What to Expect: Your Ketamine Therapy Journey at NeuroGlow
A clear, step-by-step look at how we go from your first message to a treatment plan that actually moves the needle. Physician-led care at three Dallas-Fort Worth locations: Flower Mound, McKinney, and Fort Worth.
Trusted by 1000+ Patients
The Big Picture
Your time at NeuroGlow happens in three phases:
- Get Matched: Care coordination, insurance review, a telehealth evaluation with a provider, a psych intake with our integrative therapist, and an intention-setting prep session. About one to two weeks.
- The Infusion Series: Six IV ketamine infusions at the DFW clinic closest to you, typically spread across two to three weeks, with integration support along the way.
- Reassess & Maintain: A formal re-evaluation with your provider after the series, then a maintenance plan tailored to your response, which for some patients includes transitioning to Spravato.
The rest of this page walks through each step in detail.
Phase 1: Getting Matched (About 1-2 Weeks)
Step 1. Submit Your Info and Request a Free Consultation
It starts with a short intake form at neuroglow.com/keta or a phone call to 469-218-4410. You share the basics: what you are struggling with, any diagnoses or prior treatments, and the best way to reach you. This is not a commitment to anything. It is the start of a conversation.
Step 2. Care Coordination Call
Within one business day, a member of our care coordination team reaches out. On this call, we:
Review your insurance coverage and explain what your out-of-pocket cost is likely to look like.
Talk through your treatment options at a high level, including IV ketamine, Spravato, or a combination.
Answer any questions you have about the experience, the clinics, or the providers.
Schedule your telehealth evaluation with one of our medical providers.
No clinical decisions are made on this call. Its only job is to make sure you have the information you need and the next appointment on the calendar.
Step 3. Telehealth Evaluation with a Provider
Your next appointment is a video visit with one of our prescribing providers. Plan for about 45 -60 minutes. We will:
Take a full medical and psychiatric history, including diagnoses, current medications, prior treatments, and what has and has not worked.
Talk through your goals for treatment.
Decide on a treatment path together. For most patients exploring ketamine, this is an IV ketamine series. For some, Spravato is a better fit, often because it is insurance-covered for treatment-resistant depression. For patients with chronic pain, the conversation may also touch on the conditions we treat on the pain management side.
Confirm medical eligibility for ketamine specifically, including blood pressure, cardiovascular history, psychiatric considerations, and current medications.
If ketamine is not the right fit, we will say so directly. Honest answers are part of the service.
Step 4. Psych Intake with Our Integrative Therapist
Once you and your provider agree that ketamine therapy makes sense, you meet with our integrative therapist. This appointment focuses on the psychological side of the work: what brought you here, what is going on emotionally right now, and how we can support the experience itself.
If you already have a therapist or psychiatrist you trust, we are glad to coordinate with them rather than replace them. More on integration support below.
Step 5. Intention & Prep Session
Just before your first infusion, you have a short intention-setting and prep session. This is where we walk through:
What the infusion experience actually feels like, in plain language.
What you want to focus on or move through during treatment. Sometimes this is a specific question, a memory, or simply a state of mind you want to revisit.
Practical details: what to wear, what to eat that day, how transportation works, what to expect afterward.
A small amount of preparation goes a long way. Patients who arrive with a clear intention almost always report a more useful experience.
Phase 2: The Infusion Series (About 2-3 Weeks)
The Initial Series: Six Infusions
The initial protocol for most patients is six IV ketamine infusions spread across two to three weeks. This cadence is supported by the research and by what our team has seen across hundreds of cases. The early infusions build the foundation, and the later infusions consolidate the response.
Some patients notice changes within the first one or two sessions; others build more gradually. We will be tracking with you throughout.
A Typical Infusion Day
Plan for about two hours from when you walk in to when you walk out. Here is what each visit looks like:
- Arrival and check-in. You will be greeted by our clinical staff at the front desk.
- Vitals and brief check-in. We measure blood pressure and other vital signs and ask how you are feeling that day.
- Short surveys. You complete a few validated questionnaires, typically a depression or anxiety scale and a brief check on how you have been between sessions. This is how we measure progress with numbers instead of impressions.
- Move into the treatment room. We get you settled in a reclining chair in a private suite, place the IV, give you a blanket if you want one, and start the infusion.
- The infusion itself. About 45 minutes total. For roughly 35 of those minutes, you are in a lucid, dream-like state. You are not unconscious. We monitor vital signs continuously.
- Recovery. We give you time to come back to baseline before you leave the chair. Most patients feel clear-headed within 20 to 30 minutes.
- Ride home. You cannot drive until the next day after an infusion (more on transportation below).
What the Experience Itself Feels Like
We design the environment to feel like the opposite of a hospital. Private room. Soft lighting. A reclining chair. A blanket. Headphones with playlists specifically curated for ketamine sessions. We will offer eye shades if you want them.
At a subanesthetic dose, ketamine produces a lucid, dream-like state. It is often vivid, often visual, sometimes emotional, and almost always softer than people expect going in. You remain conscious. You can communicate with our team if you need to. Most patients describe the 35-minute peak as quiet, expansive, and surprisingly comfortable.
In Sam’s words, one of our patients describing it after his series: “I came out feeling lighter, like 30 years of junk was finally out of my head.” Other patients describe it as the volume on their pain or their anxious thinking finally turning down. The experience varies. We will talk with you about yours before, during, and after.
The 24–48 Hour Neuroplasticity Window
Part of what makes ketamine different from a traditional medication is what happens after the infusion. For roughly 24 to 48 hours after each session, your brain is in a heightened state of neuroplasticity, meaning it is unusually able to form new connections and rewire patterns that have been stuck for a long time.
That window is where a lot of the durable change actually happens. We strongly encourage two things during it:
- Reflect and journal. Even rough notes work well: what came up, what felt different, what you noticed about your mood, sleep, or thinking. These notes become the raw material for your integration work and for your provider check-ins.
- Use integration therapy when possible. Working with an integrative therapist inside this window is one of the most effective ways to make the changes stick.
Integration Therapy: Turning the Experience Into Lasting Change
An infusion can open a door. Integration therapy is how you walk through it.
Every initial series at NeuroGlow includes one session of integrative therapy with our team. The job of that session is to help you make sense of what came up during your infusions, identify the patterns you want to keep working on, and convert the neuroplastic window into something that lasts past the series itself.
Patients who want more support can add additional integration sessions with us at any time. And if you already work with a therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist you trust, we are happy to collaborate with them directly so the integration work happens with someone who already knows your story.
Phase 3: Reassess and Maintain
The Re-evaluation Visit
After your sixth infusion, you have a formal re-evaluation with your provider. We sit down with the data (your survey scores from before the series, your scores after each infusion, your journal notes, and your subjective experience of the change) and look at what actually happened. Not impressions. Numbers and patterns.
From there we have an honest conversation about what comes next.
Building Your Maintenance Plan
There is no single right answer for what to do after a successful initial series. We tailor maintenance to your response, your goals, your insurance situation, and your life. Common paths include:
- Booster infusions. Single IV ketamine sessions spaced out over weeks or months based on how long the benefit holds for you.
- Transition to Spravato. For many patients with treatment-resistant depression, completing the IV series and then continuing on Spravato is a strong option. Spravato is FDA-approved for TRD and is often covered by insurance, which makes long-term maintenance more sustainable.
- Continued integration work. Sometimes the right next step is not another infusion but more of the therapy work the infusions opened up.
- A pause. If the response is strong and stable, the right plan may be to do nothing more for a while and re-engage only if symptoms return.
If the response was not strong enough to justify continuing, we will tell you that, and we will help you think about what to try next, including treatments outside NeuroGlow when that is the most honest answer.
Cost, Insurance, and Practical Logistics
What This Typically Costs
IV ketamine for mental health and chronic pain is generally used off-label, and most commercial insurance plans do not cover it. We treat that as our problem to make as transparent as possible, not as a surprise to spring on you.
During your care coordination call, we walk you through expected out-of-pocket costs for the initial series and any maintenance options we discuss, so you can plan without guessing. Spravato is FDA-approved for treatment-resistant depression and is often covered by commercial insurance and Medicare. If Spravato turns out to be a better fit for you, we will run a benefits check and tell you what it actually means for your wallet.
Insurance Verification
Bring your insurance and leave the paperwork to us. We confirm your benefits, explain your out-of-pocket costs up front, and guide you through the next steps with no surprises.
Hero Discount for Veterans and First Responders
NeuroGlow offers a Hero Discount on IV ketamine treatment for veterans, active duty military, and first responders. We also accept Tricare and ChampVA where applicable, and we can help coordinate with VA providers when appropriate. Mention this on your care coordination call and we will walk you through what coverage actually looks like.
Transportation: You Cannot Drive Yourself Home
After every infusion, you will feel clear-headed within 20 to 30 minutes of completing treatment, but the residual effects of ketamine make it unsafe to drive for the rest of the day. Plan ahead:
- Bring a driver. A partner, family member, or friend who can wait or pick you up after the session.
- Use a rideshare. Lyft or Uber are both fine. Our staff can help you call one from the clinic.
- Plan a calm rest of the day. Most patients spend the rest of the day quietly: light food, water, journaling, rest. No big decisions, no work calls, no driving until the next morning.
Common Questions Before Starting
Is ketamine therapy legal?
Yes. Ketamine is FDA-approved as an anesthetic and has been used in clinical medicine for decades. Its use for depression, anxiety, PTSD, and chronic pain is off-label and is delivered under strict clinical guidelines at NeuroGlow. Spravato (esketamine) is FDA-approved specifically for treatment-resistant depression and is delivered under the same REMS-certified program nationwide.
Will I be unconscious during the infusion?
No. Subanesthetic IV ketamine produces a lucid, dream-like state, but you remain conscious and can communicate with our team throughout.
Do I have to stop my current medications?
Usually not. Some medications interact and need to be adjusted around treatment days; your provider will review every medication you take during the telehealth evaluation and tell you exactly what to do.
How quickly might I notice a change?
Some patients notice changes within the first one or two sessions, most often in sleep and baseline mood. Others build more gradually across the series. We measure with structured surveys at every visit, so we will know what is changing before you have to guess.
What if it does not help me?
We measure response at every visit. If the numbers are not moving after the first few sessions, we will say so directly and help you decide what to do next, whether that is stopping, switching to a different protocol, or considering Spravato.
Can I have a friend or family member with me?
You will be in a private suite during the infusion itself for clinical reasons, but a support person can come to the clinic with you, wait through the appointment, and drive you home. Many patients find that helps.
Where are your clinics?
We have three DFW locations. Flower Mound: 4961 Long Prairie Rd, Suite 110. McKinney: 2730 Virginia Pkwy, Suite 200. Fort Worth: 3100 N. Tarrant Pkwy, Suite 104. You will schedule your infusions at whichever location is closest to your home or work.
You do not have to commit to anything to start the conversation. The free consultation is exactly that: a no-pressure call with our care coordination team to walk through your situation, your insurance, and whether this is even the right fit for you. If it is, we will get you on the calendar. If it is not, we will tell you what we think might help instead.
Three DFW locations. Physician-led care. Same-week consultations are often available.