VALOR-KAT: Veteran Aftercare and Long-term Outcomes in Remission – Ketamine-Assisted Therapy
Ketamine-assisted therapy has emerged as a promising treatment for treatment-resistant depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other complex mental health conditions. Some patients in clinical trials and observational studies have experienced rapid symptom relief, but these effects are often transient and relapse is common within weeks without adequate post-treatment care. Durable maintenance protocols are needed to prolong remission and improve quality of life.
The VALOR-KAT project focuses on veterans who have received ketamine-assisted therapy. It asks which supports, challenges and follow-up strategies are associated with maintaining wellness after treatment.
Existing post-ketamine care varies across repeated infusions, oral or intranasal ketamine, adjunctive psychotherapy, lifestyle interventions and medication augmentation. Standardized aftercare guidelines are lacking.
Approach and methodology
This qualitative study will conduct in-depth interviews with veterans whose treatment took place either recently or several years earlier. The research will explore their experiences of remission, the challenges they face after therapy and the forms of ongoing care they consider most useful.
The interviews will focus on veterans’ perspectives about sustained wellness after treatment, rather than measuring clinical efficacy in a randomized trial.
Expected contribution
The study aims to identify patterns in long-term recovery and inform practical, evidence-based guidance for patients, clinicians and policymakers, helping to shape more effective and equitable post-ketamine care pathways across Canada.
About the researchers
During the project period, Dr. Vivian W. L. Tsang held an MD from UBC and an MPH from Harvard and was completing her DPhil at Oxford as a Clarendon Scholar. She was specializing in psychiatry at UBC and undertaking an addiction medicine fellowship through the BC Centre on Substance Use. Her research addressed concurrent disorders and novel pharmacotherapies, with more than 50 peer-reviewed publications. She was Research Lead at Roots to Thrive in Nanaimo, the first clinic to provide psilocybin to patients in British Columbia under the Special Access Program, and a founding member and director of the Naut sa Mawt Psychedelic Centre on Vancouver Island.
Dr. Pamela Kryskow is a physician and Medical Lead at the non-profit Roots to Thrive psychedelic-assisted therapy programs. During the project period, she was an Assistant Clinical Professor in UBC’s Department of Family Medicine, an Adjunct Professor at Vancouver Island University and Medical Chair of its postgraduate program in psychedelic-assisted therapy. A founding board member of the Psychedelic Association of Canada, she researched psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine and worked with health-care providers, first responders and people experiencing PTSD, depression, anxiety, substance use challenges, eating disorders and end-of-life distress.
