years of clinical use show that ketamine therapy may be the most transformational mental health treatment available today.

“In the face of epidemics of mental illness, addiction, and loneliness, we’re thrilled to offer our clients access to top experts across a range of issues – and to pair their expertise with our best-in-class ketamine therapy honed over hundreds of thousands of treatment sessions.”

“Emotional wounds like rejection and failure can be even more devastating than physical wounds, yet we don’t give them the same time and attention,” added Dr Winch.

“I’m thrilled to combine my techniques for emotional first aid with ketamine therapy, which has been shown to increase neuroplasticity and help build emotional resilience.”

Additional Mastermind programmes will be released in the coming months, including: Getting Unstuck, by Dr Elizabeth Lombardo; Beating Burnout, by Dr Shauna Shapiro; and Coping with Cravings, by Dr Jud Brewer

“Americans are struggling with heartbreak, burnout, and other challenges every day, and they’re looking for new tools to address them,” said Mindbloom’s Medical Director Dr Leonardo Vando.

“I’m grateful to these experts for providing Mindbloom’s clients with the unique practices and insights they’ve cultivated during their distinguished careers, to help them overcome the biggest obstacles in their lives.”

Cybin has announced positive Phase 2 topline safety and efficacy data for its proprietary deuterated psilocybin analogue – CYB003 – for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD).

Results from Cybin’s study have shown that 79% of patients were in remission from depression at six weeks after receiving two doses of CYB003.

CYB003 demonstrated a large improvement in symptoms after one dose and a total of 79% of patients were responsive to the treatment. The compound also demonstrated an excellent safety profile in doses tested, with all reported adverse events mild to moderate and self–limiting.

Additionally, Cybin has stated that the magnitude of improvement was superior compared to approved antidepressants and recently reported data with other psychedelics, stating that the effects translate into an unprecedented effect size.

The company has said that the results compare favorably to pooled data from 232 industry studies of current standard-of-care antidepressants, SSRIs, submitted to the FDA.

The announcement follows Phase 2 interim results in early November 2023, which demonstrated that CYB003 saw a “rapid, robust and statistically significant reduction in symptoms of depression three weeks following a single 12mg dose compared to placebo”.

Cybin CEO, Doug Drysdale, stated: “We are delighted to share that CYB003 achieved the primary efficacy endpoint in this study and showed rapid and statistically significant improvements in depression symptoms after a single dose, with a clear incremental benefit of a second dose, resulting in four out of five patients in remission from their depression at six weeks.

“This is an impressive finding and follows on from the unprecedented interim results we announced earlier this month.”

Drysdale emphasised that the strength of the data will support CYB003 into Phase 3 of the study.

Cybin CMO, Amir Inamdar, added: “The significant reduction in depression symptoms observed in our Phase 2 study is highly gratifying.

“At the three-week primary efficacy endpoint, a single 12mg dose of CYB003 showed a rapid, robust, and highly statistically significant improvement in depression symptoms compared to placebo, with a -14.08 point difference in change from baseline in MADRS. 

“This translated into a very large effect size. Similar significant and robust effects were also seen with a single 16mg dose, which resulted in an improvement in symptoms of depression as measured using the MADRS total score by about 13 points versus placebo. 

“These effects were evident on day one with the 16mg dose and were also highly statistically significant. When data from 12mg and 16mg are pooled, these robust effects are maintained. Further, with two doses, response and remission rates in excess of 75% were observed with CYB003 (12mg). 

“With these findings in hand, we are encouraged by the potential of CYB003 to help those with MDD and look forward to progressing to a multinational, multisite Phase 3 study early next year.”

Cybin is planning on submitting topline data to the FDA with an aim to hold a Phase 2 meeting in Q1 of 2024, with further 12-week durability data from Phase 2 CYB003 expected in Q1, and recruitment for the Phase 3 study anticipated to begin by the end of Q1 2024.

Ketamine is an FDA-approved medical anesthetic and recently a prescription nasal spray version of ketamine called esketamine (Spravato) was approved for treatment-resistant depression.

Ketamine is an interesting drug because it can exist in three different forms, R-ketamine (the aesthetic version), S-ketamine (the psychedelic version), and a mixture of the two (racemic ketamine).

Ketamine is typically used to put you under before surgery, however, lighter doses that don’t put you to sleep are being used to treat depression, pain, and other mental health and substance use disorders.

These “off-label” uses have led to the popularization of the therapeutic use of ketamine. This has given rise to ketamine clinics where one can pay out-of-pocket for a dose administered by a doctor in a luxuriously curated “set-and-setting” (more on ketamine therapy in Nina’s Notes #18).

The patented, FDA-approved formulation of S-ketamine, Spravato, is estimated to generate $1 billion in revenue in 2023.

In addition to the rise in ketamine use for mental health, and despite its legality, the recreational use of ketamine is rising in popularity and has quite a history of illegal recreational use.

A term frequently used with the recreational use of ketamine is “k-hole”. People use it by saying things like, they are “stuck in a k-hole” or they could have “fallen into a k-hole.”

What is a k-hole?

A k-hole is the term referring to the dissociated, trance-like state that sometimes follows acute, excessive use of ketamine.

K-holes most often occur in recreational settings, like a nightclub or house party.

The dissociative effects of ketamine are dose-dependent, meaning the more you administer the greater the felt effects.

Receiving a ketamine treatment at a ketamine clinic will likely not result in a k-hole. The dose for the therapeutic experience is finely measured for the client, is administered in a safe clinical setting, and a physician can closely monitor the medicine’s effect.

When in a k-hole, one may be unable to interact with surroundings, control motor functions or maintain awareness of their external reality. An individual may temporarily be unable to speak, walk properly or maintain their balance. They may even find themselves feeling temporarily “paralyzed” or physically inhibited.

These motor-control symptoms are often paired with a strong internal experience, visions or visuals and an altered state of consciousness.

Experientially, it can feel like “falling into a hole” which is where the term k-hole comes from. K-holes can last as long as 5 minutes or up to roughly 30 minutes.

For some, experiencing a k-hole can be highly transformative and powerful, for others it may be a frightening experience.

Why does it happen?

Ketamine is a dose-dependent drug, the larger the dose, the bigger the effects.

While entering a k-hole is rarely the aim of a ketamine user, it can easily happen in a party setting where people may be taking multiple doses within a short period of time.

Ketamine is a white powder, similar to cocaine, which many users ingest through snorting. If a ketamine user has a history of cocaine use, they may use the drug at the same frequency due to previous habits, which can sometimes lead to k-holing.

Why is that? It’s because the half-lives of cocaine and ketamine are both short, but very different.

The half-life of ketamine

Half-life is the time it takes for the total amount of a drug in the body to be reduced by 50%. The half-life of ketamine is about 2.5 hours.

This means that it takes 150 minutes for a dose of ketamine to become a half dose in your body. Meanwhile, the ketamine high lasts about 30-45 minutes. In comparison, the half-life of cocaine is 40-90 minutes, and the high is about 15-25 minutes. Cocaine is metabolized very quickly and the high lasts about a third of the half-life of the drug.

So half of the drug is cleared from the body at close to the same rate as the user feels the effects. Drug gone = effects end.

Because the half-life of Ketamine is about 150 minutes and the high is about 1/5th of that, a user could be going for a second, third or even fourth dose before half of the first dose is metabolized by the body.

So, with repeating doses, the total amount of ketamine in your body builds over time. A user may not feel the strong effects of ketamine anymore, but they still have more than half of a dose still in their body. When they take another dose, they risk falling into a k-hole.

What happens in a k-hole?

A k-hole can lead to intense feelings of dissociation causing feelings of being disconnected from or unable to control one’s own body.

It may also affect the ability to speak and move easily. One way to think about a k-hole is a state between intoxication and a coma. Some refer to a k-hole as an out-of-body or near-death experience. A k-hole can be frightening and induce strong feelings of powerlessness. This can be especially intense if the ability to speak is affected.

Others might not notice someone in a k-hole. They might just look immobile and intoxicated, but their mind is far from quiet. They may be experiencing vivid, dream-like hallucinations and distortions of time and space. Other k-hole symptoms include confusion, unexplainable experiences and floating sensations.

While some people find the psychedelic experience enjoyable, others find it terrifying. Some describe falling into a k-hole like a bad LSD trip. Keep in mind the whole experience may last from 10 minutes to an hour.

Signs of a ketamine overdose

Know the signs of a ketamine overdose so that if someone at a party is exhibiting symptoms, you can get them immediate medical attention.

Although the risk of an overdose from ketamine is low, it can increase outside of a clinical setting. The overdose risks are higher when ketamine is mixed with other substances such as alcohol, opioids or other recreational drugs.

Overdose symptoms can include anxiety, chest pain, elevated blood pressure, hallucinations, loss of consciousness, nausea or vomiting, rapid or irregular heart rate, and seizures.

A k-hole, however, is a common experience due to excessive use of ketamine over a short period of time. It is not a ketamine overdose.

Though a k-hole is a temporary experience, there are several long-term side effects with extended recreational ketamine use, such as bladder problems, cognitive effects, heart problems, and seizures.

While there is no way to guarantee a perfectly safe experience with ketamine, using it outside of doctor supervision, its effects can be extremely unpredictable compared to other drugs.

With the rising popularity of ketamine in both medical and recreational spheres, this calls for a balanced perspective, appreciating the therapeutic potential of ketamine while being acutely aware of its potent effects and the dangers of excessive use.

This article was first published on Nina’s Notes and is republished on Psychedelic Health with permission.