00:02So, in Australia, we ask a lot of our emergency service workers and we know large numbers,
00:08increasing numbers of them are developing problems like post-traumatic stress disorder.
00:12We've really been able to lead the world in Australia about how to treat PTSD through
00:17federal government funding. There's now a national treatment service for emergency service workers.
00:23But even with the best treatment, we know only about three quarters of them are able
00:27to recover. So, the reason we're excited about ketamine is because we think it holds hope
00:33for helping that 25% who don't get better with standard treatment.
00:38It's designed as an anaesthetic. So, what does it specifically do to one's body?
00:43Our understanding is that the reason ketamine is so useful in treating mental disorders is
00:48because it adjusts the brain and the plasticity of the brain. So, when somebody has ketamine
00:54and we're talking about lower doses and are used recreationally, but when somebody has ketamine,
00:59their brain is able to adapt and learn and respond to talking therapy faster than it would
01:06without it. And we've seen ketamine transform the treatment of depression. What we want to see now
01:12is whether it can do the same with post-traumatic stress disorder.
01:15Tara, I mentioned that you're a former emergency worker. Why does your former profession particularly need
01:23this sort of help? Thank you, Lorna. I mean, I think it's just really, over many years,
01:28I was an operational firefighter for 20 years and just noticing the impacts on myself when I would
01:33turn out to jobs and have a really visceral response to it and reaction and how long it took me
01:38to recover
01:39and the need to be able to access treatment that actually worked and met my needs and understood
01:44my world. And then seeing that in other emergency service workers and in my colleagues and the impact of
01:49those cumulative events over time and not being able to access treatment that actually worked or
01:55accessing treatment that wasn't effective. And so I think having an alternative to that is so
02:00important and something that's well researched and evidence-based. There's a huge need for it.
02:05Did you, when you first heard of this and before you'd researched it, see the word ketamine and think,
02:10goodness me. I think there's, you know, a little bit of mistrust amongst emergency service workers
02:18of new things. And I think that's why, you know, having somewhere like Black Dog Institute that really
02:22is evidence-based and there's rigorous ethical requirements and safety and support during, you know,
02:28any trial for a new drug, I think that really supports people to have trust in a new trial and
02:33go,
02:33OK, it's going to be OK. And a willingness to explore that because I think so people are so desperate
02:39to
02:39have something that enables them to reclaim their lives.
02:42Professor Harvey, so how will this work? Who will be chosen to trial it? And what is the process?
02:49So initially what we're going to be looking for is emergency service workers who have tried standard
02:55treatment where that hasn't helped their symptoms reduce. And then we'll use this as a second line
03:01treatment for them. And what's at the heart of this is a fundamental shift in our understanding of what
03:08we're doing when we're treating mental disorders like PTSD. We're not just adjusting chemicals to mask symptoms,
03:14we're allowing the brain to adapt and learn and change, which enables recovery. And so it's a combination
03:21of the medication together with the talking therapy, which we hope is going to make the real difference.
03:28Tara, looking forward, I mean, presumably it can be rolled out elsewhere. And I know you work in the
03:35mental health space. What are you hoping for?
03:39I mean, I hope obviously that we find that this new treatment is effective and that there is support
03:44and funding to enable us to access the people that really need it throughout the emergency services.
03:52And I think that speaks to both volunteer and paid. And we know there's a huge number of people out
03:56there. So I really hope it enables people to have access to treatment that works, that perhaps they've
04:02had access to other treatment that hasn't been effective. So that's really what I hope will come from it.
