Ketamine Alcoholism Treatment: How It Works in Brooklyn, NY

By Brooklyn Psychedelic Psychotherapy Editorial Team · Updated 2026-08-02

Ketamine treatment pairs a single infusion with outpatient talk therapy, pharmacologically disrupting drinking-related memories to reduce cravings. A landmark trial published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that this combination significantly helped alcohol-dependent individuals abstain from drinking for several weeks post-treatment.

Ketamine treatment for alcohol use disorder works by producing rapid antidepressant and anti-craving effects often within 1–2 hours by disrupting the neural patterns that reinforce compulsive drinking. Brooklyn Psychedelic Psychotherapy pair dosing sessions with structured preparation and integration therapy, utilizing trauma-informed and Internal Family Systems (IFS) approaches to help clients process underlying causes and sustain lasting behavioral change.

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Evidence-Based Benefits of Ketamine for Alcoholism

Combined Therapeutic Approach

Ketamine infusions paired with structured behavioral therapy show significant efficacy in helping alcohol-dependent individuals maintain abstinence for several weeks post-treatment.

Clinical Research Backing

Groundbreaking trials such as those led by Columbia University researchers demonstrate ketamine's ability to target memory reconsolidation and disrupt ingrained drinking triggers.

Novel Single-Dose Protocols

Single-dose ketamine sessions represent an innovative intervention designed to rapidly reduce cravings and interrupt chronic, recurrent cycles of alcohol use disorder.

Long-Term Integration Essential

While a single session provides a rapid window of neuroplasticity, ongoing integration therapy is critical to building lasting coping mechanisms and maintaining long-term recovery.

Immediate Support Resources

SAMHSA's National Helpline provides free, confidential, 24/7 treatment referrals and support for individuals and families facing substance use disorders.

What Is Ketamine Alcoholism Treatment?

Ketamine alcoholism treatment combines a legal, medically supervised infusion protocol with structured psychotherapy for people whose drinking hasn't responded to conventional care. Practices like Brooklyn Psychedelic Psychotherapy deliver this treatment in Brooklyn, offering clients an alternative path when standard rehab programs, twelve-step models, or standalone talk therapy haven't produced lasting change. The approach centers on ketamine's well-documented rapid antidepressant and anti-craving effects often emerging within one to two hours a critical factor given how frequently depression, anxiety, and trauma co-occur with alcohol use disorder (AUD).

How does a ketamine session actually work?

Sessions unfold in three distinct, interconnected phases rather than as a isolated medical event:

Ketamine administration methods: IV drip, nasal spray, and sublingual lozenge.

Preparation: Establishes therapeutic intention, covers medical and psychological expectations, and builds rapport to ensure psychological safety before dosing.
The Dosing Session: Provides continuous medical monitoring and grounded guidance during the actual sub-anesthetic ketamine experience, creating a safe space for emotional processing.
Integration: Helps clients unpack, translate, and synthesize the insights, somatic felt-sense, and emotional breakthroughs gained during the session into concrete, long-term behavioral changes.

Is ketamine treatment paired with regular therapy?

Yes. Every ketamine session is directly paired with individual psychotherapy built on transpersonal, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and trauma-informed methodologies. This pairing is critical because ketamine induces a transient window of heightened neuroplasticity a state where the brain is exceptionally adaptable. However, lasting recovery from alcohol dependence requires sustained clinical work to rewire habits, not a one-time medication event.

Clients considering this route often ask what separates it from earlier attempts at sobriety. The distinction lies in three structural pillars:

Medical
Framework

Legal, sub-anesthetic administration continuously monitored by medical professionals, ensuring clinical safety compared to unregulated use.

Psychological Framework

Evidence-based, trauma-informed processing that directly targets and heals the underlying emotional drivers of addiction.

Continuity
of Care

Structured preparation prior to dosing and dedicated integration therapy following each session, ensuring the experience is a cohesive process rather than an isolated event.

Does Research Support Ketamine For Alcohol Use Disorder?

Peer-reviewed studies confirm that ketamine holds real therapeutic promise for substance use disorders. While researchers still describe this field as evolving, landmark clinical trials demonstrate significant efficacy:

Columbia University Pilot Trial: A randomized controlled study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that a single sub-anesthetic ketamine infusion, paired with motivational enhancement therapy, significantly increased the likelihood of abstinence, delayed time to relapse, and reduced heavy drinking days compared to the control group.

University of Exeter KARE Trial: A major trial in the UK demonstrated that multiple ketamine infusions paired with relapse-prevention therapy enabled alcohol-dependent individuals to remain completely abstinent approximately 87% of the time over a six-month follow-up period.

These findings align with a broader clinical pattern: a single dose or short series of ketamine when integrated with structured psychotherapy can produce immediate anti-craving effects that extend well beyond the day of treatment. By lowering defense mechanisms and disrupting habitual memory loops, ketamine creates a unique window of opportunity for individuals who have previously cycled through traditional detox, 12-step programs, or stand-alone therapy without lasting relief.

Is ketamine alone enough to treat alcohol use disorder?

No. Ketamine infusions or dosing sessions are not intended to serve as a standalone fix. Current research and clinical standards indicate that ketamine’s primary role in treating Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is to open a temporary "window" of heightened neuroplasticity and rapid craving relief. Without structured talk therapy to capitalize on that window, old behavioral loops and psychological triggers often reassert themselves over time.

Practices like Brooklyn Psychedelic Psychotherapy anchor their protocol around this evidence base. By training under pioneers in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) like Dr. Phil Wolfson author of The Ketamine Papers clinicians utilize established KAP methodology that explicitly combines sub-anesthetic dosing with deep psychological integration, rather than relying on isolated medical infusions alone.

How Does Brooklyn Psychedelic Psychotherapy Guide Care?

Care at Brooklyn Psychedelic Psychotherapy blends advanced clinical training, somatic awareness, and practical access. Clients working through alcohol use disorder receive an individualized treatment plan built around both mind and body recognizing that addiction resides as much in the nervous system as in thought patterns rather than a one-size-fits-all protocol.

The practice's approach is shaped by a broad, multidisciplinary foundation, drawing on several core modalities:

Somatic Experiencing & Body-Based Processing

Alcohol use can sometimes function as a way of coping with unresolved nervous system arousal or trauma. Guiding clients to pay attention to somatic sensations during preparation and integration helps release stored bodily tension and manage physical cravings.

Internal
Family
Systems (IFS)

Working with "parts" such as the part of a client that relies on alcohol to cope versus the part seeking healing allows clients to explore emotional and behavioral factors associated with alcohol use with self-compassion rather than shame.

Trauma
Informed
Care

The practice aims to prioritize psychological safety, agency, and consent throughout treatment, which is particularly vital given the high co-occurrence of post-traumatic stress and alcohol dependency.

What Kind Of Training Does The Clinician Have?

Clinical grounding began at Columbia University’s School of Social Work, followed by extensive clinical hours in community mental health settings serving diverse populations. That core foundation later expanded through specialized training in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy a somatic, body-centered approach that addresses trauma stored in the nervous system alongside cognitive thought patterns.

For clients pursuing ketamine alcoholism treatment, this integrated background is especially critical:

Addressing Root Causes

Compulsive drinking patterns frequently trace back to unresolved psychological trauma and chronic somatic dysregulation.

Dual-Level Healing

Combining somatic techniques with ketamine’s neuroplastic effects allows therapy to target both top-down (cognitive) and bottom-up (body-based) pathways to foster deeper, sustained recovery.

Who Actually Delivers The Care?

Brooklyn Psychedelic Psychotherapy remains a small practice, staffed by two dedicated professionals. This structure keeps care highly personalized and responsive, rather than diffuse across a large clinical roster.

Access matters too. Sessions are available both in-person and via telehealth, with Aetna and Cigna coverage helping to lower financial barriers to ongoing treatment.

Getting Started Is Straightforward:

Initial Contact: Connect directly with Ari Borinsky, LCSW, to discuss your goals, medical history, and treatment suitability.
Choose Your Setting: Visit the Brooklyn office located at 117 Dobbin St, Suite 114a, or schedule remote sessions.
Personalized Care Plan: Begin a tailored treatment plan built around your unique needs rather than a rigid, fixed template.

Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy represents a meaningful advancement in treating alcohol use disorder by addressing both the neurobiological and psychological dimensions of addiction. Through its rapid action on glutamate pathways and facilitation of neuroplasticity, ketamine creates a unique "window of opportunity" for therapeutic work that traditional approaches alone often cannot achieve.

When integrated with skilled, trauma-informed psychotherapy in a supportive clinical environment, this evidence-based treatment offers individuals struggling with alcoholism a viable pathway toward sustained recovery and renewed psychological resilience.

FAQ

What happens during a ketamine treatment session?

Sessions unfold in three distinct phases: initial preparation to establish intention and safety protocols, dosing support to provide continuous guidance and medical monitoring during the ketamine experience, and integration therapy afterward to help clients synthesize insights into concrete behavioral change.

Does ketamine treatment include therapy beyond the infusion?

Yes. Every dosing session is directly paired with ongoing individual psychotherapy using transpersonal, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and trauma-informed methods. Lasting recovery requires sustained, reflective clinical work during the window of neuroplasticity, rather than relying on a one-time medication event.

What effects does ketamine produce for alcohol use disorder?

Ketamine produces rapid antidepressant and anti-craving effects often within 1 to 2 hours by disrupting the neural patterns that reinforce compulsive drinking. This dual action helps diminish physical cravings while simultaneously relieving co-occurring depression, trauma, or anxiety that frequently trigger relapse.

Facts

Brooklyn Psychedelic Psychotherapy is located in Brooklyn, NY, US.
Brooklyn Psychedelic Psychotherapy has 2 employees.