FOCUS
INTENSITY
TARGETING
The Interventions
KASPR is a research-informed assessment and intervention framework developed around the distinctive psychological, behavioural and physical challenges associated with ketamine use.
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It recognises that serious harm may develop without established dependence and that effective intervention requires an understanding of how patterns of use, underlying drivers and emerging harms interact.
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Recognising Sentinel Symptoms
A central feature of KASPR is the identification of sentinel symptoms — early indicators of emerging ketamine-related harm that may appear before established dependence or obvious deterioration in everyday functioning.
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These may include changes in bladder function, pain, cognition, sleep, mood or behaviour. KASPR helps practitioners recognise these signals, understand how they relate to developing patterns of use and identify opportunities for earlier, proportionate intervention.
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The emphasis is on recognising harm as it emerges, rather than waiting for conventional indicators of dependence or severity.
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What is the Approach?
KASPR is built around two core practices:
Empathetic Seeking — actively exploring the person's experience to understand the function and meaning of ketamine use, without judgement or premature assumptions.
Sequencing — identifying how patterns develop over time, recognising early sentinel moments and locating opportunities for meaningful intervention.
Together, these approaches support interventions matched to the mechanisms shaping the person's difficulties.
How is KASPR Delivered?
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Through structured intervention manuals, practical exercises and practitioner guidance.
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The materials provide a consistent clinical framework while allowing practitioners to select interventions according to individual needs, circumstances and treatment responses.
What Does KASPR Cover?
KASPR provides an integrated four-tier stepped-care framework:
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Tier 1 — Early Recognition
Identifying emerging patterns and developing awareness before difficulties become established.
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Tier 2 — Targeted Interventions
Dedicated interventions addressing urges, patterns of use, bladder difficulties, pain, cognition, dissociation, mood, emotional regulation and sleep.
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Tier 3 — Complex Presentations
Working with interacting difficulties through advanced formulation, coordinated intervention and stabilisation.
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Tier 4 — Specialist Care
Working alongside specialist services, including urology and psychiatry, to address psychological and behavioural risks and protect the gains achieved through specialist treatment.
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Aftercare and Relapse Prevention
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KASPR includes a dedicated, ketamine-specific relapse prevention framework developed around the particular challenges of ketamine recovery.
Rather than focusing solely on avoiding further use, it examines how individual vulnerabilities, environmental demands and changing psychological states can reactivate established patterns.
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The approach supports early recognition of destabilisation, protection of recovery gains, management of craving and constructive responses to lapses or setbacks.
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The aim is not simply to prevent relapse, but to understand and protect the conditions that make sustained recovery possible.
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A Connected Continuum of Care
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The four KASPR tiers operate as an integrated stepped-care framework, allowing intervention to respond to changing levels of need, complexity and risk.
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Movement between tiers is guided by ongoing assessment, clinical formulation and treatment response, rather than fixed thresholds of dependence.
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This supports continuity from early recognition and targeted intervention through complex case working, specialist treatment and longer-term recovery support. KASPR connects research-informed understanding, structured intervention and longer-term recovery support within one coherent framework.
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