COMMUNITY CASE STUDY article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Perinatal Psychiatry
This article is part of the Research TopicInvestigating the Integration of Family Functioning and Perinatal PsychiatryView all 4 articles
Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy in Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders: A Limited Case Series
Provisionally accepted
- 1Seattle University, Seattle, United States
- 2AIMS Institute, Seattle, United States
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The postpartum period is notorious for rapid and profound change for birthing individuals and their families. Significant shifts to hormonal and physical health, routines and family roles, and the salience of personal and community risk factors all contribute to potential psychiatric and psychological distress for parents, sometimes diagnosed as a postpartum mood or anxiety disorder (PMAD). Existing pharmacologic treatment modalities for PMADs do not comprehensively address the profound shifts of the postpartum period, often inadequate at reaching peak therapeutic efficacy in a shorter time frame, in patient accessibility, or offering sustained benefit due. Ketamine assisted psychotherapy (KAP), is increasingly recognized as a therapeutic option for a range of psychiatric disorders and has been explored as a modality to prevent PMADs when used during Cesarean births. This retrospective case series examines three cases where ketamine assisted psychotherapy (KAP) was introduced during the first two years postpartum as part of a comprehensive treatment plan for PMADs. This study describes the utility of ketamine assisted psychotherapy to the postpartum individual, and offers insight into the impact of psychedelic insights through treatment of PMAD symptoms.
Keywords: Ketamine, ketamine assisted psychotherapy, KAP, Postpartum, peripartum, Anxiety, Depression, pMAD
Received: 08 Jul 2025; Accepted: 07 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Christnacht, Whinkin and Eparwa. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Emily Whinkin, ewhinkin@aimsinstitute.net
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