Therapeutic ketamine treatment is rapidly emerging as a promising tool in mental health care, particularly for individuals struggling with treatment-resistant depression and anxiety. Originally developed in the 1960s as a surgical anesthetic for both humans and animals, ketamine’s unique dissociative and hallucinogenic properties have since found a new therapeutic application. Today, therapeutic ketamine treatment plays a key role in a burgeoning psychedelic wellness market, with providers reporting encouraging patient outcomes. However, experts in the field warn that as the market expands, it must be supported by strong guardrails to ensure safe, effective, and ethical care.
The Origins and Evolution of Therapeutic Ketamine Treatment
Ketamine was initially used primarily as an anesthetic, valued for its rapid onset and safety profile in surgery. However, recreational use quickly followed due to its hallucinogenic and dissociative effects, which altered perception and consciousness. More recently, therapeutic ketamine treatment has gained traction as a novel approach for mental health conditions, especially for patients who have not responded to traditional antidepressants such as SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). Research has shown therapeutic ketamine treatment’s rapid-acting antidepressant effects can provide relief in hours or days, rather than weeks, making it a promising alternative.
This shift has fueled the rise of ketamine therapy providers, ranging from traditional clinic settings to innovative digital platforms offering remote treatment options. Yet, the novel nature of therapeutic ketamine treatment in psychiatry means there is still much to learn about the best practices for delivery, safety, and integration into mental health care.
Mindbloom’s Digital Therapeutic Ketamine Treatment: Innovation and Care
Dr. Leonardo Vando, a psychiatrist and medical director at Mindbloom, an online ketamine-assisted therapy provider, highlights the complexity behind offering safe and effective therapeutic ketamine treatment. Mindbloom’s model sends an oral form of ketamine directly to patients’ homes, combined with psychiatric clinical consultations and guided psychedelic therapy sessions via its digital platform. Members also have access to group therapy sessions, fostering community and shared healing experiences.
According to Dr. Vando, the company has seen 80% of its members report “significant improvements” in anxiety and depression symptoms after just four therapeutic ketamine treatment sessions. Side effects were minimal, with only about 5% of clients experiencing minor and short-lived reactions. These results underscore the potential benefits of therapeutic ketamine treatment when carefully administered.
However, Dr. Vando stresses that successful therapeutic ketamine treatment requires much more than dispensing medication:
- Establishing the right physical and mental setting before the ketamine experience to prepare patients properly.
- Employing psychiatric clinicians specifically trained in ketamine therapy to guide patients safely through treatment.
- Developing and enforcing clinical protocols for screening patients, identifying risks, and tailoring treatment plans.
- Maintaining rigorous clinical oversight to ensure ongoing safety and effectiveness.
Mindbloom’s expansion from serving 21 states in 2019 with plans for 10 more states illustrates both the growing demand and the challenge of scaling responsible therapeutic ketamine treatment.
Heading Health: Combining Traditional and Innovative Care with Insurance Access
Heading Health, another innovative mental health startup, takes a hybrid approach that includes both virtual behavioral health therapy and in-person therapeutic ketamine treatment at its clinics in Austin and Dallas, Texas. Unlike Mindbloom, Heading Health seeks insurance coverage to make therapeutic ketamine treatment more accessible to patients, navigating the complexities of an off-label, largely unregulated treatment landscape.
CEO Simon Tankel explained that the company has treated over 50 individuals with therapeutic ketamine treatment and has more than 1,000 patients receiving behavioral health services overall. Tankel emphasized that when therapeutic ketamine treatment involves appropriate screening, monitoring, and outcome measurement, ketamine can be an effective option for patients who have not responded to traditional antidepressants.
Tankel cautions, however, that because ketamine treatment is off-label for mental health and largely unregulated, many clinics lack proper clinical oversight. Some clinics are even staffed without mental health professionals, which can compromise patient safety and treatment quality.
Heading Health also offers Spravato (esketamine), an FDA-approved nasal spray form of ketamine. Spravato requires adherence to strict FDA and payer protocols, including administration under clinical supervision, and is covered by some health insurance plans. Heading Health provides both Spravato and intravenous ketamine treatments, welcoming the higher standards Spravato imposes as a step toward mainstream acceptance and greater patient access.
Addressing Barriers for Clinicians: Journey Clinical’s Telehealth Platform
While therapeutic ketamine treatment is promising, one major barrier to its wider adoption is clinician training and access. Many licensed therapists want to incorporate ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) but lack access to prescribers or the necessary infrastructure.
Journey Clinical, a healthcare startup, aims to bridge this gap by offering a “turnkey” telehealth platform that allows therapists to integrate ketamine treatment into their existing practices. The company currently supports around 100 licensed psychotherapists nationwide, equipping them with tools to safely administer KAP.
Jonathan Sabbagh, Journey’s CEO, shared that KAP allows therapists to guide clients through parts of the mind that traditional therapy may not reach, potentially leading to deeper and longer-lasting mental health improvements. One licensed clinical social worker using Journey’s platform described how therapeutic ketamine treatment sessions enabled clients to access difficult emotional and cognitive material, catalyzing meaningful therapeutic breakthroughs.
Sabbagh believes this kind of integration can drive a paradigm shift in behavioral health—toward treatments that produce more durable and effective outcomes than many traditional methods.
The Need for Rigorous Evidence and Regulation Amidst Rapid Growth
Despite promising patient outcomes and growing enthusiasm, ketamine treatment remains an evolving and largely unregulated field. Both Dr. Vando and Tankel agree that expanding access must be matched by a commitment to evidence-based practices and clinical rigor.
The mental health crisis in the United States—marked by rising rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide—demands new tools. Classic treatments like SSRIs often fail to provide relief for many patients, making therapeutic ketamine treatment a valuable addition to the clinical toolkit. Yet, Tankel warns that the absence of standardized regulations has led some clinics to overstate success rates. While some claim up to 90% efficacy, most academic studies report about 50% success, highlighting the need for better data.
Heading Health is currently conducting research on therapeutic ketamine treatment outcomes to provide clarity and transparency in this murky landscape. Such studies are critical to establishing ketamine’s role in psychiatric care and informing best practices.
Conclusion: Balancing Innovation with Responsibility
Therapeutic ketamine treatment providers represent a vital and promising frontier in mental health treatment. The positive outcomes reported by providers like Mindbloom, Heading Health, and Journey Clinical highlight ketamine’s potential to help patients who have exhausted other options. However, industry leaders uniformly emphasize the need for strong clinical guardrails—careful patient screening, trained clinicians, evidence-based protocols, and ongoing research.
As ketamine treatment continues to grow, balancing innovation with responsibility will be crucial to protect patient safety, improve treatment efficacy, and integrate ketamine into mainstream behavioral health care. If done thoughtfully, ketamine treatment could become a key part of the solution to the mental health crisis, offering hope and healing to millions.
