IV Ketamine Therapy in San Francisco

What Is IV Ketamine Therapy?

About 1 in 3 American adults will experience anxiety or depression during their lifetime. Traditional antidepressants help many patients, but they can cause side effects, including sexual dysfunction, and don't work for everyone. A major Cochrane review found that for every seven people treated with SSRIs, only one additional person benefits compared with placebo. For patients with treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, or PTSD, IV ketamine infusion therapy offers a fundamentally different path.

At Clarus Health's ketamine clinic in San Francisco, IV ketamine therapy is a rapid-acting, clinician-supervised infusion treatment for depression, anxiety, PTSD, chronic pain, and other conditions where standard medications have fallen short - including treatment-resistant depression, OCD, traumatic brain injury, and postpartum depression. Ketamine has been used safely in medicine for over 50 years, and its power to promote neuroplasticity and rapidly relieve mental health symptoms has made it one of the most significant advances in psychiatry in decades. Serving patients throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, Clarus Health takes a holistic, root-cause approach - pairing IV ketamine infusions with complementary therapies personalized to your biology, your genetics, and your history.

How IV Ketamine Infusions Work

Unlike traditional antidepressants that target serotonin or norepinephrine, ketamine works on a fundamentally different pathway. It blocks the NMDA receptor in the brain, modulating glutamate - the brain's primary excitatory neurotransmitter. This activates the AMPA receptor and triggers mTOR signaling, catalyzing neuroplasticity: the brain's ability to form new connections and rewire away from entrenched patterns of pain and suffering.

A hallmark of depression and PTSD is cognitive rigidity - the brain becoming "stuck" in loops of rumination and hyperarousal. IV Ketamine induces cognitive flexibility by physically rewiring these stuck patterns. This is why a single IV ketamine infusion can produce relief within hours, not weeks - it does not simply mask symptoms, it creates the neurological conditions for lasting change.

This rewiring opens a "critical window" of neuroplasticity after each infusion - a period when the brain is most receptive to forming new, healthier patterns. Working with our integration specialist or your therapist during this window may help you process your experience and augment the benefits of treatment.

IV Ketamine vs Nasal Spray and Oral Ketamine

Not all ketamine is equal - the route of administration profoundly affects effectiveness, safety, and predictability, as the comparison above lays out. Because IV ketamine bypasses the gut entirely, it reaches complete bioavailability, delivering a precise, reliable dose every time, where oral ketamine is limited by extensive first-pass metabolism. IV ketamine has significant clinical evidence supporting rapid antidepressant effects. Compared with nasal esketamine, IV ketamine offers precise, adjustable dosing and may provide faster relief for some patients. Some indirect comparisons have also found IV ketamine more effective for depression, although other comparisons demonstrate impressive improvements with both nasal esketamine (Spravato) and IV ketamine. The clinical evidence for oral formulations is less established. Learn how the routes differ.

Just as important, IV administration allows dosing to be adjusted in real time - reaching the levels sometimes needed for anxiety relief that can be difficult to achieve reliably by mouth - while at-home protocols offer no such precision or oversight. In a monitored clinical setting, trained clinicians can assess your response, adjust the dose, and manage side effects as they arise.

Combining IV Ketamine with Complementary Therapies

At Clarus Health, your treatment is about more than the infusion. We look at the factors that may be keeping you stuck - including stress responses, sleep, fatigue, and hormonal health - and tailor your care accordingly. If PTSD or treatment-resistant depression comes with a persistent fight-or-flight response, the Stellate Ganglion Block may be an additional option to address nervous-system overactivation from a different angle. Complementary NAD+ may augment mitochondrial efficiency and may help recovery from fatigue, brain fog, and symptoms associated with Long COVID, although clinical benefits from IV NAD+ remain uncertain. Because hormonal imbalances in estrogen, progesterone, thyroid, and cortisol can all contribute to depression and other mood symptoms, hormone optimization may improve outcomes in appropriately selected patients - which is why Dr. Kaveh discusses advanced bloodwork and hormone evaluations in your intake appointment.

Is IV Ketamine Therapy Safe?

Ketamine has been used safely in medicine for over 50 years. When administered at therapeutic doses in an appropriately monitored clinical setting, serious adverse effects are rare. Common temporary effects during infusion - dissociation, altered perception, mild nausea - generally resolve after treatment and can be managed in real time by your clinical team.

Concerns about ketamine addiction risk are often raised but rarely applicable at the low doses and infrequent schedule used therapeutically. Unlike at-home protocols, IV ketamine in a monitored clinical setting provides precise dosing and professional oversight. Research and clinical experience suggest IV ketamine can reduce anxiety rapidly. A separate randomized study in treatment-resistant bipolar depression also found rapid reductions in accompanying anxiety symptoms.

Begin IV Ketamine Therapy in San Francisco

Whether you are struggling with treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, anxiety, chronic pain, or fatigue - and whether you have tried many medications or are exploring IV ketamine infusion therapy for the first time - Clarus Health's San Francisco ketamine clinic offers a path forward. Contact us for a free 15-minute consultation with Dr. Kaveh or Dr. Shrestha. We serve patients throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

*The FDA has not approved intravenous ketamine for the treatment of any psychiatric or pain condition. This content references off-label use that has been practiced clinically for decades. Like all medical treatments, IV Ketamine carries risks and benefits that should be discussed with a physician. Speak with a doctor at Clarus Health to learn if this therapy may be right for you.