MUTUAL
BENEFIT
A perfect illustration of how lived experience and peer support could shape services for the better was provided by the Ketamine Care Hub in the North West, heard delegates in the morning’ s second session
‘ W
e believe the greatest respect we can pay our clients is to listen,’ Lisa Ogilvie, a psychologist with Acorn Recovery Projects, told the conference.‘ Without the notion of applied expertise, but rather with the intent of learning to be better’. This had been her organisation’ s response to the growing demand it was seeing for residential rehab places for ketamine use disorder( DDN, June, page 10).‘ Speaking to our ketamine clients to better learn how we could support them.’
Clear themes had started to emerge, including‘ the acute embarrassment they felt with their bladder issues, which were severely impacting their dignity and self-confidence.’ Acorn had implemented measures such as flexible comfort breaks and more comfortable seating arrangements, but there was one theme that continued to stand out – the lack of relatable peer connection, she said.
UNMET NEEDS‘ Our young ketamine clients didn’ t have an outlet where they could go and talk about their sensitive health and social issues with people they could relate to. This saw the inception of our Ketamine Care Hub in Stockport – the first of its kind in Greater Manchester and, to the best of our knowledge, the North West of England and potentially further afield as well.’
The clients had been instrumental in establishing and shaping what was now a very successful care hub, she said.‘ Already in the short amount of time it’ s been running we’ ve been seeing some great successes, including one of our clients, Ethan, returning home and opening an equivalent service in North Wales.’
‘ This time last year I was eight stone, isolated, suicidal, riddled with depression and anxiety,’ said Finn, a founding member of the Stockport hub.‘ I had kidney pains, liver pains, there was blood every time I went to the toilet, broken relationships and friendships – everything that comes with ketamine addiction. I thought it would take my life, or I’ d take my own life.’
After a‘ messy’ recovery journey, Acorn had changed his life, he said.‘ We saw the need for peer-led support groups specifically for ketamine, which is something I hadn’ t found in my years of trying to get clean and sober. So we set it up.’ The level of need meant that there was now a widespread network of users, ex-users, family and friends.‘ It’ s an amazing community where people can ask questions and share experiences, and we also work one-to-one with young people for local services.’
MULTI-FACETED APPROACH The complexity of what ketamine did to the body needed to be understood, said clinical lead at Delphi Medical, Dr Abida Mohamed.‘ It affects so many different organs. The need for services is vast, and we need to look at multi-faceted approaches to tackle this problem. Otherwise it’ s really going to end in a lot of devastation.’
In 2023 Blackpool’ s Adolescent Drug, Alcohol and Sexual Health service( ADASH) had approached her at the local Horizon service, as more and more of the young people they were dealing with were presenting with pain and bladder issues as a result of their ketamine use.‘ They didn’ t know where to turn.’
The young people felt dismissed by their GPs, she said.
10 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • SEPTEMBER 2025 WWW. DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS. COM