Substance Abuse Treatment

Are you looking for substance abuse disorder treatment in Fairfax, Virginia? At The Care Clinic, our providers have experience treating pain conditions, psychiatric disorders, and addiction with innovative treatments like ketamine infusion therapy. Contact us today to learn how we can help you find relief.

What Are the Symptoms of Substance Abuse?

Symptoms of substance abuse may include:

• Compulsive feeling that you have to use the substance regularly
• Intense urges for the substance make it hard to think
• Needing more of the substance to achieve the same effect
• Failing to complete work or personal activities because of your substance use
• Self-destructive or reckless behavior
• Continuing to use the substance even though you recognize the problems it is causing
• Withdrawal symptoms when you stop using the substance
• Taking more of the substance than you initially intended
• Hoarding the substance
• Spending money on the substance even when you can’t afford it

Ketamine Infusions for Substance Abuse Treatment

Ketamine infusions have quickly become one of the most popular treatment options for various mood or pain disorders.

Unlike many traditional medications like tricyclic antidepressants, which can take months to start working, ketamine therapy offers patients relief quickly, with some individuals reporting relief within a few hours of their first infusion session.

How Does Ketamine Help Treat Substance Abuse?

Scientists have found strong evidence indicating that ketamine helps with substance abuse by rapidly boosting the activity of glutamate, a neurotransmitter inside the frontal cortex of the human brain, while also allowing new pathways to form in the same area.

Ketamine bypasses the conventional serotonin pathways and immediately generates new neural connections by acting on glutamate. This chemical action allows ketamine to offer therapeutic effects quickly.

This is remarkably different from conventional antidepressants, which increase serotonin and norepinephrine between synapses levels in several other areas of the brain to alter neuroconnectivity. This process usually takes weeks, sometimes months, while ketamine produces an almost instant result and relief from substance abuse symptoms.

Where Will I Receive My Ketamine Infusions?

We strive to ensure all of our patients feel as comfortable as possible in their private rooms during treatment.

A number of our patients refer to a “dissociation” effect. This dissociative effect helps patients separate their thoughts from their feelings and can aid in reprocessing stressful thought processes and traumatic events.

This is all an ordinary component of the treatment. You will always remain in a safe atmosphere with our team to monitor you and be readily available to you during your infusion.