Navigating Ketamine Stigma
Many patients describe feeling judged before they even start ketamine treatment due to decades of misinformation rallying against them. This blog is designed to name what the stigma is really about, discuss how to separate fact from fiction, and decide if ketamine therapy is right for you.
When people hear the word “ketamine,” reactions often arise before information: headlines, assumptions, and well-intended warnings. In clinical practice, it’s common to see the weight of stigma keep someone from even considering these medications as viable options to help them manage symptoms.
This article names the most common labels, offers careful context from our clinical team, and gives you practical tools to turn judgment into clear questions you can bring to a Spravato treatment center.
The five common labels for ketamine outside psychiatry – and why they linger
When people talk about ketamine, five labels come up again and again: “unsafe,” “street drug,” “veterinary drug,” “pediatric anesthetic,” and “just an anesthetic.” Those labels each have a story behind them, and they also miss the clinical reality of modern ketamine treatment. Dr. Ben Yudkoff, Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder of Lumin Health, summarizes these stigmas and where they come from, including diversion to party settings in the 1970s, routine veterinary / pediatric anesthesia, and media attention to adverse events.
“Ketamine is unsafe.”
A more accurate statement is: like any medication, ketamine can carry risks, but these potential risks are managed in medical settings that monitor, dose carefully, and respond promptly to decrease the frequency, intensity, and implications of these risks.
Dr. Yudkoff asserts that calling ketamine “unsafe” as a blanket claim is misleading. Acknowledging that it can be unsafe without proper safeguards is fair and useful. That is exactly why models of care and supervision matter.
“Ketamine is a street drug.”
Soon after FDA approval, ketamine was diverted and used at dance parties in sub-anesthetic doses. That history fuels stigma today, even though clinical ketamine therapy and Spravato treatment take place under medical supervision with known sourcing and dosing. Ketamine has been proven through rigorous clinical trials to be safe and effective for treating mental health conditions, despite this use case.
“Ketamine is a horse tranquilizer, or veterinary drug.”
Ketamine is used across species because of its robust safety profile – little-to-no impact on the respiratory & cardiovascular systems – and because the same brain receptors exist in humans and animals.
That doesn’t make it “for animals” any more than an antibiotic – say, amoxicillin – used for pets becomes “a pet drug.” In human psychiatric care, ketamine therapy uses dosing, monitoring, and goals specific to mood and trauma symptoms that are not part of the use cases for veterinary contexts.
“Ketamine is a pediatric anesthetic.”
Many people first hear about ketamine through pediatric anesthesia, where it is valued for predictable effects and less respiratory depression. That familiarity can create confusion when they later hear about ketamine for depression. The settings, doses, and aims differ between settings, but the safety profile that makes it a good candidate for pediatric anesthesia is the same.
“Ketamine is just an anesthetic.”
In psychiatry, ketamine is not “just” anything. It is used at different doses for different contexts and, at Lumin Health, ketamine is used carefully within a therapeutic container that supports both the biological mechanism of generating new synapses and the lived experience. This duality – experience and mechanism – makes it unusual in mental health care and, for some, hard to categorize.
Many patients describe feeling judged when others use these labels. Our goal at Lumin Health is to name where the labels come from and replace them with precise, safety-focused questions you can ask.
Why media focus on ketamine-related tragedies shapes perception more than routine outcomes
Most people meet ketamine through headlines, not calm conversations with trusted care providers. Media reporting often focuses on the most unusual or tragic element of a story. That matters because the unusualness of a ketamine-related circumstance plus loss makes a memory stick, while thousands of routine, supervised treatments go uncovered by the media.
In regards to Matthew Perry’s unfortunate and untimely death, Dr. Yudkoff explains two key points.
- Ketamine had a role to play in his passing – as did “polypharmacy,” which is the use of multiple additional sedating medications, and drowning.
- Stigma can spread when the most unusual element – ketamine – gets framed as the cause instead of part of a larger unsafe system involving bad actors, unsafe settings, and polypharmacy.
Deaths reported in the media over the last decade have occurred in the context of other more popularly available medications, unsafe provision, or compromised positions that limited the ability to respond to expected effects – rather than from ketamine overdose alone. That nuance is often lost in headlines, and it shapes public fear.
When you hear “ketamine harmed X,” it’s gravely important to ask: What other factors were involved? Who provided the ketamine and where was it administered? What level of monitoring and response capacity were present? These are the questions that separate a reputable Spravato clinic from other contexts of ketamine administration.
“Para-psychedelic” experiences – and the confusion between experience and neurobiological mechanism
Another source of stigma is the psychedelic-like experience that ketamine induces. Ketamine can shift your sensorium, and as a result, some people notice dissociation. Others describe experiences that feel psychedelic or “psychedelic-adjacent.” In a supervised setting, mindset and physical / social settings are tuned to support the healthiest possible relationship to those experiences, and Lumin Health’s dedicated team of board-certified experts are trained to coach patients through any anxious moments if they arise.
This is where confusion often starts. People see or hear about altered consciousness and assume that ketamine treatment works because it is a “party drug” or “just a psychedelic.”
Dr. Yudkoff names ketamine as a “parasychedelic” or psychedelic-adjacent medicine in psychiatric use, and emphasizes that patients can benefit through biological mechanisms as well as the experience of the session. Both can matter. Few psychiatric medications ask us to hold that dual truth, which is part of why stigma clings.
If you’re considering ketamine therapy or Spravato treatment and feel uneasy about altered states, you are not alone. Many patients describe feeling both cautious and curious. A good Spravato provider talks through what to expect, how the session is set up, and what support looks like if emotions swell during dosing. That preparation is designed to reduce fear of the ketamine experience and increase psychological safety.
Clinical humility notes regarding ketamine therapy
- Responses vary. Some patients notice early relief. Others need multiple sessions. A few decide it isn’t for them. Your lived experience belongs in the plan.
- Risk is real and managed. Safety does not come from pretending side effects won’t happen. It comes from the ability to respond quickly if they do and managing risk. In an analogy to skydiving, think “parachute,” not “no gravity.”
- Context matters. Many media reports involve polypharmacy, unsafe settings, or bad actors. That doesn’t excuse harm. It does change what the headlines mean for supervised care in a Spravato clinic.
FAQs
If ketamine began as an anesthetic, how can ketamine treatment help my depression?
Great question. Ketamine’s original use in anesthesia is real, and it’s why people know the name. In psychiatric care, it’s used differently: lower doses, careful monitoring, and clear goals for mood and trauma symptoms. Mechanistically, ketamine blocks NMDA receptors and may increase downstream neuroplasticity, while the supervised experience can also support therapeutic change for some patients. That combination is unusual in psychiatry, which is part of why stigma persists – and part of why careful setting and support matter during ketamine therapy.
What’s different in a Spravato clinic from other ketamine sources?
A Spravato/ketamine medical practice sources medicine through known distributors, confirms reliable dosing and non-toxic excipients (things that could be mixed into the medication), reviews your co-medications, and monitors you during and after dosing. Staff are trained to recognize and de-escalate distress, manage expected effects like nausea, and respond to changes in blood pressure or oxygen saturation. That’s why many clinicians prefer that ketamine therapy and Spravato treatment occur within a supervised medical container rather than in non-clinical contexts.
Navigating the Stigma of Ketamine at Lumin Health
If you are carrying heavy stories about ketamine, you’re not alone. Many patients describe a private mix of hope and worry. Ketamine therapy and Spravato treatment are not for everyone, and nobody should pressure you – ever. At Lumin Health, our role is to offer clear information, monitor closely, and support your agency. Relief may be possible. The next step is yours.
