Washington, DC | Bethesda & Columbia, MD | Tysons & Norfolk, VA

Ketamine therapy for depression, PTSD, anxiety, chronic pain, and addiction

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These conditions can impact every part of your life—your mood, work, relationships, and daily choices.

At Avesta Ketamine, we work closely with you and your current care team to create a personalized treatment plan that’s right for you.

  • IV ketamine infusions are an effective option for individuals with mood disorders and can also help with chronic pain.
  • For patients ages 14–65 with mood disorders, 75–80% experience meaningful improvement, which is in line with current research.
  • Research shows that ketamine can help individuals who have been treatment-resistant to other medications.
  • We follow a unique protocol that is individualized to each patient based on their response.

If you’re struggling with mood disorders, chronic pain, or addiction, fill out the form to schedule your free, confidential phone consultation. We’ll review whether ketamine therapy is a good fit for you, answer your questions, and support you through every step of your treatment.


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How Does Ketamine Work in the Brain?

Ketamine is a great alternative to other medications for mood disorders and certain pain disorders because it is non-addictive. It works by affecting the chemical communicators in your brain called neurotransmitters. Specifically, it increases glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).

When these two neurotransmitters are out of balance, you experience increased symptoms associated with your mood disorder like anxiousness and unrealistic thoughts. Among its other roles, glutamate increases neural connections and influences how you feel about and respond to your experiences.

How Does Ketamine Work?

What to Expect from Treatments

The general treatment timeline for mood disorder patients includes an induction phase of six to eight 45-60 min. treatment sessions, spread over a 2-3 week period.  

The timeline for pain patients includes an induction phase of three to five consecutive 4-hour infusions. This phase is then followed by a much more individualized maintenance phase, which will extend the time between visits until patients feel stable enough to come in only as needed.

On average, patients feel effects within the first 4 treatments.

With permission, we work with the other providers on your care team to provide optimal care.  

We highly recommend continuing regular care with a mental health practitioner throughout your treatment with us.

The response to ketamine is very individual: some patients feel the effects right away, while others require all induction infusions, and occasionally more treatments to notice a change in their mood or pain.

We will assess your response at treatments 5-6 to determine how you are responding and how we can optimize the dosing to suit your response.


Resources

Wade

Patient Story: ​Ketamine For Depression

This personal story follows a patient with treatment-resistant depression and how ketamine made a meaningful difference, showing that ketamine offers hope—and works best when combined with therapy and ongoing psychiatric care.

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Patient Story: ​Ketamine For Anxiety

A patient shares how ketamine treatment eased his chronic anxiety and depression, showing the clinic’s compassionate care and the lasting relief this therapy can provide.

Spravato vs. Ketamine for Depression

This blog clearly explains the differences between Spravato and ketamine for treating depression—including how each treatment is given, how it works, how it’s used, and what you may want to think about—so you can better understand your options and discuss them with your care team.



Journal of Psyciatric Research

Our founder and Co-CEO, Dr. Eshkevari, led a study with her Georgetown graduate students that was published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research. Their findings show that ketamine therapy can be effective for people living with treatment-resistant depression and support ketamine as a promising option in modern mental health care.
 
Dr E Interview

Interview with Dr. E, PhD: Leading Expert on Ketamine Therapy

In this interview, Dr. Ladan Eshkevari, our Co-CEO and Founder, talks about Avesta’s mission, her personal path in mental health innovation, and why she chose to offer ketamine therapy to help people with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and chronic pain.
 

Real Patient Testimonials

"I can't put enough emphasis on how amazing the entire staff and treatment team are at Avesta. You're in such good hands choosing their practice for a truly vulnerable treatment process such as ketamine infusions. I am continually blown away by the level of attentiveness and caring I receive with Avesta.

Charles, the most recent clinician to administer my treatment, even walked me through a wonderful mindfulness exercise to help me relax beforehand. Additionally, all of their locations are super convenient, pristine, and welcoming. You can expect a spotlessly clean, bright atmosphere coupled with genuinely comfortable treatment chairs, throw blankets, and decor that perfectly sets the mood. We are so lucky to have Dr. E and her staff available to us!”

- Tysons Patient

Incredible experience and results. I have been living with the effects of complex PTSD for years. The ketamine treatments at Avesta have far exceeded my expectations. I feel like I have a new outlook on life, and I feel free. I am treated with the utmost respect each and every visit. I truly believe everyone at Avesta is sincere and genuinely cares. I highly recommend them to anyone looking to experience a true positive outcome.”

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- Bethesda Patient



At Avesta Ketamine & Wellness our mission is to help patients optimize their mental and physical wellness through our many high-end infusion options. We offer treatments for mood disorders, depression, anxiety, PTSD, pain management, and more.