Ketamine for Treatment-Resistant Depression
When two or more antidepressants haven't brought adequate relief, your depression is considered treatment-resistant. It doesn't mean you can't get better — it means you may need a treatment that works differently. For many patients, that treatment is IV ketamine.
You've Done Everything Right.
The Medications Haven't.
You've been patient. You've given each new prescription its six-to-eight weeks. You've adjusted doses, switched medications, added a second one, and sat through the side effects — and you still wake up under the same weight. Roughly one in three people with major depression doesn't respond adequately to standard antidepressants. If that's you, it is not a personal failure, and it is not the end of your options.
Traditional antidepressants work primarily on serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. If your depression hasn't responded to them, the problem may simply be that those aren't the systems driving it.
A Different Mechanism, Not a Stronger Dose
Ketamine acts on the brain's glutamate system — its most abundant neurotransmitter network — through NMDA-receptor modulation. Research suggests this triggers a rapid increase in synaptic growth factors like BDNF, helping the brain restore neural connections that chronic depression has eroded. It's a fundamentally different pathway than any oral antidepressant, which is precisely why it can help people other medications couldn't.
The other difference is speed. Where oral antidepressants take weeks to build effect, ketamine's antidepressant response is often measurable within hours to days of an infusion. For someone who has been waiting years to feel different, that timeline matters.
Honest framing: Ketamine is FDA-approved as an anesthetic; its use for depression is an off-label application supported by a substantial and growing body of clinical research. In published studies of treatment-resistant depression, response rates are commonly reported in the range of 50–70% — significantly higher than the odds of responding to yet another oral antidepressant after multiple failures. Individual results vary, and no outcome can be guaranteed.
How We Treat Depression at Desert Sands
Every course of treatment begins with a comprehensive evaluation — your psychiatric history, prior medication trials, medical history, and current medications — to confirm that ketamine is clinically appropriate for you. Treatment protocols are physician-directed and supported by experienced clinical staff under the medical oversight of board-certified anesthesiologist Dr. Eric Evans, whose more than 30 years of clinical experience help guide the highest standards of patient safety, comfort, and care.
What a typical course looks like
Most patients begin with an initial series of six infusions over two to three weeks — the protocol most consistently supported in the research literature. Infusions are administered at sub-anesthetic doses individually calibrated to you, in a private treatment room with continuous monitoring of your vital signs. After the initial series, many patients transition to periodic maintenance infusions based on their individual response, typically every four to eight weeks.
We coordinate with your existing mental-health providers whenever you'd like us to — ketamine works best as part of your overall care, not as a replacement for therapy or psychiatric follow-up.
Patient Selection
- Have tried two or more antidepressants without adequate relief
- Have depression that returns despite ongoing treatment
- Experience intolerable side effects from oral antidepressants
- Need faster relief than oral medications can provide
- Are engaged in, or willing to engage in, ongoing mental-health care
- Uncontrolled high blood pressure or unstable cardiovascular disease
- A history of psychosis or schizophrenia
- Active substance-use concerns that haven't been evaluated
- Certain other medical conditions identified during screening
Your evaluation exists to answer this honestly. If ketamine isn't the right fit, we'll tell you — and help you find what is.
Outcomes, Honestly Stated
Many patients notice a meaningful shift within the first one to three infusions — often described as the weight lifting, or being able to think past the depression for the first time in years. The effects of a single infusion are typically temporary, which is why treatment is delivered as a series and often maintained periodically. Some patients respond strongly, some partially, and some — despite everything — do not respond. We will always be straightforward with you about what we're seeing and whether continuing makes sense.
Risks and side effects
During and shortly after an infusion, patients may experience dissociation or a dream-like state, elevated blood pressure or heart rate, nausea, dizziness, or drowsiness. These effects are typically temporary and most resolve within about two hours, and every patient is screened beforehand and monitored throughout treatment so that clinically important reactions can be identified and managed immediately. Ketamine is administered in a medically supervised setting with careful screening and monitoring, and you will need a ride home after each session.
Depression Treatment FAQ
How is this different from esketamine (Spravato)?
Spravato is a nasal-spray form of one ketamine molecule, FDA-approved for treatment-resistant depression and administered in certified clinics. IV ketamine delivers the full racemic medication with precise, adjustable dosing and 100% bioavailability. Our interactive comparison tool walks through the differences.
Do I stop my current antidepressants?
Usually no. Most patients continue their existing medications during ketamine treatment. Your evaluation will review everything you take, and any changes to your psychiatric medications should be made with your prescribing provider.
How soon could I start?
It begins with a free consultation — a conversation, not a commitment. If ketamine is appropriate, treatment can often begin within days.
You've Tried Enough Things
That Didn't Work
Your free consultation is a no-pressure conversation about your history and whether ketamine is a reasonable next step for you.
Request Your Free ConsultationCall (435) 522-5190This page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Ketamine is FDA-approved as an anesthetic; its use for depression is off-label. Statistics cited reflect published research averages; individual results vary and are not guaranteed. Reading this page or submitting a form does not create a provider-patient relationship. If you are experiencing a mental-health emergency, call 911 or call/text 988.