Since antidepressants were first introduced in the 1950s, there haven’t been any sea changes in how we treat mental health issues until the last two decades. Today, we have more mental health resources to work with, including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) therapy and ketamine infusion therapy, which are offering new hope for millions of people.
Here at the Institute for Advanced Psychiatry, Dr. Diana Ghelber and the team pride ourselves on staying at the forefront of advances in mental health. Before we introduce a new therapy to our patients, we do our homework, and we want to share some of what we’ve learned about ketamine infusion therapy, which we offer here.
Ketamine is not a new drug — it’s been in use as an anesthetic for decades, but it’s only recently become more accepted as a treatment for mental health. The effect that ketamine has on your brain — in very simple terms — is that it triggers the regrowth of connections in your cortex by targeting glutamate neurotransmitters.
A version of ketamine — esketamine — was approved by the FDA in 2019 to address treatment refractory depression. This step was important because, of the 21 million American adults who struggle with depression, up to 30% don’t respond to traditional treatments.
At our practice, we’ve found success in using ketamine infusion therapy to treat not only treatment-resistant depression, but also major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, and suicidal ideation.
One of the incredible benefits of ketamine infusion therapy is how quickly it works. One study on the use of ketamine for severe depression concluded that the therapy, “Has a robust and rapid effect on depression, which was seen immediately after the administration of ketamine and sustained at the end of 1 month.”
This benefit is very important if you’re struggling with suicidal ideation — you need solutions very quickly, and ketamine infusion therapy can provide near-immeidate relief.
Ketamine clinics are popping up all over the place, as well as online companies who are offering compounded versions of ketamine therapy.
Ketamine is a strong drug, and we caution you against getting ketamine from anywhere other than an established mental health practice.
When we administer your ketamine, we do so under our watchful eyes, and we monitor you the entire time. We also have you stay with us for a few hours after your ketamine treatment to ensure that you don’t have any adverse side effects.
Given how popular ketamine has become, some people assume it's some sort of magic bullet. While ketamine can be a life raft for some, it’s not for everyone, and it shouldn’t be used among these groups:
To determine whether you’re a good candidate for ketamine infusion therapy, we first perform a comprehensive evaluation of your health.
The bottom line is that ketamine infusion therapy can be a valuable mental health resource when it’s used in the right way. To determine whether you might be a good candidate for ketamine infusion therapy, we invite you to contact our office in Fort Worth, Texas, to schedule a consultation.
