How Ketamine Can Help Veterans

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No matter when they served, our veterans deserve the very best care.

Of course, medical knowledge is continuously advancing — and so are treatments and medicines. Today, veterans have several treatment options for mental health and practitioners who understand their unique needs.

In the St. Cloud area, Aurora Mental Health & Wellness offers emerging techniques for treatment-resistant PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions. Their location feels more like a spa than a medical facility, and they offer oral medication management, ketamine, and Spravato (a nasal spray form of ketamine.)

Moreover, Aurora's Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Juli Black previously worked for 5 years as a mental health treatment coordinator at the St. Cloud VA Health Care System, so she understands the challenges that veterans and first responders commonly face.

"Juli is an advocate for individuals coping with mental illness," her professional bio states. "She has witnessed the strength of those working toward recovery from the most complex psychiatric problems. Thus, Juli strongly believes in the strength of the human spirit while rejecting the notion that people are defined by their mental health challenges."

Black and the rest of the staff at Aurora Mental Health & Wellness are among the first in the area to offer ketamine treatments, which can have better results than traditional oral antidepressants without some of the bothersome and sometimes embarrassing side effects.

Research shows that 70 percent of ketamine patients see significant improvement in symptoms of treatment-resistant depression after the initial six loading doses, compared with the 40 percent success rate for traditional anti-depressants, said Dr. Paul Colligan, CEO and a provider at Aurora. (Click here for an explanation of how ketamine works.)

If you're interested in learning more about how they can help you or a loved one, visit the Aurora Mental Health & Wellness website or call 320.250.9188 to schedule a consultation.

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Categories: St. Cloud News