Ketamine is a well researched anesthetic agent that has been used safely and effectively to treat a variety of mental health and physical medical conditions.  I work with my team at Your Wellness Practice to provide ketamine infusions in the comfort and safety of my office.  We provide infusions for treatment-resistant Major Depressive Disorder, depressive phases of Bipolar Disorder, suicidality, severe anxiety disorders, OCD, and PTSD.  We have seen rapid and significant benefit, consistent with published studies on ketamine for this use [1-5].
 
Ketamine can open the possibility of symptom relief and solidifying new patterns of thinking, feeling, and responding to daily stressors through multiple effects on the brain.  By blocking receptors for glutamate, the most prevalent excitatory signaling chemical in the brain, we observe a subsequent increase in release of glutamate into the space between cells.  This has a cascade of effects and ultimately triggers release of brain derived neurotrophic factor or BDNF.  BDNF is a key player in neuroplasticity, which helps to restore normal connectivity between key brain regions.  The activity of the Default Mode Network (DMN) also dampens and diminishes, which can be felt as a lessening of obsessive and negative thinking.  As old stuck patterns begin to loosen up, and new connections form, the brain has the opportunity to transform over time into a healthier baseline state of being.  

Ketamine provides a novel biological approach to treat some of the most refractory and debilitating mental health symptoms, and effects are rapid and robust.