Services & Clinical Interests

We are experienced in treating psychiatric conditions, commonly including depression, anxiety, bipolar illness, psychosis, dual problems with alcohol or drug abuse, mental trauma, and other conditions affecting the brain and causing abnormal changes in mood or thought.

Our Services

Approaches to Treatment

Psychiatric Evaluation & Treatment

Our physicians, who are Psychiatric specialists, can work with multiple disorders to treat them with a wide spectrum of medications to help manage and stabilize the conditions and help maintain stability over time.

Psychotherapy

Many times there are situations in our lives in which we should seek help from a psychotherapist who is trained to help us establish a new direction in the ways we cope with issues or conflicts or more productive ways to manage our lives, our goals, and our relationships. Research has shown that the combination of psychiatric care and psychotherapy can solidify the recovery from the disorders we may be experiencing.

Areas of Care

Clinical Interests

Our practice works with a range of mental health concerns, including the following areas of focus.

Anxiety Disorders
Mood Disorders
Depression
Attention Deficit Disorder
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Alcohol or Substance Abuse
Conditions involving thought
Aging-related concerns
Brain injury or deteriorative changes

Detailed Information

Clinical Context

Psychotherapy Course

Typically psychotherapy consists of meeting with a psychotherapist or counselor one 50 minute hour per week for a series of around 10 sessions, requiring about three months. Usually 10 sessions will allow enough time to confront current issues and make progress on resolving them. Psychotherapy can go beyond this, but often the focus shifts more to character and personality rather than to specific issues that are causing distress.

Attention Deficit Disorder

People with attention deficit disorder (ADD) do not actually have a problem with attention. For instance children with this diagnosis may be able to attend to video games or favorite television shows — things that are inherently attention grabbing. It would be better to call the problem concentration deficit disorder.

The problem has more to do with willful concentration — that is the ability to willfully force oneself to attend to something that is not inherently interesting. Memorizing the times tables is an example. The concept of willful concentration is a subclass of the general phenomena of willpower — the ability to push oneself to do something that's not inherently pleasant to do.

Depression

Depression is the most common illness treated by psychotherapists. According to some estimates, 30% of people experience a severe clinical depression at some time during their life. A smaller group — perhaps 6% — have chronic recurring bouts of depression. Depression exacts an enormous toll in life satisfaction and productivity.

Treatment Protocol

Intranasal Ketamine

Intranasal ketamine is not FDA-approved as a treatment for chronic depression. Ketamine is FDA approved as a treatment for other conditions – e.g., surgical anesthesia, and migraine treatment. Ketamine has been proven safe and is not an experimental drug. What is not FDA approved is the particular application for the treatment of depression. There is extensive literature on using ketamine for the treatment of depression demonstrating that it does have immediate and remarkable effects to remediate depression.

Ketamine is currently available under the tradename of Spravato for the treatment of depression, and is FDA approved. This is a form of ketamine which is eskatamine, a pure form of ketamine, whereas regular ketamine is a mixture of levo and dextro-enantiomers of ketamine. There is no clinical demonstration that eskatamine is more effective or safer than ordinary mixed ketamine.

Side effects that you should consider are that ketamine can produce a dissociative state. Some people describe it as being "dreamy", or an out-of-body or confused experience. At higher doses, people can become agitated. Most people experience it as a "two beer buzz". Occasionally, people experience nausea, headaches, or dizziness. We, as PAA clinicians, have administered intranasal ketamine for over ten (10) years without complications for the treatment of depression.

Ketamine will be compounded for you at a concentration such that an intranasal squirt is 10mg. You will receive 40mg under supervision at Psychiatric Associates of Arkansas' office. If things go well, you will take the ketamine home and self-administer in the presence of a friend or family as described from then on.

An additional warning: ketamine is a potential drug of abuse. At raves and clubs, it is referred to as "Special K," and people who get in trouble with ketamine are said to "go down the K hole." Treatments will be discontinued if you do not comply with the protocol.

Contact

Schedule an Evaluation

Contact us for evaluations regarding any of the conditions on this page or any other condition in which you feel that you do not have the control over your moods and thoughts the way you want. Talk to your Primary Care Physician about it. We will work with you to try to achieve a realistic improvement in your level of functioning.

Contact the office