There may be another path toward relief. IV ketamine can reduce depressive symptoms in some adults with treatment-resistant depression, offering renewed hope when earlier treatments haven’t provided enough improvement.

At Calm Water Infusions, your physician builds a plan around your history and goals, with the aim of helping you reconnect with daily life and the things that matter to you.

Research has explored ketamine across a range of mental health and pain conditions. Some uses have stronger support than others; several remain experimental. Conditions studied include:

• Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): In selected patients, ketamine can rapidly reduce depressive symptoms. It has also been studied for short-term reduction of suicidal thoughts in people with depression, alongside comprehensive psychiatric care.
• Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD): This has the strongest evidence among psychiatric uses of IV ketamine. Treatment may be considered when adequate trials of standard antidepressants have not provided enough relief.
• Bipolar Depression: Small studies suggest benefit for depressive symptoms and loss of pleasure. Specialist oversight is important, including assessment of mood-stabilizing treatment and the risk of a switch into mania.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Ketamine can help reduce PTSD symptoms in some patients. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis found greater symptom improvement with ketamine than with control treatments at the end of treatment, supporting its potential as an option for persistent PTSD symptoms. Your physician can help determine whether treatment is appropriate for you.
• Anxiety Disorders: Ketamine may be a treatment option for anxiety that has not improved adequately with other treatments. Studies in generalized and social anxiety suggest it may help reduce symptoms in some patients. Treatment is individualized after a physician evaluation.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Small proof-of-concept studies have found rapid, sometimes short-lived reductions in obsessive symptoms. Research in this field continues to explore ketamine’s potential benefits and how best to sustain improvement.
• Substance Use Disorders (SUD): Early research, often combined with psychotherapy, has explored reductions in alcohol and cocaine use or cravings. Research involving opioid use disorder is also emerging; ketamine does not replace established addiction treatments.
• Suicidal Ideation: Ketamine may help rapidly reduce suicidal thoughts in some patients, with clinical studies showing improvement within hours to days. When provided as part of a comprehensive mental-health treatment plan, it may offer relief and support ongoing recovery.

Chronic Pain Conditions

• Ketamine infusion therapy may be an option for selected chronic pain disorders, including but not limited to Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) and fibromyalgia, particularly when other treatments have not provided enough relief. By acting on pain-signaling pathways, ketamine may reduce pain intensity and heightened pain sensitivity in some patients. Relief varies by condition and patient. Your physician will review your symptoms and goals to determine an appropriate treatment plan.

Your consultation is a chance to review potential benefits and risks and create a personalized plan. Ketamine has not been shown to prevent suicide and is not a substitute for emergency care.

Research and guidance: Depression · PTSD research review · Anxiety · OCD · Substance use research · Suicidal ideation research · Chronic pain guidance · Fibromyalgia research.

Ketamine affects the brain’s glutamate system, which helps neurons communicate. It blocks NMDA receptor channels and can change signaling through other receptors, including AMPA. Researchers are studying how these changes influence BDNF-related pathways and neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to adapt its connections.

These processes may contribute to its rapid antidepressant effects in some people. They do not establish that ketamine works equally well for every psychiatric disorder; the strongest clinical evidence is for treatment-resistant depression, and the full mechanism is still being studied.

Learn more: NIMH: research on ketamine and depression.

In some chronic pain conditions, the nervous system becomes unusually sensitive and amplifies pain signals. This is called central sensitization. NMDA receptors help sustain this increased sensitivity.

By blocking NMDA receptor channels, ketamine may reduce this amplification in the spinal cord and brain. It may offer relief for carefully selected patients, especially those with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), but the evidence and duration of benefit vary. It does not repair the underlying injury or guarantee lasting pain relief.

Learn more: ASRA Pain Medicine: ketamine for chronic pain.

Ketamine acts on glutamate signaling, which helps brain cells communicate. Research suggests it may support neuroplasticity: the brain’s ability to adapt, form new connections, and strengthen existing ones. This is one possible contributor to its antidepressant effects.

That capacity for change offers a hopeful way to understand treatment alongside ongoing mental-health support.

Your visit is designed around comfort and attentive care. Our team welcomes your questions, helps you settle into a calm, private setting, and monitors you throughout your infusion and recovery.

Our standard psychiatric infusion lasts 40 minutes, with additional time for preparation and recovery. You have space to rest while your care team focuses on you.

Your care is shaped around you. Physician-led evaluation, individualized IV dosing, and regular check-ins help us respond to your needs and track the changes that matter in your everyday life.

Ongoing guidance helps you understand your progress and plan your next steps with support.

Some patients notice relief from depressive symptoms within hours or a day. Others experience improvement over a series of treatments. Your physician follows your response and, when appropriate, discusses maintenance care to help sustain benefits.

Our goal is meaningful progress at a pace and with a plan tailored to you.