KETAMINE THERAPY QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Ketamine therapy can raise a lot of questions, from how treatment works and what a session feels like to how many treatments may be recommended and what happens afterward.
At Seaside Ketamine, we believe patients should understand their treatment options before making a decision. Below, you’ll find answers to common questions about ketamine therapy, Spravato®, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, treatment preparation, recovery, and what to expect from a physician-led ketamine clinic.
Seaside Ketamine provides physician-led ketamine treatment at our locations in Cardiff, serving San Diego County and North County San Diego, and Newport Beach, serving Orange County.
Ketamine therapy uses carefully controlled doses of ketamine to treat certain psychiatric and pain conditions under medical supervision. Unlike traditional antidepressants, ketamine primarily affects the brain’s glutamate system and can produce antidepressant effects much more rapidly in some patients.
Ketamine has been used in medicine as an anesthetic for decades. At lower, sub-anesthetic doses, it has been extensively studied for treatment-resistant depression and is also used clinically for selected patients with anxiety, PTSD, chronic pain, and other conditions.
At Seaside Ketamine, we offer IV ketamine infusions and IM ketamine as part of individualized, physician-led treatment plans. We also offer Spravato® (esketamine), an FDA-approved nasal medication related to ketamine.
Ketamine primarily affects the brain’s glutamate system, including NMDA and AMPA receptor pathways. These pathways play important roles in mood, learning, memory, and neuroplasticity.
Ketamine may help the brain strengthen or form new neural connections. This is different from conventional antidepressants, which primarily target serotonin or norepinephrine.
At Seaside Ketamine, we view this period of increased neuroplasticity as an opportunity for change. When appropriate, we combine ketamine with psychotherapy, nervous-system regulation, sleep optimization, metabolic health, and lifestyle strategies.
Ketamine can begin reducing depressive symptoms within hours or days for some patients. Others need several treatments before they notice meaningful improvement.
This rapid onset is one of the major differences between ketamine and conventional antidepressants. Traditional antidepressants often take several weeks to produce their full effect.
At Seaside Ketamine, we evaluate your response throughout the initial treatment series. We do not assume that one treatment determines whether ketamine will work for you.
Many patients with depression begin with six ketamine treatments over two to three weeks. However, the ideal number varies from person to person.
Some patients improve after only a few treatments. Others need the full initial series before the benefit becomes clear.
If you respond well, you may benefit from occasional maintenance treatments. At Seaside Ketamine, we base maintenance frequency on your symptoms, function, duration of response, and treatment goals.
The benefits of ketamine can last for days or weeks after a treatment, but the duration varies widely.
The therapeutic effects can continue long after the immediate effects of the medication have worn off. Some patients eventually benefit from maintenance treatments, while others go much longer without another treatment.
Our goal is not simply to repeat ketamine indefinitely. We want to use periods of improvement to help patients make changes that may support longer-lasting results.
Ketamine is FDA approved as an anesthetic, but its use for depression and other psychiatric conditions is off-label.
Off-label prescribing means a physician uses an FDA-approved medication for a condition not specifically listed in its FDA labeling. Off-label prescribing is common throughout medicine.
Spravato® (esketamine) has FDA approval for specific forms of depression. Seaside Ketamine offers both ketamine therapy and Spravato when clinically appropriate.
Ketamine therapy for depression is an evidence-supported, off-label treatment rather than an experimental drug.
Physicians have used ketamine in medicine for decades. Researchers have also studied its antidepressant effects in numerous clinical trials and academic medical centers.
Ketamine remains off-label for psychiatric conditions because the FDA has not specifically approved racemic ketamine for depression. Spravato® (esketamine) has specific FDA-approved indications for depression.
Yes. Ketamine has substantial clinical evidence supporting its ability to reduce depressive symptoms in some patients, particularly those with treatment-resistant depression.
Unlike conventional antidepressants, ketamine for depression may begin improving symptoms within hours or days. Repeated treatments are commonly used because the response to an individual infusion may not persist indefinitely.
At Seaside Ketamine, we evaluate your diagnosis, previous medications and therapy, current symptoms, medical history, and treatment goals before recommending IV ketamine, IM ketamine, Spravato, or another approach.
Treatment-resistant depression generally refers to major depression that has not improved adequately despite appropriate antidepressant treatment.
Definitions vary, but the term commonly applies when a patient has had an inadequate response to at least two appropriate antidepressant trials. Before labeling depression “treatment resistant,” it is also important to consider medication dose and duration, adherence, diagnosis, psychotherapy, medical conditions, sleep, substance use, hormonal or metabolic factors, and other potential contributors.
At Seaside Ketamine, we look beyond the number of medications someone has tried and evaluate the broader clinical picture.
Ketamine may reduce anxiety symptoms in some patients. The evidence is strongest when anxiety occurs with depression, PTSD, or other treatment-resistant conditions.
Research on ketamine for anxiety disorders continues to develop. The evidence is not as extensive as it is for treatment-resistant depression.
At Seaside Ketamine, we evaluate the type of anxiety you are experiencing before recommending treatment. We may also address sleep, nervous-system regulation, metabolic health, and other factors that can contribute to persistent anxiety.
Ketamine may reduce PTSD symptoms in some patients, particularly when conventional treatments have not provided enough relief.
Ketamine for PTSD involves more than mood symptoms. For that reason, we often view ketamine as one part of a broader trauma-focused treatment plan.
At Seaside Ketamine, that plan may include psychotherapy, integration, and nervous-system regulation. The goal is to use the opportunity created by ketamine to support deeper and more lasting change.
Ketamine has demonstrated rapid reductions in suicidal ideation in some clinical studies, but suicidal thoughts always require careful clinical assessment.
Ketamine treatment is not a substitute for emergency psychiatric care. Anyone who is at immediate risk of harming themselves should call 911, call or text 988, or go to the nearest emergency department.
Spravato® also has an FDA-approved indication for depressive symptoms in adults with major depressive disorder who have acute suicidal ideation or behavior, when used with an oral antidepressant. Its effectiveness in preventing suicide or specifically preventing suicidal behavior has not been established.
Ketamine may reduce OCD symptoms in some patients, but research is still developing.
The evidence for ketamine for OCD is less established than the evidence for treatment-resistant depression. Ketamine also does not automatically replace established OCD treatments such as exposure and response prevention therapy.
We consider your symptoms, previous treatments, medications, and coexisting conditions before recommending ketamine for OCD.
Ketamine may help selected patients with bipolar depression, but treatment requires additional psychiatric evaluation and monitoring.
We carefully review any history of mania or hypomania. We also consider current medications, previous treatments, and current mood symptoms.
A diagnosis of bipolar disorder does not automatically mean that ketamine is appropriate or inappropriate; the decision requires individualized psychiatric and medical evaluation.
Ketamine may help certain chronic and neuropathic pain conditions by changing how the nervous system processes pain.
Researchers have studied ketamine for chronic pain for conditions such as complex regional pain syndrome and other forms of neuropathic or centralized pain.
Pain treatment can require different doses and protocols than ketamine treatment for mental health conditions. We evaluate the underlying pain condition before recommending treatment.
Ketamine may be worth considering if depression or another appropriate condition continues to significantly affect your life despite conventional treatment, but determining whether it is right for you requires an individualized evaluation.
We consider your diagnosis, symptom severity, previous medications and therapy, treatment response, medical history, psychiatric history, medications, cardiovascular health, and treatment goals.
Ketamine is not appropriate for everyone, and our goal at Seaside Ketamine is to determine whether it makes clinical sense for you—not simply whether you are interested in receiving it.
No. Ketamine therapy is not appropriate for everyone.
Certain cardiovascular conditions, psychiatric conditions, pregnancy, substance-use concerns, or other medical issues may make treatment inappropriate or require additional evaluation.
We review your medical and psychiatric history, medications, blood pressure, substance-use history, and treatment goals before recommending ketamine.
A medical evaluation helps determine whether ketamine is appropriate and identifies factors that could affect safety or treatment response.
At Seaside Ketamine, we review your diagnosis, previous treatments, medications, cardiovascular history, blood pressure, substance-use history, and treatment goals.
We may also consider sleep, metabolic health, hormones, nutrition, chronic stress, and other biological factors that can influence mental health.
Having high blood pressure does not automatically prevent you from receiving ketamine, but it should be adequately controlled.
Ketamine can temporarily increase blood pressure and heart rate. Uncontrolled hypertension is an important reason to delay treatment until the condition has been evaluated and appropriately managed.
At Seaside Ketamine, we check your blood pressure and review your cardiovascular history before treatment. We also monitor you during treatment.
A history of substance use does not automatically exclude someone from ketamine therapy, but it requires careful evaluation.
Ketamine itself has misuse and dependence potential. We therefore consider the substance involved, whether use is current or remote, the severity of the problem, recovery stability, and the potential risks and benefits of treatment.
Evidence in patients with coexisting substance-use disorders is less established than it is for uncomplicated treatment-resistant depression.
At Seaside Ketamine, we evaluate substance-use history individually rather than applying the same rule to every patient.
Yes. Most patients can continue their antidepressant medication while receiving ketamine therapy.
Ketamine is commonly used as an add-on treatment rather than requiring patients to stop their existing antidepressants. Available evidence has not identified clinically significant interactions with most conventional antidepressants.
We review every medication before treatment. Do not stop or change an antidepressant on your own before receiving ketamine.
Benzodiazepines can sometimes be used with ketamine, but higher doses may reduce or delay ketamine’s antidepressant effect.
Studies have found an association between higher benzodiazepine doses and a weaker early antidepressant response to ketamine. The evidence is not strong enough to conclude that every patient must stop benzodiazepines before treatment.
At Seaside Ketamine, we review medications such as Xanax® (alprazolam), Ativan® (lorazepam), Klonopin® (clonazepam), and Valium® (diazepam) before treatment.
Do not abruptly stop a benzodiazepine. Sudden discontinuation can cause serious withdrawal symptoms. We will discuss whether any medication adjustment is appropriate for you.
Lamotrigine does not automatically prevent you from receiving ketamine, but we review its use before treatment.
Researchers have investigated whether lamotrigine alters ketamine’s effects, but the results remain inconsistent. A systematic review found limited evidence of a possible interaction and emphasized the need for better studies.
Do not stop lamotrigine on your own. Abrupt medication changes can create additional risks, particularly when lamotrigine is being used for bipolar disorder or seizure control.
Naltrexone may affect ketamine’s antidepressant response, so tell us if you are taking it before treatment.
A small controlled study found that naltrexone reduced ketamine’s acute antidepressant effects. However, the evidence remains limited and does not establish what should be done for every patient.
At Seaside Ketamine, we review why you take naltrexone and consider the risks and benefits before making any medication recommendation.
Do not stop naltrexone without discussing it with the clinician who manages your medication.
Stimulant medications require individual review before ketamine treatment because both stimulants and ketamine can affect blood pressure and heart rate.
Tell us if you take Adderall®, Vyvanse®, Ritalin®, or another stimulant. Our clinical team will review your medication, cardiovascular history, and blood pressure and provide specific instructions for the day of treatment.
Do not stop a prescribed stimulant unless your clinician instructs you to do so.
Spravato® is an FDA-approved esketamine nasal spray used to treat certain forms of depression in adults.
Patients administer Spravato themselves under medical supervision at an authorized treatment center. After each treatment, the clinical team monitors the patient for at least two hours.
Seaside Ketamine offers Spravato treatment at our Cardiff-by-the-Sea and Newport Beach locations.
Ketamine and Spravato are related medications, but they differ in formulation, administration, and FDA approval.
Ketamine contains two molecular forms of the drug. Spravato contains esketamine, one of those two forms.
Seaside Ketamine can provide ketamine therapy by IV or IM administration. Spravato is administered as a nasal spray. Ketamine treatment for depression is off-label, while Spravato has specific FDA-approved indications for depression.
Yes. Spravato® is FDA approved for treatment-resistant depression in adults, either by itself or together with an oral antidepressant.
Spravato is also FDA approved, in conjunction with an oral antidepressant, for depressive symptoms in adults with major depressive disorder who have acute suicidal ideation or behavior.
Because Spravato can temporarily cause sedation, dissociation, respiratory effects, and blood-pressure changes, it must be administered under medical supervision with post-dose monitoring.
Plan to spend a little over two hours at Seaside Ketamine for a Spravato appointment.
You administer the nasal medication under supervision. Our clinical team then monitors you for at least two hours after your dose.
You cannot drive yourself home after treatment, so arrange transportation in advance.
Spravato is often covered by commercial insurance and Medicare for eligible patients, although coverage depends on the patient’s diagnosis, insurance plan, prior treatment history, authorization requirements, deductible, and other benefits.
Unlike IV and IM ketamine for psychiatric conditions, which are typically self-pay, Spravato has FDA-approved psychiatric indications that allow many insurers to provide coverage.
The Seaside Ketamine team can verify your Spravato benefits and help determine whether prior authorization is required before treatment begins.
Ketamine works through different brain pathways and can act much faster than traditional antidepressants.
Most conventional antidepressants primarily affect serotonin, norepinephrine, or dopamine signaling. Ketamine primarily acts on the glutamate system, including NMDA and downstream AMPA signaling.
Traditional antidepressants may take several weeks to produce their full effect. Ketamine can reduce depressive symptoms within hours or days in some patients.
That does not mean ketamine replaces antidepressants for everyone. It may be used alongside other treatments as part of a broader treatment plan.
Ketamine uses medication to affect brain signaling, while transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, uses magnetic pulses to stimulate targeted brain regions.
Both are used for treatment-resistant depression, but the treatment experience is very different.
TMS is noninvasive and does not involve a psychoactive medication. A typical course requires repeated treatment sessions over several weeks. Patients can generally drive themselves home after TMS.
Ketamine treatment involves medication and a period of monitoring. Patients should not drive themselves home after treatment.
Both approaches have evidence supporting their use for treatment-resistant depression. The right option depends on previous treatments, medical history, patient preference, access, and other clinical factors.
Yes. Not responding to TMS does not mean that you cannot respond to ketamine therapy.
The treatments work through different mechanisms. A person who has not improved adequately with TMS may still be considered for ketamine treatment.
Likewise, someone who does not respond adequately to ketamine may still be a candidate for TMS or another treatment.
We consider your entire treatment history when deciding what to recommend next.
Ketamine and electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, are both used for severe or treatment-resistant depression, but they are very different treatments.
ECT produces a controlled seizure while the patient is under general anesthesia. It has a long history of use and remains an important treatment for severe depression, particularly when symptoms are urgent or other treatments have failed.
Ketamine does not intentionally produce a seizure and typically does not require general anesthesia when used for psychiatric treatment.
ECT can cause temporary confusion and memory problems. Ketamine more commonly causes temporary dissociation, dizziness, nausea, sedation, and perceptual changes.
The choice between them depends on factors such as illness severity, urgency, treatment history, medical considerations, and patient preference.
Learn more about ketamine vs. ECT.
Ketamine is a medical treatment that affects brain signaling, while psychotherapy helps people change patterns of thought, emotion, behavior, and response to life experiences.
They are not mutually exclusive.
Ketamine may create a period of increased neuroplasticity and psychological flexibility. Psychotherapy can help patients use that period to explore patterns, process experiences, and develop new ways of responding.
This is one reason we view ketamine as part of a broader treatment strategy rather than simply an infusion or injection.
Yes. In-office ketamine provides direct medical supervision and physiologic monitoring that are not available when ketamine is taken at home.
Ketamine can temporarily alter blood pressure, heart rate, alertness, coordination, and perception. These effects are among the reasons we believe medical screening and appropriate monitoring are important.
At-home programs may also use different routes, doses, and treatment protocols than medically supervised IV or IM ketamine.
At Seaside Ketamine, patients receive treatment in a monitored clinical setting with medical professionals available throughout the treatment.
IV ketamine is delivered directly into a vein, while IM ketamine is injected into a muscle. Both routes deliver ketamine systemically but differ in absorption and dosing control.
IV administration allows the clinician to control the infusion rate throughout treatment. Because the medication enters the bloodstream directly, IV dosing is highly predictable.
IM ketamine is given as an injection and absorbed from the muscle. The dose can be adjusted between treatments, but the medication cannot be slowed or stopped once it has been injected.
Both routes can produce therapeutic and dissociative effects. The appropriate route depends on the patient, treatment goals, clinical setting, and physician’s judgment.
There is not enough high-quality evidence to conclude that IV ketamine is more effective than IM ketamine for every patient.
Much of the published research on ketamine for depression has used IV infusions. As a result, IV ketamine has a larger evidence base for treatment-resistant depression.
IM ketamine is also used clinically, but fewer controlled studies have directly compared the two routes.
At Seaside Ketamine, route of administration is a clinical decision rather than an assumption that one method is always superior.
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, or KAP, combines ketamine treatment with psychotherapy.
The process may include preparation before treatment, therapeutic support during the ketamine experience, and integration afterward.
At Seaside Ketamine, KAP is one option for patients who may benefit from combining ketamine with deeper therapeutic work.
Ketamine integration helps you turn insights or experiences from treatment into meaningful changes in everyday life.
Integration may include psychotherapy, journaling, mindfulness, behavioral changes, relationship work, exercise, or nervous-system regulation.
At Seaside Ketamine, we view ketamine as an opportunity for change rather than simply a medication experience.
Yes. Ketamine can be administered as a medical treatment without psychotherapy occurring during the session.
Some patients prefer a quiet, inward-focused experience, while others benefit from ketamine-assisted psychotherapy or integration sessions. There is no requirement that every patient receive psychotherapy during an IV or IM ketamine treatment.
At Seaside Ketamine, we individualize this decision rather than requiring the same therapeutic model for every patient.
Ketamine can temporarily change how you experience your thoughts, body, surroundings, and sense of time.
Patients often describe feeling relaxed, dreamlike, introspective, light, heavy, or detached from their bodies. Some experiences feel peaceful. Others can feel emotionally challenging.
Our clinical team monitors you throughout treatment in a calm medical environment.
Yes. Patients receiving the sub-anesthetic doses typically used for psychiatric ketamine treatment are generally awake and breathing on their own.
You may feel deeply relaxed or detached from your surroundings, and your perception of time, space, or your body may change. This is very different from receiving a full anesthetic dose of ketamine for surgery.
Our team monitors you throughout treatment and can communicate with you when necessary.
Ketamine can cause temporary perceptual changes, but not everyone experiences hallucination-like effects.
You may notice changes in colors, patterns, sounds, time, or body awareness. These effects usually fade as the medication wears off.
The goal of ketamine therapy is not to produce hallucinations. We use a medically appropriate dose intended to produce therapeutic benefit.
Ketamine can temporarily cause relaxation, dissociation, and altered perception that some people describe as feeling “high.”
Medical ketamine therapy is very different from recreational ketamine use. We administer a controlled dose for a medical purpose in a monitored clinical setting.
At Seaside Ketamine, we adjust treatment based on clinical response and tolerability—not on creating the most intense experience possible.
An IV ketamine infusion for depression commonly lasts about 40 minutes, with additional time needed before and after the infusion for assessment, monitoring, and recovery.
IM ketamine sessions have a different administration process but also require monitoring and recovery time. Spravato requires at least two hours of post-dose observation.
We tell each patient how much total time to plan for before the first treatment so transportation and scheduling can be arranged appropriately.
Yes. You remain able to communicate during most psychiatric ketamine treatments, although many patients prefer to minimize conversation and focus inward.
If you are participating in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, therapeutic conversation may intentionally be part of the session. During a standard IV or IM treatment, our team remains available and monitors you without unnecessarily interrupting the experience.
Follow the instructions Seaside Ketamine gives you about food, liquids, medications, alcohol, and transportation.
Wear comfortable clothing and plan for a quiet remainder of the day. Arrange transportation home because you cannot drive after treatment.
We review your medications and medical history beforehand and provide any additional instructions you need.
Food restrictions depend on the type of ketamine treatment you are receiving, so follow the instructions Seaside Ketamine provides before your appointment.
Avoiding food for a period before treatment may reduce the likelihood of nausea or vomiting. Spravato’s prescribing information specifically recommends avoiding food for at least two hours before administration.
We will give you the appropriate fasting instructions for your specific treatment.
Fluid instructions depend on the treatment protocol. For Spravato, the prescribing information recommends avoiding liquids for at least 30 minutes before administration.
IV and IM ketamine instructions may differ. Seaside Ketamine provides specific pre-treatment instructions for each patient, so follow those instructions rather than applying general fasting rules to every form of ketamine.
Many medications can be continued during ketamine therapy, but some require special consideration.
Certain medications can affect blood pressure, sedation, anxiety, or your response to ketamine. We review your complete medication and supplement list before treatment.
Do not stop prescription medications on your own. Our clinical team will tell you if you need to change anything before treatment.
No. You should not drive yourself home after IV ketamine, IM ketamine, or Spravato treatment.
Ketamine can temporarily affect perception, reaction time, coordination, and judgment even after the strongest subjective effects have resolved. You should arrange transportation home in advance and follow the instructions we provide regarding when driving can safely resume.
After treatment, you remain at Seaside Ketamine until the immediate effects have decreased and you are ready to leave safely.
You may feel relaxed, tired, mildly dizzy, or emotionally open for a period afterward. Your reaction time and judgment may also remain affected.
Arrange transportation home and plan for a relatively quiet remainder of the day.
Your body clears ketamine relatively quickly, but its therapeutic effects can last much longer.
The exact elimination time varies with the dose, route of administration, metabolism, medications, and other individual factors.
Even if you feel normal, your reaction time may not have fully returned. Follow our post-treatment restrictions before driving or performing safety-sensitive activities.
We recommend taking the remainder of the treatment day off whenever possible.
Ketamine can temporarily affect concentration, coordination, judgment, and reaction time. Avoid driving, operating machinery, making important decisions, or performing safety-sensitive work after treatment.
Most patients can return to their usual activities the following day.
Strenuous exercise is generally best postponed until the immediate effects of ketamine have resolved and you have returned to your normal level of coordination and alertness.
A quiet walk or gentle activity may be reasonable later for some patients, but vigorous exercise immediately after treatment is usually unnecessary and may increase dizziness or other symptoms.
Follow the individualized instructions provided by Seaside Ketamine.
Alcohol should be avoided around ketamine treatment because both substances can impair judgment, coordination, and central nervous system function.
Combining alcohol with ketamine can increase sedation and other risks and may also interfere with the therapeutic goals of treatment.
Seaside Ketamine will provide specific instructions about alcohol before and after your treatment.
Ketamine can be administered safely to appropriately selected patients in a medically supervised setting. However, it is not risk-free or appropriate for everyone.
Ketamine can temporarily affect blood pressure, heart rate, perception, coordination, and consciousness. Careful screening, appropriate dosing, and medical monitoring help reduce these risks.
Seaside Ketamine provides physician-led treatment with medical monitoring throughout the process.
Common short-term side effects include dizziness, nausea, sedation, dissociation, and changes in perception.
Ketamine can also temporarily increase blood pressure or heart rate. Some patients experience anxiety, impaired coordination, or vomiting.
Most immediate side effects decrease as the medication wears off. Our clinical team monitors you during and after treatment and can address side effects when needed.
Dissociation is a temporary change in how you experience yourself, your body, your thoughts, or your surroundings.
You may feel detached from your body or unusually distant from your thoughts. Your sense of time and space may also change.
These effects generally resolve as ketamine wears off. Strong dissociation is not necessarily required for ketamine to provide therapeutic benefit.
Yes. Ketamine can temporarily increase blood pressure and heart rate, which is one reason cardiovascular screening and monitoring are important.
At Seaside Ketamine, we review your blood pressure and cardiovascular history before treatment and monitor you during the session. Significant or uncontrolled hypertension may require further evaluation or treatment before ketamine can be administered safely.
Ketamine can be misused and has the potential to cause tolerance or dependence, especially with frequent or unsupervised use.
Medical ketamine therapy uses controlled doses for a defined clinical purpose. Treatment also occurs within a structured medical program rather than through unrestricted use.
At Seaside Ketamine, we review substance-use history and other risk factors before recommending treatment.
Ketamine can produce significant improvement in depressive symptoms for some people with treatment-resistant depression, including people who have not responded to conventional antidepressants.
Clinical trials and systematic reviews have consistently found rapid antidepressant effects from ketamine. However, response rates vary depending on the patient population, treatment protocol, and how response is measured.
Ketamine does not work for everyone. At Seaside Ketamine, we evaluate your symptoms throughout treatment rather than assuming that every patient should complete the same treatment plan.
Some patients notice improvement after their first ketamine treatment, while others do not notice meaningful changes until later in the initial treatment series.
Early improvement can include changes in mood, anxiety, motivation, negative thinking, or the ability to engage with daily life.
We generally look at the pattern across multiple treatments rather than judging the entire treatment based on a single session.
Not feeling better after your first treatment does not necessarily mean ketamine will not work for you.
Some patients respond quickly. Others experience gradual improvement over several treatments.
We evaluate changes in symptoms and functioning throughout the initial treatment series. This helps us decide whether continuing treatment makes clinical sense.
If ketamine is not producing meaningful improvement, we reassess rather than continuing treatment indefinitely.
We review your diagnosis, symptoms, dose, treatment experience, medications, sleep, medical factors, and other potential contributors to treatment resistance.
We may recommend changing the treatment approach or considering another option, such as Spravato, psychotherapy, TMS, medication management, or another appropriate treatment.
The goal is not simply to complete a predetermined number of ketamine treatments. The goal is meaningful clinical improvement.
We look for measurable improvement in symptoms and everyday functioning, not simply whether you had an intense experience during treatment.
Improvement may include better mood, less anxiety, fewer negative or repetitive thoughts, improved motivation, greater emotional flexibility, or better ability to function at work and home.
Standardized symptom measures can also help us track changes over time.
The intensity of dissociation or other subjective effects during treatment does not by itself determine whether ketamine is working.
Depressive symptoms can return after a successful course of ketamine treatment.
Ketamine can produce substantial symptom improvement, but it is not considered a permanent cure for depression.
The goal after improvement is to help maintain the response. That may include psychotherapy, medications, lifestyle changes, addressing contributing medical factors, and maintenance ketamine when appropriate.
No. Starting ketamine therapy does not mean you are committing to lifelong treatment.
Some patients use maintenance treatments for a period of time, while others eventually stop. Treatment frequency can also change as symptoms, circumstances, and other parts of the treatment plan improve.
We periodically reassess whether continued ketamine treatment is providing enough benefit to justify continuing it.
Some patients may experience a reduced response over time, but this does not happen to everyone.
When benefits become shorter or less pronounced, simply increasing the frequency of treatment is not always the best answer.
We reassess the diagnosis, medications, treatment interval, medical factors, sleep, stress, and other contributors that could be affecting response.
There is no proven strategy that guarantees a longer ketamine response, but maintaining overall mental and physical health may help support recovery.
Depending on the patient, this may include psychotherapy, regular exercise, adequate sleep, nutrition, medication management, stress reduction, social connection, and treatment of other medical or psychiatric conditions.
At Seaside Ketamine, we also look for factors that may contribute to persistent symptoms, including sleep problems, metabolic health, nutritional status, hormones, inflammation, chronic stress, and nervous-system dysregulation when clinically appropriate.
Ketamine can create an opportunity for change. What happens between treatments may also matter.
Ketamine therapy at Seaside Ketamine costs $550 per session.
Returning patients who have completed a treatment series with us pay $500 per maintenance session.
We provide transparent pricing and do not require patients to purchase a large treatment package upfront.
Most insurance plans do not cover ketamine therapy for depression or other mental health conditions.
Ketamine is FDA approved as an anesthetic, but its use for psychiatric conditions is off-label. Patients typically pay directly for ketamine treatment.
Spravato® is different. It has FDA-approved indications for depression, and many commercial insurance plans and Medicare provide coverage for eligible patients.
The out-of-pocket cost of Spravato varies by insurance plan and may depend on your deductible, copay or coinsurance, prior-authorization requirements, and eligibility for available assistance programs.
Because Spravato is FDA approved for certain forms of depression, many commercial insurance plans and Medicare provide coverage for eligible patients.
Seaside Ketamine can verify your insurance benefits, determine whether prior authorization is required, and help you understand your expected out-of-pocket costs before treatment begins.
Medicare may cover Spravato for eligible patients when applicable medical-necessity and coverage requirements are met.
Individual out-of-pocket costs can vary depending on Medicare coverage and any supplemental insurance.
Seaside Ketamine can verify your benefits and help determine applicable coverage requirements before you begin treatment.
Initial ketamine treatments for depression are commonly scheduled two or three times per week.
After the initial series, we individualize the schedule. Some patients return for occasional maintenance treatments when symptoms begin to recur. Others go much longer without another treatment.
Our goal is to use the least frequent schedule needed to maintain meaningful improvement.
No. Seaside Ketamine does not require patients to purchase a large ketamine treatment package upfront.
Ketamine therapy is $550 per treatment session. Patients who have previously completed a treatment series with Seaside Ketamine receive subsequent maintenance treatments for $500 per session.
This allows patients to evaluate their response as treatment progresses rather than committing to a large prepaid package before knowing how they will respond.
Look for experienced medical oversight, appropriate screening, physiologic monitoring, individualized treatment, and clear safety procedures.
Ask who evaluates you, who determines your treatment plan, who is present during treatment, and how the clinic handles medical complications.
Also consider whether the clinic tracks outcomes, coordinates with your existing providers, and develops a plan for maintaining improvement after the initial treatment series.
Physician involvement can be particularly valuable because ketamine affects multiple organ systems as well as consciousness, perception, blood pressure, and heart rate.
The important question is not simply whether a physician’s name appears on the practice. Patients should understand who evaluates them, who develops the treatment protocol, who is present during treatment, and who can respond if a medical problem occurs.
Seaside Ketamine was founded by anesthesiologist Scott Gillin, MD, and was designed around physician-led medical evaluation, individualized protocols, and monitored treatment.
Before choosing a ketamine clinic, ask who will evaluate you, who will determine your dose, who will be present during treatment, what medical monitoring is used, and how the clinic handles complications.
Also ask whether the clinic offers IV ketamine, IM ketamine, Spravato, or KAP; whether it tracks your response using objective measures; how maintenance decisions are made; whether it coordinates with your psychiatrist or therapist; and what happens if ketamine does not work.
A reputable clinic should be comfortable answering these questions clearly before you begin treatment.
Seaside Ketamine has two Southern California locations: Cardiff-by-the-Sea in San Diego County and Newport Beach in Orange County.
Cardiff-by-the-Sea:
1953 San Elijo Avenue, Suite 200
Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA 92007
Our Cardiff clinic serves Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Carlsbad, La Jolla, Rancho Santa Fe, and communities throughout San Diego and North County San Diego.
Newport Beach:
240 Newport Center Drive, Suite 220
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Our Newport Beach clinic serves Newport Beach, Irvine, Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach, Corona del Mar, Huntington Beach, and communities throughout Orange County.
Scott Gillin, MD, is the founder and medical director of Seaside Ketamine. He is board certified in anesthesiology and pediatric anesthesiology and has more than 30 years of medical experience.
Dr. Gillin completed his anesthesiology residency at UC San Diego, where he served as Chief Resident, followed by fellowship training in pediatric anesthesiology at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego. He later served as Chief of Anesthesia at Rady Children’s Hospital.
His background in anesthesiology provides extensive experience with ketamine pharmacology, IV medication administration, physiologic monitoring, airway management, and the management of medication-related complications.
Dr. Gillin has overseen and administered thousands of ketamine treatments and founded Seaside Ketamine around a physician-led model of care.
Seaside Ketamine offers IV ketamine infusions, IM ketamine, Spravato® (esketamine), ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, metabolic psychiatry, medication management, integration support, and selected neuromodulation and nervous-system-focused treatments.
We treat appropriately selected patients with conditions including treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, PTSD and trauma-related symptoms, OCD, chronic pain and migraines, and other conditions for which ketamine or related therapies may be clinically appropriate.
Treatment recommendations are individualized after medical evaluation.
Yes. Seaside Ketamine provides ketamine therapy and Spravato treatment at our Cardiff-by-the-Sea clinic in North County San Diego.
Our Cardiff location serves patients from Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Carlsbad, La Jolla, Rancho Santa Fe, and communities throughout San Diego County.
Patients can contact Seaside Ketamine to discuss IV ketamine, IM ketamine, Spravato, KAP, and treatment eligibility.
Yes. Seaside Ketamine provides ketamine therapy and Spravato treatment at our Newport Beach clinic at 240 Newport Center Drive, Suite 220.
The Newport Beach location serves patients throughout Orange County, including Newport Beach, Irvine, Costa Mesa, Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, and surrounding communities.
Patients can contact Seaside Ketamine directly to discuss IV ketamine, IM ketamine, Spravato, KAP, insurance coverage, and treatment eligibility.
Seaside Ketamine combines physician-led ketamine treatment with a broader approach designed to address both symptoms and factors that may contribute to persistent mental-health problems.
Our treatment options include IV ketamine, IM ketamine, Spravato, and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. When appropriate, treatment can also incorporate metabolic psychiatry, medication optimization, nervous-system regulation, integration, sleep, nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle interventions.
This approach is organized through the Seaside Method: Relief → Rewire →Root Cause → Resilience.
The goal is not simply to provide an infusion. It is to determine why a patient remains stuck, use ketamine when appropriate to create an opportunity for change, and build a strategy designed to help that improvement last.
The first step is a free 30-minute consultation with Seaside Ketamine.
During the call, we can discuss what you are experiencing, what treatments you have already tried, whether IV ketamine, IM ketamine, Spravato, or another approach may be worth exploring, and what the next step would be.
A physician-led medical evaluation is completed before ketamine treatment begins.
