Meet Lauren Swanson

Lauren Swanson is a board-certified physician assistant. In addition to her experience in family practice, she also has experience in urgent care, cosmetic dermatology, and neuropsychiatry.  After feeling somewhat burned out by working in family practice, Lauren decided to begin offering Ketamine treatment through Wondermed, an online teletherapy site.

Why Lauren Swanson Is Mentally Strong

When Lauren saw the powerful changes Ketamine treatment had on someone in her personal life, she decided to begin working exclusively to prescribe Ketamine.  She has learned a lot about Ketamine, mental health, and the benefits patients receive and she works on educating the public about how Ketamine treatment can improve lives and reduce suffering.

What You’ll Hear on the Show

Why Lauren believes so strongly in Ketamine The conditions that Ketamine can treat How Ketamine interacts with the brain differently than other medications The benefits Ketamine can offer Case studies from Lauren’s practice and how it affected different people The risk factors associated with Ketamine Who makes a good candidate for Ketamine and who doesn’t The difference between IV Ketamine and oral Ketamine How Ketamine is used at home (the precautions and protocols) How Ketamine interacts with other drugs Integration, breathwork, apps, and journaling  How to get long-term results from Ketamine Typical duration of Ketamine treatment

What You’ll Learn About Mental Health and Mental Strength

It’s clear that the most commonly prescribed treatments for mental health issues aren’t always effective. Antidepressants don’t work for many people. Therapy isn’t always effective. Even alternative strategies, like yoga, don’t always lead to improved mental health. If the treatment you’ve tried so far hasn’t worked for you, it’s not a sign of weakness. It just means the treatments you have tried haven’t been a good match for you.  What works for one person won’t work for everyone. It takes mental strength to keep looking for solutions that can help you think, feel, and do your best.

Quotes From Lauren

“It’s really important with ketamine to also use integration tools, to kind of unpack that session and use what you’ve learned from it to integrate into what might help you.” “The idea is that you get someone on ketamine to get them off. This is a whole different frame of mind than what we’re used to. These other medications, Prozac, only work when you’re taking them. Ketamine, you use it as a catalyst to really make these changes, mold that neuroplasticity, and then you get off of it.”

More About the Podcast

The Verywell Mind Podcast is available across all streaming platforms. If you like the show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Reviews and ratings are a great way to encourage other people to listen and help them prioritize their mental health too. If You Liked This Episode, You Might Also Like These Episodes For media or public speaking inquiries, contact Amy here.

Can Psychedelics Heal Your Emotional Pain? With Psychologist Brian Pilecki Friday Fix: The Pros and Cons of Online Therapy How to Know if You Have Existential Depression With Melissa Bernstein