Ketamine Therapy for Depression

in Oakland & Berkeley, CA

Depression

Living with depression can feel overwhelming, especially when traditional treatments haven’t delivered the relief you expected. Ketamine can make a big difference in a short time. It helps neurons form new connections and promotes neuronal growth, so people are able to develop new perspectives and emerge from the shadows.

There are two sides to depression: (1) you feel down and (2) you don’t enjoy things.

Other symptoms of depression include poor sleep (can’t sleep or oversleep), fatigue, feeling worthless or ashamed (not good enough), trouble concentrating, eating to self-soothe or not eating, and thoughts of suicide or death.

Ketamine can quickly relieve these symptoms and the effect can be long-lasting when treatment is embedded in therapy.

How is Dr. Zeus ketamine therapy for depression?

When standard medications fail to deliver relief from depression, experts* recommend one of three options:

  1. ketamine

  2. electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

  3. transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

Ketamine is the most effective of the three.* It works quickly for depression and the results can be long-lasting with the proper mental health plan. This involves more than just taking ketamine for symptom relief. It involves intentionally rewiring the nervous system through new therapeutic experiences.

You choose how to receive ketamine at Dr. Zeus. It can be delivered by infusion (IV), intramuscular injection (IM), oral absorption (troches or tablets), and nasal spray (ketamine or es-ketamine). Most people strongly prefer injections — they are more effective, create a more powerful experience, and don’t require you to hold bitter medicine in your mouth for a long time.

Only a medical provider can administer injections or infusions. Look carefully, ketamine clinics specializing in infusions are often run by doctors following the mainstream medical paradigm of symptom relief. This rarely leads to lasting change.

*UpToDate® professional reference

All ketamine treatment is not the same

Patient treated with ketamine for moderately severe depression, first with just oral lozenges from Dec. 2024 to Aug. 2025, and later with ketamine-assisted psychotherapy and intramuscular injections starting in Oct. 2025. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy sessions with intramuscular injection are shown as black vertical lines.

The depression scale shows ketamine-assisted psychotherapy with intramuscular injection delivered robust and sustained relief after oral lozenges failed to deliver meaningful relief.