The psychedelics and ketamine therapy industry—once celebrated as the next major frontier in mental health care—is facing significant disruption. Two of the largest providers in the U.S. have abruptly scaled back, marking a notable moment in the evolution of this growing field. Ketamine Wellness Centers (KWC), which had branded itself as the largest provider of its kind nationwide, has closed clinics in nine states. Around the same time, Field Trip Health & Wellness also announced it is winding down operations in several U.S. markets. These Ketamine Therapy Clinic Closures highlight the mounting challenges of maintaining large-scale psychedelic treatment operations amid shifting financial, regulatory, and market realities.
For years, both companies had symbolized the promise of accessible psychedelic-assisted care—offering new hope to individuals battling depression, PTSD, and chronic anxiety when traditional treatments fell short. However, despite growing public interest and clinical validation, the business model for these therapies remains difficult to sustain.
From Expansion to Sudden Retraction
Ketamine Therapy Clinic Closures have become a flashpoint in understanding the volatility of this emerging industry. Ketamine Wellness Centers, a subsidiary of Delic Holdings Corp, had been a major player in the movement to normalize ketamine therapy across the U.S. Acquired by Delic in November 2021 for $10 million, the business appeared to be thriving—reporting over $3.5 million in revenue in 2020 and projecting $4.5 million for 2021.
At the time of the acquisition, Delic CEO and co-founder Matt Stang described the deal as transformative: “With the addition of Ketamine Wellness Centers, we can now reach millions of people suffering from various mental health conditions who have lost hope of finding effective, affordable treatments.”
Founded in 2011, KWC treated nearly 100,000 patients, including many military veterans through its partnership with the Community Cares Network of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The company operated 13 clinics in nine states and emphasized accessibility over exclusivity. As Stang said in 2022, “We don’t want just the 1% to come to our clinic. We want this to be accessible to everyone.”
Unfortunately, the Ketamine Therapy Clinic Closures suggest that accessibility and affordability alone were not enough to guarantee long-term sustainability. Despite its reach and impact, KWC officially suspended operations just six months after it became one of the first ketamine providers to accept Medicare coverage.
Regulatory and Financial Pressures Mount
The recent Ketamine Therapy Clinic Closures reflect deeper industry-wide tensions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency federal policies temporarily allowed telemedicine prescribing of certain controlled substances, including ketamine. This flexibility spurred rapid expansion in both in-person and at-home ketamine services.
However, as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) now moves to roll back those allowances, providers face renewed barriers to care delivery. Combined with high overhead costs, limited insurance reimbursement, and rising regulatory complexity, many operators have found their business models unsustainable.
Ketamine, classified by the DEA as a Schedule III controlled substance since 1999, first gained major mental health traction in 2019 when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Spravato (esketamine) for treatment-resistant depression. That milestone triggered a surge of private investment in clinics across the country. But without consistent payer support, most clinics—like KWC—had to rely on cash-pay models, charging hundreds of dollars per infusion.
Even with Delic’s efforts to introduce Medicare billing, logistical challenges and uneven coverage left clinics vulnerable to fluctuating revenue. The Ketamine Therapy Clinic Closures thus illustrate how financial strain and regulatory uncertainty can quickly derail even established mental health providers.
Field Trip Health & Wellness Follows a Similar Path
The Ketamine Therapy Clinic Closures also include those from Field Trip Health & Wellness, another high-profile player in the psychedelic wellness space. On Wednesday, the company announced plans to close its centers in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Seattle, and San Diego. In a statement, Field Trip said the move was made “to reduce expenditures and preserve capital,” with operations ending around April 15, 2023.
Field Trip had gained recognition for its spa-like clinics that combined ketamine-assisted psychotherapy with mindfulness-based approaches in tranquil, upscale environments. But the cost of maintaining these facilities—alongside slow insurance adoption and cautious investor sentiment—proved difficult to sustain. Like KWC, Field Trip’s retrenchment signals a growing mismatch between public enthusiasm for psychedelic therapies and the current economic realities of delivering them at scale.
These Ketamine Therapy Clinic Closures underscore a sobering truth: the early optimism that drove rapid expansion in this sector is giving way to a more measured phase of restructuring, consolidation, and reevaluation.
The Accessibility Dilemma
At their core, both KWC and Field Trip sought to make psychedelic-assisted care accessible to a wider audience. For many patients—especially veterans and those with treatment-resistant depression—these clinics provided a last resort when traditional antidepressants and talk therapy failed.
Yet the Ketamine Therapy Clinic Closures leave a troubling gap in access for those patients. Many are now faced with interrupted care, uncertain treatment continuity, and limited alternative options. The closures also highlight how difficult it remains to balance scientific innovation, regulatory compliance, and financial feasibility within the U.S. healthcare system.
Delic Holdings, which also operates Ketamine Infusion Centers and Delic Labs, may continue pursuing research and development in the psychedelic space. Still, the suspension of Ketamine Wellness Centers raises questions about whether large-scale, insurance-friendly ketamine networks can survive without significant policy reform or payer engagement.
The Broader Psychedelic Industry at a Crossroads
The wave of Ketamine Therapy Clinic Closures represents more than a business setback—it’s a pivotal moment for the entire psychedelic treatment movement. The same factors driving innovation—rising mental health demand, FDA momentum for psychedelics like MDMA and psilocybin, and growing cultural acceptance—also expose the fragility of the industry’s foundation.
While the science supporting these therapies continues to strengthen, the infrastructure for sustainable, compliant delivery is still developing. Without consistent payer coverage, standardized clinical guidelines, and long-term patient support systems, many providers remain vulnerable to the kind of closures now seen across the sector.
Still, experts believe that the field will rebound. As more data validates psychedelic treatments and regulatory agencies clarify pathways for use, new models—potentially involving hospital systems, integrated behavioral health networks, and digital therapy platforms—may replace the current patchwork of standalone clinics.
For now, though, the Ketamine Therapy Clinic Closures serve as a cautionary tale. They remind stakeholders that while psychedelic medicine holds immense promise, success will depend not just on innovation, but on sustainability, accessibility, and integration within the broader healthcare ecosystem.
A Cautious Future Ahead
The Ketamine Therapy Clinic Closures of Ketamine Wellness Centers and Field Trip Health & Wellness have sent ripples throughout the behavioral health world. They mark a pause in what was once considered unstoppable momentum toward a new era of psychedelic-assisted mental health care.
For patients, providers, and investors alike, these developments underscore the importance of balancing optimism with operational discipline. As the field evolves, the next phase of psychedelic medicine will likely be led by organizations that can merge clinical rigor with sustainable business practices—ensuring that the promise of these treatments translates into lasting, accessible care.
