Depression Specialist
Palo Alto Mind Body
Concierge Psychiatry & Ketamine Therapy Clinic located in Palo Alto, CA
Depression affects a vast number of people each day. Nearly 20 million Americans suffer from a form of major depressive disorder (MDD) or major depression every year. An estimated two-thirds experience severe symptoms which deeply disrupts their personal lives, relationships, and job performance. As a trained psychiatrist, M Rameen Ghorieshi, MD, MPH, and colleagues at Palo Alto Mind Body help patients recover from depression by developing personalized, evidence-based treatment plans. Plans can include medication, psychotherapy, ketamine infusions, and cutting-edge Functional Medicine treatments. To learn more about the innovative ketamine infusion treatment and its ability to quickly lift depression, call the office in Palo Alto, California, or send a confidential email. We also serve many patients located in the surrounding Bay Area, such as South Bay, North Bay, East Bay, Peninsula, San Jose, and San Francisco.
Depression Q & A
When should I seek help for depression?
Virtually everyone has experienced the type of everyday blues that come and go, so they tend to think that people with depression will just get over it. However, this is simply not true.
Deep, ongoing depression is associated with an imbalance in brain chemicals. You can’t restore brain chemicals by bucking up and hoping time will solve the problem.
When depression affects your ability to participate in daily life, it is time to reach out for help. If you feel depressed, hopelessly sad, suicidal or have any of the following symptoms, call Palo Alto Mind Body:
- Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed
- Feeling hopeless, worthless, or guilty
- Feeling fatigued or low in energy
- Sleeping too much or too little
- Eating more or less than normal
- Struggling to concentrate, think, or make decisions
- Weight gain or loss
- Agitation or restlessness
- Thoughts of suicide
It’s hard to take the first step and seek treatment when you’re depressed, so it’s important to know that when you contact Dr. Ghorieshi, you’ll immediately receive understanding care together with treatments proven to be effective.
How is depression treated?
Dr. Ghorieshi and the health care team at Palo Alto Mind Body use a whole-body approach that incorporates multiple treatment options customized to meet your specific needs. The healthcare team includes a psychiatrist, holistic therapist, psychopharmacologist, acupuncturist, and an expert in functional medicine.
You may receive antidepressant medications, which help to relieve symptoms by restoring brain chemicals. Palo Alto Mind Body also provides analyses of key genetic mutations, vitamin deficiencies, and food sensitivities that may be directly contributing to your depression. Dr. Ghorieshi and his specialized team offer several types of therapy that help you learn new ways to manage the challenges you face, identify the triggers of your depression, and improve your mental health.
At Palo Alto Mind Body, those in critical need of immediate help also have access to IV Ketamine infusion treatments to treat chronic, severe, or treatment-resistant depression. IV Ketamine infusions can provide remarkable, and often near-instant, relief from depression compared to traditional oral depression medication. It is the latest advancement in treating depression and has been shown in scientific research studies and clinical trials to have an exceptional success rate in helping patients suffering from depression.
What is ketamine and how does it treat depression?
Ketamine is an anesthetic drug and pain reliever that has been used in surgery for nearly five decades. Although high doses provide an anesthetic effect, low doses, administered slowly intravenously, balance brain chemicals that regulate depression.
Depression partly stems from the brain’s inability to use a neurotransmitter called glutamate. When ketamine is delivered through an intravenous infusion, it quickly balances glutamate levels and improves depression.
For most patients, ketamine produces symptom relief within several hours. By comparison, traditional antidepressants, like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), take weeks and often months to yield a therapeutic effect.
Ketamine’s fast action makes it especially beneficial for treating patients who are suicidal or who have an acute depressive episode. It’s also effective for treatment-resistant depression and helps relieve physical pain caused by depression.
To learn more about the treatments available for depression and options for Ketamine infusion treatments, call Palo Alto Mind Body or send a confidential email. Please note, we also serve many patients located in the surrounding Bay Area, such as South Bay, North Bay, East Bay, Peninsula, San Jose, and San Francisco.