Ketamine Clinic Los Angeles
Low-dose ketamine in a controlled setting works faster than SSRIs and has shown to be effective, even in the most hard-to-treat cases such as treatment-resistant depression.
Get StartedKetamine Therapy for Depression and Trauama
Ketamine was originally developed as an anesthetic in the 1960s and FDA-Approved in 1970. Ketamine is the most common pediatric anesthetic used in the Unied States. Ketamine therapy has become a new, promising treatment for various mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. This powerful medication works in a different fashion from traditional antidepressants, targeting the glutamate system in the brain, which plays a crucial role in mood regulation.
While traditional antidepressant medication targets slow-acting neurotransmitter systems like serotonin and norepinephrine, the glutamate system is the fastest-acting neurotransmitter system in the brain. Glutamate is the main reason why ketamine can work so quickly sometimes offering profound relief after just a single session. Even more astounding is that the glutamate release from ketamine has been\ shown to open up critical periods in the brain, allowing for rapid regrowth of synapses and the ability to absorb therapeutic content. This is a quality shared only with other psychedelics.
How Can Ketamine Improve Your Mental Health?
Ketamine therapy has been a revolutionary achievement in psychiatry, particularly for individuals with treatment-resistant depression. By targeting the glutamate system, ketamine can rapidly reduce depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts, providing relief when other treatments have failed.
Moreover, ketamine has shown promise in treating other mental health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Its ability to “reset” dysfunctional neural pathways has led some researchers to liken it to
a “software upgrade” for the brain.
A course of ketamine therapy always starts with an initial psychiatric evaluation from one of our psychiatrists in Los Angeles. If the psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner determines that ketamine is right for you, we will thoroughly discuss the pros and cons of ketamine therapy with you carefully. We’ll discuss the three main options for ketamine treatment: ketamine infusions, Spravato esketamine nasal spray, and ketamine assisted therapy.
Ketamine Therapy Benefits
While traditional medications for depression (such as SSRIs) require time to accumulate in the brain before they begin to have an effect, ketamine alters the neurotransmitter activity in your brain almost immediately. Most patients notice a reduction in their symptoms of depression within the first 1-3 ketamine sessions. Many notice a shift after only the first session.
Additionally, side effects associated with ketamine are typically much milder than those common with antidepressants. Ketamine’s success rate in reducing depression symptoms is also significantly higher—at approximately 75-80%—compared to the rate of effectiveness for traditional antidepressant medications at 40% or less.
Ketamine Treatment Reviews in Los Angeles
“I had a very positive experience and the ketamine treatments helped me alleviate the negative rumination related to my depression. My anxiety is also lower and I am now able to maintain a daily meditation practice which has helped me integrate the ketamine work.” – R. B.
““The team at Bespoke Treatment have provided me with a quality of care that is unprecedented to ensure that I receive state of the art treatment for a lifetime of crippling mental illness. I would’t hesitate to recommend them to anyone, and I hope that one day the treatments they offer and the professionalism of their staff become the routine standard. Ketamine infusion therapy should be the first line of defense against a lifetime of crippling mental illness instead of the last.”
“I’ve been dealing with depression and anxiety since I was 14 or so. I have tried several medications in the past but have been very reluctant on taking psych meds for the rest of my life. I started looking up depression treatment alternatives being that my symptoms were becoming unbearable (didn’t want to live) and stumbled across your business on google. I couldn’t have found a better place. My life has changed drastically for the better. I wake up hopeful and I actually have a chance at life again. Spravato was instant relief and TMS was just icing on the cake. But what made my experience better than I could have imagined was your staff.”
Los Angeles Ketamine Clinic
There are three main types of ketamine therapy, each with different nuances and considerations. Our Los Angeles psychiatrists will oversee your care and work with you to determine which is best for your particular situation. Our unique approach is part of the reason why LA Weekly called Bespoke Treatment the future of mental healthcare.
Ketamine Infusion Therapy
We offer ketamine infusions as an in-office treatment. During the entire treatment, a member from the Bespoke Treatment team will help prepare, guide, and integrate your journey. Doses are individualized for each patient, based on body weight and medical history. Unlike SSRIs that must build up over time to work, ketamine almost immediately alters the neurotransmitter activity in your brain. Some patients have experienced relief as soon as the first session. Ketamine infusions can be deep, psychedelic experiences. Patients are allowed to bring their therapist to sessions if they are nearby our Los Angeles office.
Spravato (esketamine) Nasal Spray
Spravato is an esketamine nasal spray that helps people find relief from treatment-resistant depression. Ketamine is a chemical that consists of two mirror-images: esketamine and arketamine. When used as an anesthetic or in an intravenous infusion, both the S and R molecules are included. However, Spravato only uses only esketamine. In clinical trials, patients who take Spravato show a reduction in depression symptoms even within the first 24 hours. Just like generic ketamine, Spravato acts on your brain’s NMDA receptors, allowing it to work faster than traditional SSRIs and create lasting change in your neural pathways. Unlike ketamine infusions, Spravato is fully covered by many health insurance companies with an average copay of $20 per session.
Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy
For patients enrolled in our comprehensive program, we offer ketamine assisted psychotherapy (KAP) when appropriate. KAP is the intersection of ketamine and psychotherapy with a trained clinician. Unlike the psychedelic options like as ketamine infusions, we use a psycholytic dosage of ketamine for KAP sessions. Combining ketamine with therapy allows for the ketamine to help to increase neuroplasticity and open up in therapy, while the therapy can help to reinforce positive habits and reduce negative self-talk. It is not uncommon for our patients to tell us that their KAP session was “like 50 therapy sessions in one.”
The Benefits of Ketamine Therapy at Bespoke Treatment
In sub-anesthetic doses, ketamine can relieve symptoms of depression—even for those for whom other medications or treatments have failed. If you’re receiving an infusion or opting for Spravato, our process is mostly the same. We set you up in a comfortable setting in our office and give you our ketamine kit consisting of an eye mask, a thoughtfully curated playlist to assist you in your journey, an iPod, and Bose noise-canceling headphones. Instead of a regular exam room, our team has carefully designed our ketamine treatment rooms to provide maximal comfort and therapeutic value.
Relief of depression symptoms can be immediate, while PTSD symptoms may take longer to resolve. Some patients report a feeling like they are floating. Others sometimes experience dizziness or mild hallucinations. If you experience any of these side effects, they end fairly quickly after the session is over. You may also feel tired following your appointment, but any fatigue will pass by the following morning.
Your care team at Bespoke will monitor all of these carefully and let you know when it’s appropriate to go home. We allocate 2 hours for each appointment.
Ketamine for Depression
Ketamine has mostly been studied for patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression, meaning they have tried at least 2 antidepressant medication that didn’t work. While ketamine infusions have been the most common route of administration historically, Spravato is the only FDA-Approved form of ketamine approved for Major Depressive Disorder and Suicidal Ideation.
Ketamine for PTSD
Multiple studies have found that ketamine is a highly effective option for individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as C-PTSD. Ketamine can sometimes bring up past trauma, so we recommend involvement with your therapist if you suffer from PTSD and are looking into ketamine treatments.
Ketamine for Anxiety
Even though most researchers pay more attention to depression as opposed to anxiety, the anxiolytic effects of ketamine cannot be understated. Outside of psychotherapy, it is one of the safest alternative treatments for anxiety that exist today. Many patients with depression remark that the reduction of anxiety was even more impactful than the reduction of depression.
Benefits of Ketamine Therapy in Los Angeles
Are you still weighing the pros and cons of ketamine therapy? Here are some reasons why ketamine might be helpful for you:
- Short-term treatment for long-term relief
- Fast-acting leads to rapid results
- Mild, short-lived side effects
- Can measurably improve quality of life
- Some forms can be covered by insurance at little to no cost
Is ketamine therapy right for me?
Do you identify with any of the following statements?
- I experience little interest or pleasure in doing things.
- I find myself not getting enough sleep or sleeping too much.
- I feel tired all the time.
- I have trouble focusing on normal activities.
- I experience unwanted side-effects from medications.
- Medication doesn’t work quite right for me.
- I have been diagnosed with depression.
If you answered “yes” to any of these, you may
be a candidate for TMS.
Meet Your Los Angeles Psychiatry Care Team
Nima Fahimian, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Jacob Moussai, MD
Psychiatrist
Melanie Jimenez
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
Nick Baez
TMS Technician
Ketamine Therapy in Los Angeles, CA at Bespoke Treatment
Bespoke Treatment has an office location in Downtown Los Angeles. We offer a variety of alternative mental health treatments for depression, anxiety, PTSD, and OCD. Our most common treatments include ketamine therapy, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, and psychiatry. We also offer a comprehensive mental health program, a unique treatment that tailors therapy methods to each patient’s needs.
Ketamine Treatment Centers in Los Angeles
The downtown area where our office is located is bordered by several well-known neighborhoods including Echo Park, Silver Lake, Loz Feliz, Glendale, Highland Park, and Atwater Village. Our second location is further west in the city of Santa Monica.
City of Los Angeles Resource Center
Santa Monica Department of Public Health
Welcome to Santa Monica
The city of Los Angeles, California, boasts an impressive population of nearly 4 million, making it the second-largest city in the United States, just behind New York. Situated in Southern California, it enjoys a prime location bordered by the Pacific Ocean and surrounded by majestic mountains. Los Angeles County encompasses the city itself, while the Greater Los Angeles area extends to include cities like Pasadena, Riverside, Burbank, and Studio City.
Los Angeles is renowned for its cultural diversity, economic prosperity, and its pivotal role in the Hollywood entertainment industry. It attracts millions of tourists each year with iconic landmarks such as the Hollywood Sign, Rodeo Drive, Disneyland, and its beautiful beaches.
Dubbed the “Creative Capital of the World,” Los Angeles is a global hub for arts and entertainment. A significant portion of its residents are employed in creative professions, including artists, filmmakers, dancers, actors, musicians, and writers. The city is home to more creative professionals than any other city in history.
Los Angeles has a rich history in the creative arts, being home to the oldest film school in the United States, the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Today, it remains at the heart of the motion picture and television industries, hosting prestigious events like the Grammy Awards, Academy Awards, and Primetime Emmy Awards annually.
A city that celebrates and nurtures creativity, Los Angeles also prioritizes mental health and well-being. The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health is the largest mental health department in the nation, offering a wide range of services through nearly 1,000 contracted mental health providers, including Mental Health America of Los Angeles.
