Marc Heiser, M.D., Ph.D., Adam Lasser, M.D., and Christopher R. Thompson, M.D. are all certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in psychiatry and child & adolescent psychiatry.
Photography by Dawn Bowery
Unmatched Expertise. Unparalleled Care.
You’ve tried therapy. You’ve been on and off of so many different antidepressants you’ve lost count. You’ve endured the side effects, the month long waits to see if this new antidepressant is the one that finally does the trick. By now, you’re well-versed in the swell of hope with each new appointment and the slow creep of disappointment when relief feels like it’s still just out of reach. It may feel like you’re running out of options, but hope and relief are still possible, and you’ve just taken the first step toward finding them.
Ketamine has been that source of hope and relief for thousands of people, making it one of the most promising new treatment options for depression. It has been used for decades as an anesthetic because of its safety, effectiveness, and mild and short-lived side effects. Over the past twenty years, research has consistently demonstrated that the use of ketamine in lower, non-anesthetic doses markedly improves depression, often in a single treatment session. In fact, many patients have reported a reduction in suicidal ideation just 40 minutes to four hours after treatment. With ketamine, there’s no more waiting. No more compromising comfort for incremental improvements.
Westside Mind Health, Inc. is a ketamine clinic in Los Angeles founded and operated by psychiatrists with multiple board certifications from the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology (ABPN). Collectively, we have almost six decades of training and experience in treating patients across the lifespan, who may have both simple and complex mental disorders. We believe ketamine is a new paradigm for mental health treatment and work closely with patients to understand their goals, symptoms, and medical history to provide careful, active management of their ketamine experience. This creates a safe, personalized treatment program that enhances their recovery.
At Westside Mind Health, we understand that depression, anxiety, bipolar depression, OCD, and other mental health conditions cause immense suffering and often only respond partially to conventional treatments such as SSRIs and psychotherapy. Ketamine is a ground-breaking, evidence-based medication that can offer rapid relief from symptoms, even when other options have provided little to no relief.
Marc Heiser, M.D., Ph.D., Adam Lasser, M.D., and Christopher R. Thompson, M.D. are all certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in psychiatry and child & adolescent psychiatry.
Photography by Dawn Bowery
The principal practitioners at Westside Mind Health have decades of collective experience.
At Westside Mind Health, we understand the importance of continuity of care. If a patient already has a provider, our psychiatrists work collaboratively and in conjunction with their current provider to create the most effective treatment plan, ensuring the patient’s well-being is the top priority. We work closely with a patient’s other providers in order to understand their symptoms and treatment history, allowing us to integrate our treatment into ongoing care when patients are referred to us. We highly value collaboration, continuity of care, and feedback.
What is Ketamine?
Over the past two decades, ketamine has emerged as an evidence-based treatment option for patients experiencing continued depressive symptoms despite using conventional interventions like antidepressants and talk therapy. Patients who do not adequately respond to these more traditional treatments often receive a diagnosis of treatment-resistant depression and have historically had few treatment options. Recent research has demonstrated that lower, non-anesthetic doses of ketamine can result in rapid improvement in depressive symptoms, even in cases of treatment-resistant depression. New research also suggests it may help alleviate anxiety, PTSD, and bipolar depression symptoms.
So what is ketamine and how does it work? Ketamine is an anesthetic with dissociative effects that can cause you to feel detached from your mind, body, and environment. This altered state happens because ketamine interrupts typical communication between the sensory, cognitive, and emotional centers of your brain.
The sensations you may experience after ketamine is administered are very individualized and dependent on dosage, but many people report feeling disconnected from their body, experiencing visual distortions, or feeling like time is moving faster or slower. While this dissociative effect is common, research seems to suggest it’s more of a side effect of treatment than a central feature of it. That being said, Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy following treatment may be a helpful tool to discuss any thoughts or emotions this dissociative effect may cause.
If the dissociative effects aren’t what makes ketamine so effective, what is? Most researchers agree the key to ketamine therapy is glutamate. Unlike traditional antidepressants, ketamine primarily acts on glutamate rather than norepinephrine, dopamine, or serotonin. The increase in glutamate caused by ketamine increases Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor, leading to the creation of not only new connections in the brain, but the creation of new neurons. Because ketamine acts on different neurotransmitters than traditional antidepressants, for some patients it can relieve symptoms in a single session even when other approaches have resulted in little to no improvement.
This “neurogenesis” in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex improves cognition and emotional regulation, decreasing symptoms like “brain fog,” difficulty concentrating, suicidal ideation, and persistent negative thought patterns associated with feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness, and sadness.
Westside Mind Health’s psychiatrists explain ketamine’s history, benefits, and its role in mental health treatment.
SAFE AND EFFECTIVE
Ketamine and Mental Health
What began as an anesthetic valued for its low safety risk has transformed into a promising new means of treating mental health symptoms. As early as the 1970s, researchers began exploring ketamine’s potential as a treatment for various mental illnesses. In the 1990s, this research saw a vigorous (and rigorous) resurgence, demonstrating conclusively that ketamine can significantly improve depression symtpoms––and can even do so for people who have not responded to traditional antidepressants.
Much of the research on ketamine therapy has been done with patients experiencing what’s often deemed “treatment resistant” or “treatment refractory” depression (TRD), meaning they’ve tried multiple different antidepressants and/or talk therapy and found little relief. These studies have shown that 50%–80% of patients with TRD experience significant symptom reduction within just hours or days of their first ketamine infusion. Though patients often require maintenance sessions to sustain the effect at first, ketamine literally “rewires” your brain, strengthening and forging new neural connections. As a result, many patients report a reduction in or total remission of their symptoms even after they discontinue treatment.
Although research on ketamine’s ability to improve symptoms associated with other mental illnesses has been a more recent phenomenon and is ongoing, studies have shown promising results in patients diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety disorders, OCD, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and Bipolar Disorder.
THE WESTSIDE MIND HEALTH DIFFERENCE
Our Holistic Approach
Westside Mind Health (WMH) is a boutique ketamine clinic in Los Angeles offering advanced, innovative, and scientifically-based treatments. We provide the highest level of truly individualized care in an upscale and private environment.
We understand that every patient is unique and pride ourselves on doing things differently from the “one-size-fits-all” approach you’ll see at many other clinics. So what makes us different?
- Psychiatric Oversight: All evaluations are completed by board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrists. Since many ketamine clinics are run by anesthesiologists or emergency medicine physicians, these physicians often lack the expertise to truly assess treatment outcomes. Our focus is on the patient’s underlying psychiatric condition and overall mental health trajectory.
- Truly Individualized Treatment: We don’t follow a rigid, one-size-fits-all dosing or scheduling protocol. Here, treatment is always tailored to your symptoms and your response to treatment. Your experience and goals are at the heart of our treatment plan. We want to work with you to find the best results for you.
- Ongoing Patient Involvement and Check-Ins: At Westside Mind Health, patients are actively involved in their care. We emphasize regular check-ins to assess symptom improvement and side effects. Dosing decisions and treatment intervals are informed by these discussions and a thorough review of medical history. A psychiatrist is always on site during infusion sessions and we make a point to try to check-in briefly with patients before or after treatment, supporting continuity of care and clinical oversight.
- Emphasis on Confidentiality and Comfort: Many ketamine clinics operate more like wellness spas with limited privacy, shared spaces, and minimal psychiatric involvement. In stark contrast, our space is intentionally built, with only two treatment rooms to allow for truly private, one-on-one care in a setting that prioritizes comfort and confidentiality. Every aspect of our Westwood-based clinic is intentionally designed with patient comfort, safety, and confidentiality in mind. Our patients find a tranquil respite from daily demands in our private infusion rooms, which are equipped with eye masks and recliners. Our process allows extra time following treatment for patients to take the time they need to decompress, process their mental, emotional, and physical state, and feel safe and secure before stepping outside our doors. This safe, comfortable setting and personalized care create an optimal treatment experience.
- Commitment to Safety: At Westside Mind Health, our physicians are always on-site and patient vital signs are carefully and actively monitored by a licensed professional throughout treatment.
Additionally, therapy is available following treatment sessions to help patients further process their physical and psychological state, allowing them to better consolidate and apply the benefits of treatment to their everyday lives.
To our fellow providers, this is care you can trust. We know that when you refer a patient, the service they receive can be a reflection on you. We are dedicated to providing the same exceptional care to our clients that you provide in your own practice.
Photography by Taylor Woods
Our physicians are always on-site and patient vital signs are actively monitored by a licensed professional throughout treatment.
A Ketamine Clinic Founded and operated by psychiatrists
We work closely with patients and their providers to understand their goals and provide careful, active management of their ketamine experience. This creates a safe, personalized treatment program that enhances their recovery. Providers are encouraged to collaborate with us and be an active part of treatment planning so they can trust that their patients receive the best care available.