Ketamine clinics opened quickly across the country and the standards between them vary more than in almost any other area of medicine.
There is no single certification that separates a well-run clinic from a poorly run one. You have to ask.
How to choose a ketamine clinic comes down to four things you can check by phone. Who assesses and supervises you, how thoroughly you are screened, what monitoring happens during a session, and what follow-up exists between them.
How to Choose a Ketamine Clinic: What Matters
Four factors separate a well-run clinic from a poorly run one. First, a physician or appropriately qualified prescriber assesses you and remains responsible for your care. Second, screening covers your full medical and psychiatric history rather than only your depression. Third, monitoring during sessions includes important signs and a clinician physically present. Fourth, follow-up exists between sessions, with measurement of whether treatment is working and a defined point at which you would stop.
Everything else, including decor, is secondary.
Price matters and it should be compared across a full course rather than per session.
Who Is Actually Treating You
Ask directly. The answers vary considerably.
Who assesses me before treatment? A psychiatrist, another physician, a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant. All can be appropriate, and you are entitled to know which and what their background is.
Who is present during my session? Sometimes a physician, sometimes a nurse, sometimes nobody in the room. “Available on site” is not the same as present.
Who do I contact between sessions? A named clinician or a general inbox.
Is anyone here a psychiatrist? Ketamine clinics are sometimes run by anesthesiologists or emergency physicians. Those are real qualifications and the underlying condition being treated is psychiatric. Ask who is managing that side.
Are you coordinating with my psychiatrist and therapist? A clinic that does not ask who they are is treating you in isolation from the rest of your care.
None of these has one correct answer. A clinic that answers all of them clearly is telling you something a clinic that deflects is telling you.
Screening Before Treatment
What a thorough assessment covers, so you can tell whether yours was one.
Psychiatric diagnosis and history, including previous treatments and their results
Full medical history, particularly cardiac conditions and blood pressure
Current medications, including benzodiazepines and lamotrigine, covered in our post on ketamine and your medications
Substance use history, asked properly rather than as a checkbox
History of psychosis in you or your immediate family
Pregnancy status where relevant
Suicide risk assessment, with a safety plan where indicated
Baseline symptom measurement using a standardized scale
Blood pressure taken, not asked about
A twenty-minute video call that covers only your depression is not adequate screening for a controlled substance that raises blood pressure and produces dissociation.
If your assessment did not cover most of the list above, ask why.
What Happens During a Session
Questions about the room, not the brochure.
Are important signs monitored, and how often? Blood pressure and heart rate should be checked at intervals, not once at the start.
Is someone in the room, or nearby? Both models exist. You should know which one you are getting.
What is the environment like? Private room, reclining chair, control over light and sound, eye mask and music available.
What happens if I become distressed? A specific answer, not “that rarely happens”.
How long do I stay afterward? Discharge should be based on your state, not the clock.
How do I get home? No clinic should let you drive. If nobody asks how you are getting home, that tells you about the rest of their process.
What happens if my blood pressure rises? Ketamine reliably raises it. A clinic should be able to say what their threshold is and what they do.
Red Flags
Any one of these is worth pausing over.
Red flag
Why it matters
Published success rates
Figures like “85% success” cannot be substantiated and signal marketing over medicine
Guaranteed results
No legitimate provider guarantees a psychiatric outcome
Pressure to buy a package
Prepaid blocks of sessions transfer risk to you and remove the option to stop
No screening of medical history
The most serious omission on this list
No baseline measurement
Without it, nobody can tell whether it is working
Take-home supply
For injected or infused routes, out of step with how a Schedule III drug is handled
No coordination with your other clinicians
Treating a psychiatric condition in isolation
Reluctance to discuss stopping
Suggests an incentive problem
No named medical director
You should be able to find out who is responsible
Testimonials as the main evidence
Patient stories are not outcome data
The success-rate flag deserves emphasis. It is common, it is unverifiable, and a clinic comfortable publishing an unsupportable number is comfortable with other things.
Green Flags
What good looks like.
They ask you a lot of questions before telling you anything about their program.
They mention who is not a candidate. A clinic that only describes who benefits has not thought about screening.
They quantify nothing they cannot support, and describe outcomes as ranges with caveats.
They give you a first-year cost, including maintenance, rather than a per-session price.
They name a stopping point. “If we see no change by X, we reassess” is the mark of a clinic treating rather than selling.
They want to talk to your psychiatrist, and ask for consent to do so.
They tell you ketamine is not first-line, and ask what you have already tried.
They mention therapy, and treat ketamine as part of a plan rather than the whole of one.
They are comfortable with your questions. Including the ones on this page. We wrote it, so we should expect it.
FAQs About Choosing a Ketamine Clinic
How do I know if a ketamine clinic is legitimate? Check who assesses and supervises you and their qualifications, how thoroughly they screen your medical history, whether important signs are monitored during sessions, and whether they measure response and will discuss stopping. Published success rates and pressure to prepay for packages are the clearest warning signs.
Should a psychiatrist run a ketamine clinic? Not necessarily, and someone should be managing the psychiatric side of your care. Clinics run by anesthesiologists or emergency physicians can be excellent at the procedure. Ask directly who is responsible for the diagnosis and the treatment plan rather than the administration.
Is a cheaper ketamine clinic worse? Not automatically. Price differences reflect route, staffing, monitoring and session length. Compare what is included rather than the headline figure, and compare across a full course including maintenance. A low per-session price with a longer required course can cost more overall.
Should I prepay for a package of sessions? Be cautious. Prepaid packages remove your ability to stop if treatment is not working and shift the financial risk to you. Some clinics offer genuine discounts for good reasons. Ask what happens to unused sessions if you stop, and get the answer in writing.
What should I ask on the first phone call? Who assesses me and what are their qualifications, what does screening cover, is someone present during the session, how do you measure whether it is working, what does a full first year cost, and at what point would you tell me to stop. Six questions, one call.
Ask Us All of It
Every question on this page is one we expect to be asked. Bring the list.
Call (770) 817-9200 or see our ketamine therapy page.
Atlanta Ketamine Clinic, 5755 North Point Parkway Suite 256, Alpharetta, GA 30022.
Reviewed by Angelo Sambunaris, M.D., Atlanta Ketamine Clinic.This article is general information, not medical advice. If you are having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day.
