Listen to the words of Alex Earle, CEO of Onnit Gym, who regards his Company as a temple for community and self-improvement that fosters a motivational environment where everyone wants to be physically and mentally stronger in all aspects of life.
“We are on a mission to empower as many individuals as possible with a holistic
philosophy regarding physical, mental, and spiritual well-being,” says Earle. “I believe that if people have access to the best tools and knowledge, they will be able to achieve their fullest human potential, leading to a global movement for the good of all.”
One of these tools is ketamine-assisted therapy (KAT), now offered to full-time employees as a mental health benefit. The decision to provide this progressive approach therapy is based on Earle’s confidence that psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is a safe, effective way to address mental health issues and alleviate persistent feelings of anxiety and depression.
“It’s a treatment option and an opportunity for intra-personal self-healing that creates new neuro-pathways of thinking to sustain well-being,” adds Earle. “We see PAT as an innovative, value-added approach to mental health that benefits the wellness of our individual employees and contributes to the vibe of our company team.”
Addressing a National Mental Health Crisis
The United States is experiencing a mental health crisis as 22.8% of U.S. adults (57.8 million) experience a mental health illness. Our nation’s mental health significantly impacts the workplace in terms of employee wellness, attendance, and productivity. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, untreated mental illness costs U.S. companies up to $300 billion annually.
The advancement of PAT is bringing hope to millions: an approach that combines the administration of psychedelic substances, such as ketamine, with a structured and supportive psychotherapeutic framework.
To ensure safety, the process is facilitated and administered in a controlled setting, monitored, and accompanied by clinical support.
What is Psychedelic Medicine?
PAT introduces a safe, proven mental health treatment that deviates from traditional pharmacological interventions. Clinical studies are proving that PAT, including KAT, can be very effective in relieving symptoms of severe anxiety, substance abuse, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among a wide range of behavioral health conditions.
By combining the administration of psychedelic compounds, such as ketamine, with therapeutic support, PAT is demonstrating remarkable efficacy in treating mental health conditions often resistant to conventional treatments. Psychedelics encourage the growth of new connections between neurons in the brain, and as dissociative drugs, they temporarily alter a person’s mood, thoughts, and perceptions. Patients report feeling strong emotions and experiencing vast changes in how they perceive reality. Similarly, psychedelics can help restore an individual’s sense of rhythm and balance.
PAT accelerates the therapeutic process by facilitating deep introspection, emotional breakthroughs, and heightened states of consciousness. The experience can help individuals gain new perspectives, access repressed memories, and confront underlying emotional traumas. This accelerated process can potentially lead to profound insights, personal growth, and lasting therapeutic benefits.
Therapeutic Use of Ketamine
Ketamine has been in worldwide use as an anesthetic for more than 50 years, with an incredible safety record. Classified as a dissociative anesthetic, Ketamine is a synthetic pharmaceutical compound that is one of the most widely used drugs in modern medicine.
Ketamine was developed in 1963, approved by the Food and Drug Administration for certain surgical procedures in 1970, and adopted by many hospitals and medical offices because of its rapid onset, proven safety, and short duration of action. Ketamine became commonly used clinically for induction and maintenance of anesthesia and associated pain management.
During the 1990s, the National Institute of Mental Health explored the antidepressant potential of ketamine while looking for alternatives to selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and Serotonin and Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs). The research found that sub-anesthetic doses of ketamine may be effective in treating a variety of mental health conditions. In conjunction with this growing body of research, ketamine clinics, and clinicians proliferated across the U.S., offering ketamine sessions for psychiatric disorders either using ketamine-only treatments or ketamine in conjunction with psychotherapy.
Today, KAT is recognized as a mental health breakthrough treatment where patients receive this care through a clinician, combined with or followed by therapy and integration sessions. This combined process allows the patient to get to the root of their traumas while also amplifying and prolonging the curative effects.
In subanesthetic dosages, ketamine serves as an adjunct to psychotherapy, providing an opportunity to temporarily soften psychological defenses, which may result in deeper self-reflection and psychotherapeutic processing. This helps break long-standing, deeply ingrained thinking patterns associated with a variety of mental health conditions and, in turn, develop new ways of thinking and being.
Clinical research reports dramatic improvements and reduction of mental health symptoms after just one ketamine therapy session. In comparison, traditional use of antidepressants can take four to six weeks to take effect, and for some patients, they don’t work at all. While no long-term data are available, in early small studies, KAT significantly and rapidly reduced depression symptoms in about 50-70% of patients.
Alignment with Holistic, Patient-Centered Care
Today, mental health is a priority and is being integrated into every aspect of healthcare, from prevention to early intervention to accessible and evidence-based treatment options. The long-term benefits of this PAT approach to mental health are significant, given a shared understanding that PAT is highly effective and should be accepted into standard mental healthcare practice.
PAT aligns with modern healthcare’s emphasis on personalized, holistic medicine and patient-centered care. The treatment is tailored to the individual’s unique needs, focusing on their personal experiences, traumas, and aspirations. This personalized approach recognizes the multidimensional nature of mental health and aims to address the underlying causes rather than merely suppressing symptoms. PAT holds the potential to revolutionize approaches to mental health and advance the healthcare industry, leading to more personally tailored, effective treatments.
Enthea is the first and only licensed third-party administrator (TPA) of psychedelic healthcare in the United States. As an emerging innovator in healthcare, Enthea brings together the worlds of PAT and workplace benefits, which is a relatively unexplored intersection. The Company is dedicated to providing access to safe and affordable PAT, beginning with KAT. Key to Enthea’s mission is its advocacy for the safe and effective clinical use of psychedelics and ensuring affordable and equitable access to this life-changing therapy.
Wider Adoption
Dr. Bronner’s, the top-selling natural brand of soap in North America and a leading brand worldwide, is leading the way as an early adopter and advocate of psychedelic medicine. The US-based, family-owned company expanded its healthcare benefits as a first step in prioritizing its support of employee mental health and wellness. Its partnership with Enthea represents the first arrangement between a health plan administrator and a large employer to offer ketamine-assisted therapy as a workplace benefit.
KAT is 100% covered by Dr. Bonner and is administered through Enthea’s national provider network, which includes Flow Integrative. Flow Integrative offers ketamine treatment through its integrated model in Encinitas, CA, and the SF Bay Area. At this time, Flow Integrative is the only treatment provider covered by Dr. Bronner’s health benefit in collaboration with Enthea.
Michael Bronner, President of Dr. Bronner’s, explains, “The health and wellbeing of our employees is the primary driver in how we think about benefits and compensation. Offering coverage for ketamine-assisted therapy is in the interest of providing tools to our workforce to have the best quality of life and best options for mental health care.”
by Sherry Rais, CEO and Co-Founder of Enthea
