November 17, 2025
Learn how ketamine therapy works, its benefits, mechanisms, and how it treats depression, anxiety, and mood disorders.
Ketamine therapy is an innovative, fast-acting mental-health treatment originally used as an anesthetic and now widely recognized for its ability to rapidly reduce symptoms of treatment-resistant depression, suicidality, anxiety disorders, and other psychiatric conditions.
Unlike traditional antidepressants—which may take 4–8 weeks to work—ketamine often produces improvements within hours to days, making it one of the most transformative treatments in modern psychiatry.
Forms of ketamine used clinically include:
These treatments are always administered under medical supervision because ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic with powerful psychological effects.
Ketamine influences multiple brain systems simultaneously, which explains its rapid antidepressant effects.
Unlike SSRIs, ketamine acts on the glutamate system, the most abundant neurotransmitter in the brain.
Ketamine blocks NMDA receptors, which leads to:
This cascade triggers rapid changes in mood regulation pathways.
Ketamine activates a protein called BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor), which stimulates:
People often describe the result as mental “resetting,” “unfogging,” or feeling emotionally open in ways they haven’t in years.
The dissociative experience—feeling outside one’s usual sense of self—creates a window in which rigid depressive or anxious thought patterns loosen.
This allows patients to:
Chronic inflammation is linked to depression and anxiety. Ketamine has measurable anti-inflammatory effects, which may contribute to long-term relief.
The DMN is a brain network involved in:
Ketamine temporarily quiets this network, offering mental relief and cognitive clarity.
Ketamine is especially effective for individuals who have tried multiple antidepressants without improvement. Many experience relief after the first session.
Ketamine is one of the only treatments shown to rapidly and significantly reduce suicidal ideation within hours.
Generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety, and panic disorder often improve due to ketamine’s ability to loosen hyperactive fear circuits.
Ketamine allows individuals to revisit traumatic memories without overwhelming emotional activation, making trauma therapy more effective.
By increasing neural plasticity, ketamine can reduce obsessive loops and improve response to behavioral therapy.
Although not a cure, ketamine may stabilize mood and reduce emotional intensity, especially when combined with DBT.
For some individuals with anorexia, bulimia, or binge-eating disorder, ketamine reduces rigidity, improves mood, and opens pathways for therapeutic change.
While ketamine does not treat ADHD directly, it may reduce overlapping anxiety, depression, and rejection sensitivity.
Ketamine should not be used in individuals with active psychosis or schizophrenia due to risk of symptom worsening.
Experiences vary but are typically described as:
Clients often report:
“I saw my problems from the outside.”
“I felt clarity for the first time.”
“It was like time slowed and my mind softened.”
Medical staff monitor blood pressure, heart rate, and comfort throughout. The effect lasts 45–90 minutes, followed by integration time.
Ketamine cracks open the door—therapy helps you walk through it.
Integration includes:
Combined ketamine + psychotherapy is far more effective than ketamine alone.
Ketamine is safe when administered in a controlled medical environment, but risks include:
Contraindications:
Many people experience significant relief for days to weeks after a single session.
A full series usually includes 6–8 infusions or sessions over several weeks.
Maintenance boosters may be recommended monthly or as needed.
Ketamine may be appropriate if you:
A full mental-health and medical evaluation is essential before starting.
At Integrative Psych, we provide safe, evidence-based ketamine therapy supported by a team of psychiatrists, therapists, and mental-health specialists. Our approach combines:
Whether you’re exploring ketamine for treatment-resistant depression or seeking a more transformative therapeutic experience, our team is here to guide you with warmth, science, and care.
We're now accepting new patients
