Rakesh Jetly, MD: The Balance of PTSD Treatment

For a treatment regimen to be successful for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) it must include both a pharmacologic portion and a non-pharmacologic therapeutic part.

In an interview with HCPLive®, Rakesh Jetly, MD, Head of the Center of Excellence on Mental Health, explained how both parts of the therapy are necessary.

Jetly is part of an ongoing trial testing psychedelic substances as a viable treatment for PTSD. While he hypothesizes the treatment could be safe and effective, it is unknown whether it could eventually move to the front of the line for PTSD treatments.

However, he does believe psychosubstances do show promise in allowing the patient to better manage their traumatic memories that are causing the symptoms of PTSD.

The study is looking at low-dose psychosubstances for veterans with PTSD. Because much of what veterans go through during combat causes long-lasting pain issues, there is the potential this treatment can help reduce the amount of veteran patients dependent on opioids for pain relief.

Another byproduct of the study testing psychedelics in PTSD patients is researchers may learn more about the brain and why it responds to certain treatments but not others.