Each positive action you take starts with the decision you make in your mind, including good mental health. Your psychiatrist may advise you to consider modern methods of managing severe depression and PTSD in the form of ketamine treatments. Learn more about ketamine treatment therapy when you visit Dr. Arvinder Walia at Northwest Psychiatry in Austin, TX.

About Ketamine Treatments

Ketamine is an anesthetic compound that, when used in a medical setting, can provide pain relief (both physical and mental). Though ketamine is not recommended for use in uncontrolled environments, it can be used by doctors to treat patients with severe depression, PTSD, and other mental disorders.

How Does Ketamine Treat Severe Depression and PTSD?

When administered in small doses by an experienced doctor, ketamine can help modify painful and disordered signals to the brain that can cause the symptoms of depression and PTSD. It reverses the negative effects of an NMDA receptor in the brain called GluN2B. Modifying the signals and improving how protein is synthesized has an antidepressant effect on the patient who is struggling with a psychiatric disorder.

Ketamine Treatment Appointments

Your psychiatric doctor must consult with you and thoroughly review your medical history before considering you as a candidate for ketamine therapy. You will discuss the benefits and potential risks. If approved, you should plan to set aside at least a couple of hours for each ketamine treatment appointment with your Austin, TX, doctor. During each session, you will relax as an IV bag containing the ketamine cocktail is slowly released into your system. Your doctor will schedule you for regular counseling appointments to monitor your progress.

A Possible Solution for Mental Health Issues

After you have explored countless options for treating your case of severe depression, PTSD, or both, you may want to get more information about whether you are a candidate for low-dose, controlled ketamine therapy with a psychiatrist. Call (512) 342-7979 today to schedule a ketamine treatment consultation and talk with Dr. Walia at Northwest Psychiatry in Austin, TX.