Ketamine therapy could represent future of mental health treatment
Updated: 11:00 PM EDT May 11, 2026
Ketamine, a common anesthetic, is being used in Maryland to help people with major depression.About 48 million U.S. adults struggle with depression, and for almost half of them, the disorder is so severe that it’s considered major depressive disorder. Of those with MDD, a third don’t respond to traditional treatments, such as medications and therapy. The Mood Center, with offices in Annapolis and Columbia, offers ketamine therapy for treatment-resistant depression.Some who are familiar with ketamine might think of the death of Matthew Perry and how it can be abused. But it’s legitimately used every day as an anesthetic and for pain relief. James Soldinger suffered from severe depression for most of his life until he discovered ketamine therapy at The Mood Center.”After that first infusion, it was like my brain turned back on,” Soldinger told WBAL-TV 11 News.How ketamine treatment worksGena Kosmides, a psychiatric nurse practitioner at The Mood Center, oversees the ketamine treatment.”The first stop is me. They come in for a full evaluation just to determine the appropriateness of the treatment,” Kosmides told WBAL-TV 11 News.Patients then relax in a comfortable chair under serene lighting. Then, an IV is initiated.”If all is well, we increase the drip rate slightly, and then we just kind of allow them to have their experience for the next half an hour, 40 minutes,” Kosmides told WBAL-TV 11 News.The experience often includes dissociation, a disconnect from oneself.”Because that really taps into those locked boxes in our brains that we use to hide things, and that is our coping mechanism, because it’s sometimes too painful to process certain things and to relive certain experiences,” Kosmides told WBAL-TV 11 News.While not new, ketamine could change mental health treatmentBut ketamine for depression isn’t new. Dr. John Krystal discovered it decades ago at Yale University.”What we found was this remarkably rapid antidepressant effect, and it happened so quickly, and it was so unexpected, that we really didn’t begin to believe it until we saw it happen in several patients,” Krystal told WBAL-TV 11 News.Kosmides has observed that ketamine helps with more than just depression.”I’ve had patients say that after their first treatment, they no longer wanted to smoke, drink, gamble, whatever the case may be. It was just like that compulsion was gone for them,” Kosmides told WBAL-TV 11 News.Krystal said he believes this is the future of mental health treatment.”I think ketamine and esketamine, and other approaches that are being developed will transform what it means to have depression,” Krystal told WBAL-TV 11 News.”It truly, for me, felt like a miracle,” Soldinger told WBAL-TV 11 News.The Mood Center offers both ketamine infusions, which are paid for out of pocket, and esketamine or Spravato, which is the ketamine derivative that’s taken as a nasal spray that’s approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Spravato may be covered by insurance if the patient meets some strict guidelines.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. —
Ketamine, a common anesthetic, is being used in Maryland to help people with major depression.
About 48 million U.S. adults struggle with depression, and for almost half of them, the disorder is so severe that it’s considered major depressive disorder. Of those with MDD, a third don’t respond to traditional treatments, such as medications and therapy. The Mood Center, with offices in Annapolis and Columbia, offers ketamine therapy for treatment-resistant depression.
Some who are familiar with ketamine might think of the death of Matthew Perry and how it can be abused. But it’s legitimately used every day as an anesthetic and for pain relief.
James Soldinger suffered from severe depression for most of his life until he discovered ketamine therapy at The Mood Center.
“After that first infusion, it was like my brain turned back on,” Soldinger told WBAL-TV 11 News.
How ketamine treatment works
Gena Kosmides, a psychiatric nurse practitioner at The Mood Center, oversees the ketamine treatment.
“The first stop is me. They come in for a full evaluation just to determine the appropriateness of the treatment,” Kosmides told WBAL-TV 11 News.
Patients then relax in a comfortable chair under serene lighting. Then, an IV is initiated.
“If all is well, we increase the drip rate slightly, and then we just kind of allow them to have their experience for the next half an hour, 40 minutes,” Kosmides told WBAL-TV 11 News.
The experience often includes dissociation, a disconnect from oneself.
“Because that really taps into those locked boxes in our brains that we use to hide things, and that is our coping mechanism, because it’s sometimes too painful to process certain things and to relive certain experiences,” Kosmides told WBAL-TV 11 News.
While not new, ketamine could change mental health treatment
But ketamine for depression isn’t new. Dr. John Krystal discovered it decades ago at Yale University.
“What we found was this remarkably rapid antidepressant effect, and it happened so quickly, and it was so unexpected, that we really didn’t begin to believe it until we saw it happen in several patients,” Krystal told WBAL-TV 11 News.
Kosmides has observed that ketamine helps with more than just depression.
“I’ve had patients say that after their first treatment, they no longer wanted to smoke, drink, gamble, whatever the case may be. It was just like that compulsion was gone for them,” Kosmides told WBAL-TV 11 News.
I think ketamine and esketamine … will transform what it means to have depression.
Krystal said he believes this is the future of mental health treatment.
“I think ketamine and esketamine, and other approaches that are being developed will transform what it means to have depression,” Krystal told WBAL-TV 11 News.
“It truly, for me, felt like a miracle,” Soldinger told WBAL-TV 11 News.
The Mood Center offers both ketamine infusions, which are paid for out of pocket, and esketamine or Spravato, which is the ketamine derivative that’s taken as a nasal spray that’s approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Spravato may be covered by insurance if the patient meets some strict guidelines.