Traditional medications like SSRIs manage symptoms through daily use. Ketamine works differently — it promotes rapid neuroplasticity, helping the brain form new connections and temporarily creating distance from entrenched patterns of depression, trauma, or anxiety. This makes the therapeutic work that surrounds it significantly more effective.

Traditional infusion clinics primarily follow a high-volume medical model: you receive the medicine, a nurse monitors your vitals, and you leave. Our model is entirely relational. You are never alone. We provide comprehensive preparation, clinical supervision during your session, and deep integration afterward. We are treating your entire nervous system and personal history, not just administering a chemical.

You have complete flexibility. If you have an established therapist you trust, you are entirely welcome to keep working with them. With your consent, we act as clinical partners, collaborating with them to ensure your work with us supports your ongoing goals. Alternatively, if you are looking for a practitioner who specializes in psychedelic integration, we can connect you with someone from our curated referral network. It is also completely fine to see both your existing therapist and a specialized integration provider concurrently, provided everyone is comfortable with that collaborative care team approach.

Ambivalence is entirely welcome here. In fact, a healthy respect for expanded states is a sign of a well-functioning nervous system. Our consultation process is an exploration, not a sales pitch. We encourage you to bring your skepticism, your fear, and your curiosity. If we determine together that now is not the right time, we will discuss why, explore what might be more helpful at this stage, and support you in finding the right path forward. There is never any pressure to proceed.

The honest answer is: we won't know for certain until we know you. Ketamine has strong clinical evidence for treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, anxiety, OCD, and existential distress, but outcomes depend on far more than diagnosis alone. Your readiness, your support system, your history, and your relationship with the clinical team all matter. A complimentary Discovery Call or a Clinical Intake are both good places to begin — one is a brief conversation, the other is a comprehensive clinical evaluation. The Clinical Intake is followed by a Care Mapping Session where we shape the right approach together. Either entry point, we listen to your story and help you determine whether this is genuinely the right fit.

We do not bill insurance at this time. Payment is collected in advance for all services. For those facing financial challenges as a major barrier to treatment, please reach out — we are developing options to help make this work more accessible.

We believe in full transparency. You can start with a complimentary 15-minute Discovery Call or book your Clinical Intake directly. The Clinical Intake is $275 for a comprehensive 60-minute medical and psychological evaluation. This is followed by a Care Mapping Session ($150) with our clinical team, where we shape your approach to care and begin your preparation work. Ketamine treatment sessions (IV or IM) are $650 per approximately 2-hour appointment. Ongoing preparation and integration sessions are $150 each (50 minutes) with an Althea NOLA clinician. For more detail, visit our Pricing page.

Yes. Ketamine is an FDA-approved medication that has been used safely in medical settings for over 50 years. It is classified as a Schedule III controlled substance by the DEA. Its use for psychiatric conditions is considered "off-label" — a common and well-established practice in medicine, similar to how beta-blockers are prescribed for performance anxiety or stage fright, even though they are FDA-approved for blood pressure. We use generic racemic ketamine, administered intravenously (IV) or intramuscularly (IM) in our clinical setting.

Ketamine does carry a potential for psychological dependence when used recreationally, at high doses, and without clinical structure. That is precisely why context matters. In our model, ketamine is administered at sub-anesthetic doses, on a defined clinical schedule, under direct clinical supervision, and always embedded within a broader treatment plan. We actively screen for substance use history, monitor your relationship with the medicine throughout treatment, and build in clinical checkpoints specifically designed to prevent dependence. The structure around the medicine is as important as the medicine itself.

Physically, the most common risks during a session include a temporary increase in blood pressure, mild nausea, and dizziness, all of which we monitor and can address in real time. Psychologically, ketamine produces an expanded state that can surface difficult emotions, memories, or sensations. Without proper support, that experience could feel destabilizing rather than healing. There is also the risk of using ketamine as a shortcut, bypassing the deeper therapeutic work rather than catalyzing it. Our entire model is designed to mitigate these risks: thorough medical screening, continuous clinical presence, careful dosing, and an integration process that helps you metabolize what surfaces. Risk assessment is a continuous process that all of our staff engage in at every encounter.

Ketamine therapy is a medical and psychiatric intervention. To participate, you must undergo a thorough evaluation with your clinical team to establish a qualifying mental health diagnosis. This rigorous screening ensures the treatment is both legally sound and clinically appropriate for your specific presentation. Completing the intake does not guarantee approval for treatment — if we determine this isn't right for you, that assessment is the evaluation working as intended.

Because safety is our primary directive, certain conditions are absolute contraindications, such as pregnancy and breastfeeding. All other medical conditions are assessed carefully and compassionately during your medical screening.

In most cases, no. Ketamine interacts safely with a wide variety of daily psychiatric medications, including SSRIs and SNRIs. However, certain medications (like daily benzodiazepines or stimulants) can blunt or alter the efficacy of the treatment. Our medical director will review your exact medication list and create a customized protocol.

At therapeutic doses, ketamine creates a feeling of separation from your ordinary thought patterns and physical body. Clients frequently report profound somatic relaxation, expanded perceptions of time, and a unique, objective distance from the things that normally trigger them. The experience is highly individual — some find it quiet and deeply embodied, while others experience rich, visual, and expansive emotional processing. No two sessions are the same, and there is no right or wrong way to experience the medicine.

Sessions last approximately 2 hours, including arrival, preparation, the ketamine experience itself, and recovery time. You will receive ketamine at a sub-anesthetic dose via IV or IM in a comfortable clinical environment. Your clinical team is present throughout the entire experience, monitoring both your physiological state and your psychological process. You will need a ride home and should plan for a restful day afterward. We recommend avoiding major decisions, work, and driving for the remainder of the day.

It is definitely a process. While the medicine induces rapid biological shifts, lasting change requires repetition and integration. Most patients complete an induction series of 6 to 8 sessions, followed by a maintenance phase determined collaboratively with the clinical team. It is not a daily pill, nor is it a "one-and-done" solution. It is a powerful catalyst for your ongoing healing journey.

Ketamine Therapy (KT) is our base offering — a clinically supervised ketamine session with our physician and nurse practitioner present. Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) adds a therapist who is present during the ketamine session itself, providing real-time psychological support throughout the experience. During your intake, your clinical team collaborates with you to determine the level of therapist involvement that fits your specific needs. For many patients, preparation and integration sessions with a therapist are sufficient. For others — particularly those working through complex trauma, grief, or relational material — therapist presence during the session provides deeper clinical support.

Integration is where the actual healing happens. Ketamine opens a temporary window of neuroplasticity, making your brain highly adaptable. Without integration therapy, the profound insights gained during the medicine session can fade. Integration is the active process of translating those abstract, expanded-state insights into concrete behavioral changes in your daily life, your relationships, and your self-perception. The medicine session is not where the healing is completed — it is where a window opens. What you do with that window is where lasting change takes root.

No. If you have an established therapist you'd like to keep working with, we welcome that and can collaborate with them with your consent. If you don't, we'll explore options together during your Care Mapping Session, where we shape ongoing preparation and integration based on your needs, preferences, and clinical considerations. We have a range of options — in-house Althea NOLA clinicians and trusted community partners — and we will help you find the right fit.