Treatment-Resistant Depression • PTSD • Anxiety • OCD • Guided Journey
Ketamine Therapy in Phoenix & Scottsdale — IM Guided Journey Sessions for Depression, PTSD & Anxiety
Medically supervised intramuscular (IM) ketamine therapy in a structured guided journey format — curated music, eye shades, licensed guide present throughout every session, and integration coaching after each. For treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, anxiety, and OCD. Free discovery call. Intake $250, credited toward your package.
How Ketamine Works — Why It’s Different
Ketamine works through a fundamentally different neurological mechanism than SSRIs or traditional antidepressants — which is why it can produce effects within hours rather than weeks. Here’s the neuroscience behind it.
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic used safely in medical settings for over 50 years. At sub-anesthetic therapeutic doses, it produces a neurobiological effect that no conventional psychiatric medication replicates: rapid-onset neuroplasticity through glutamatergic mechanisms.
Conventional Antidepressants vs. Ketamine
SSRIs, SNRIs, and most antidepressants work by modulating monoamine neurotransmitters — serotonin and norepinephrine. They require weeks to months to produce effects, and roughly 30–50% of patients do not achieve adequate response even after multiple trials. Ketamine works via NMDA receptor antagonism in the glutamatergic system — the brain’s primary excitatory network. This is a fundamentally different mechanism that is independent of what has not previously worked.
BDNF, mTOR, and Synaptogenesis
Ketamine’s NMDA antagonism triggers a rapid surge in BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) and activates mTOR signaling pathways that stimulate synaptogenesis — the rapid formation of new synaptic connections in key neural circuits. New synaptic connections mean new patterns of thought, emotion, and response — effectively resetting the neural pathways that chronic depression, trauma, and anxiety have rigidified. Antidepressant effects can begin within hours of the first session.
The Neuroplasticity Window — Why Integration Matters
Ketamine is not a cure — it is a powerful neurobiological tool that opens a window of heightened neuroplasticity during which therapeutic work can produce changes that outlast the ketamine itself. This is why the guided journey structure and integration support at Beso are not optional add-ons. They determine whether a ketamine experience produces lasting benefit or temporary relief. Research consistently shows significantly better outcomes in structured, supported protocols than in purely clinical infusion settings.
Response Rates in Treatment-Resistant Depression
For patients with treatment-resistant depression, ketamine response rates of 50–70% are consistently reported in clinical research — compared to 20–30% for next-line conventional medications.
Conditions Ketamine Therapy May Help
Treatment-Resistant Depression
Strongest Evidence
The strongest evidence base for ketamine therapy — defined as inadequate response to two or more antidepressant treatments at adequate dose and duration. Approximately 30% of major depression patients meet this definition. For these patients, ketamine works through a mechanism entirely independent of what has not worked before. Meta-analyses consistently report 50–70% rapid antidepressant response rates in TRD populations.
MDD with Suicidal Ideation
Urgent Application
Ketamine’s most clinically urgent application. Its ability to rapidly reduce suicidal ideation — sometimes within 24 hours of a single session — has been demonstrated in multiple controlled studies and represents one of the few psychiatric interventions with this rapid timeline. This application requires careful clinical assessment and coordination with the patient’s broader care team.
PTSD
PTSD involves the consolidation of traumatic memories in ways that make them persistently intrusive and resistant to standard therapeutic processing. Ketamine’s neuroplasticity-promoting effects support the reprocessing and recontextualization of traumatic memory — temporarily loosening rigid trauma encoding while opening a window during which therapeutic processing is more accessible. The combination of ketamine’s biological effects and structured integration work is the therapeutic mechanism.
Anxiety Disorders
GAD, social anxiety disorder, and treatment-resistant panic disorder. Ketamine’s effects on the glutamatergic system — which plays a central role in fear learning and extinction — provide a neurobiological rationale for anxiolytic effects beyond what monoamine-targeting medications achieve. For patients with anxiety not responding to SSRIs, SNRIs, or first-line treatments, ketamine may offer a meaningful alternative.
OCD
OCD involves pathological loops in cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits that are notoriously treatment-resistant. Ketamine’s NMDA antagonism interrupts these loops and the glutamatergic signaling that maintains them, producing rapid OCD symptom reduction in some patients. Evidence is more limited than for depression and PTSD but growing. Candidacy assessed at consultation.
Chronic Pain with Psychological Component
Chronic pain and depression are frequently co-morbid and share overlapping neural substrates. Ketamine’s original primary medical use is as an anesthetic and analgesic — it has well-established efficacy for complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), fibromyalgia, and chronic pain with a significant central sensitization component. Patients with both chronic pain and psychological symptoms may find ketamine addresses both simultaneously.
In Crisis? Get Help Now
Ketamine therapy is a scheduled outpatient treatment — it is not emergency care. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis or having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, please reach out for immediate support:
The Guided Journey Experience at Beso
Ketamine therapy at Beso is not a clinical infusion room experience. Research consistently shows outcomes are significantly better in structured, supported protocols — because the content of the psychological experience during ketamine’s neuroplasticity window shapes which new neural connections form and in what direction.
Before Your Session
Your guide or therapist checks in — reviewing your current state, your intentions for the session, and any concerns. Arriving with a clear intention is one of the most consistent predictors of meaningful ketamine session outcomes.
The Treatment Environment
You recline comfortably in a dedicated private treatment space — not a clinical procedure room. Soft lighting, carefully chosen textures. Eye shades are provided to reduce visual stimulation and encourage internal focus — the ketamine experience at therapeutic doses is predominantly internal.
Curated Sound Experience
Music is specifically selected for therapeutic ketamine journeys — guiding the arc of the session from opening through depth to gentle return, without directing the content of the experience itself. Sound is a primary tool of every guided journey session at Beso.
Guide Present Throughout
A licensed guide or therapist is present in the room for the duration of every session. Their role is not to direct your experience — but to ensure you feel safe, to be present if you need grounding or reassurance, and to witness the session in a way that supports later integration.
Session Duration
Each intramuscular (IM) guided journey session lasts approximately 60–90 minutes, following the same comprehensive guided journey protocol every time.
Integration Coaching After Every Session
Integration is the process of working with what emerged — the insights, emotions, and perspectives that arose — to translate them into lasting change. Without deliberate integration work, therapeutic effects fade faster. Integration coaching at Beso is a structured core component, not a brief check-in.
The Ketamine Therapy Process at Beso — Step by Step
Free Discovery Call
A 20–30 minute call with the Beso team to discuss your mental health history, what has and hasn’t worked in previous treatments, your goals for ketamine therapy, and whether you appear to be a suitable candidate. Free. No obligation. Many questions about the process and protocol can be answered at this stage.
Initial In-Person Intake — $250 (Credited Toward Package)
Comprehensive medical and psychological assessment covering your full mental health history, current medications, contraindication screening, diagnosis, treatment history, and specific goals. Your provider designs your individualized protocol — session frequency, dosing, and integration framework. The $250 intake fee is credited toward your package cost if you proceed.
Your Ketamine Therapy Series
The standard evidence-based protocol is 6 sessions over 2–3 weeks — typically 3 sessions in the first week and 3 in the second. Some patients begin with a 4-session introductory series to assess response before committing to the full course. Sessions are scheduled at your convenience within the recommended frequency guidelines.
Integration Between Sessions
Between sessions, integration coaching helps you work with what arose in the previous journey — journaling exercises, somatic practices, structured reflection designed to anchor the insights of the ketamine experience into daily life. Integration is not passive — it requires active engagement with what the medicine surfaced.
Response Assessment and Maintenance
After the initial series, your provider assesses response using validated depression, anxiety, or PTSD scales and your own reported experience. Patients who respond well typically schedule maintenance sessions every 4–8 weeks to sustain benefits. Some patients find the initial series produces durable benefit without maintenance; the appropriate schedule is determined collaboratively.
Who Is a Good Candidate?
| May Be a Good Candidate | Requires Careful Evaluation |
|---|---|
| Treatment-resistant depression — inadequate response to 2+ antidepressants | Uncontrolled hypertension or active cardiovascular instability |
| Depression with suicidal ideation requiring rapid intervention | Current or history of psychosis or untreated mania |
| PTSD not responding to therapy or medication | Active substance use disorder involving dissociatives or ketamine |
| Anxiety disorders not responding to first-line treatment | Uncontrolled thyroid disease |
| Chronic pain with significant psychological component | Pregnancy or breastfeeding |
| Willing to engage fully in integration work between sessions | Unwilling or unable to arrange transport home (required after every session) |
Combination Protocols
Ketamine + ExoMind TMS — Comprehensive Neural Treatment
Beso offers both ketamine therapy and ExoMind TMS for treatment-resistant depression and related conditions. TMS works through a fundamentally different mechanism — repetitive magnetic pulses directly stimulate underactive neural circuits — and has its own strong evidence base. For patients with complex treatment histories, a coordinated program using ketamine’s neuroplasticity-promoting effects alongside TMS’s direct circuit stimulation represents Beso’s most comprehensive non-pharmaceutical neurological approach to mood and mental health.
Ketamine + NAD+ IV — Mitochondrial and Neurological Optimization
NAD+ IV supports cellular energy production, DNA repair, and sirtuin activation — the same mitochondrial pathways that decline in depression and neurological stress. Ketamine promotes synaptogenesis; NAD+ IV provides the cellular energy substrate that new synaptic growth requires. For patients using ketamine as part of a broader neurological optimization program, NAD+ IV between sessions supports the cellular environment in which the new neural connections are being formed.
Ketamine + Neurogenic Peptides — Full Neuroplasticity Protocol
Neurogenic peptides — Semax, Selank, BPC-157 — target BDNF upregulation, neuroprotection, neuroplasticity, and anxiety regulation through specific CNS pathways. Ketamine therapy produces an acute surge in BDNF and opens a neuroplasticity window; neurogenic peptides can maintain elevated BDNF and continued neuroplastic stimulus between sessions. For patients committed to comprehensive neurological support alongside their ketamine program, the combination addresses both the acute therapeutic window and the ongoing neurobiological environment.
Pricing
| Service | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free Discovery Call | FREE | 20–30 min — no obligation or commitment required |
| Initial In-Person Intake | $250 | Comprehensive medical & psychological assessment — credited toward package cost |
| Single Maintenance Session | $600 | 60–90 min intramuscular guided journey — ideal for sustaining benefit after the initial series |
| Guided Journey — Package of 4 Sessions | $2,200 | $550/session • Introductory series to assess response • Full guided journey format every session |
| Guided Journey — Package of 6 Sessions | $3,000 | $500/session • Standard evidence-based course • Full guided journey protocol every session |
Your Providers
Naomi Fayzulayev
Founder • Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner
Naomi is a board-certified family nurse practitioner with 15+ years of nursing experience — specifically in rehab, wellness, regenerative medicine, medical aesthetics, hair restoration, and home health. She holds multiple certifications, including functional medicine, hormone optimization, regenerative medicine, and pain management.
Leah Fayzulayev, BSN, RN
Registered Nurse
Leah Fayzulayev, BSN, RN, has been with Beso Wellness and Beauty since day one. She is committed to lifelong education and is passionate about learning new techniques through trainings, conferences, and extensive educational courses.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ketamine therapy and how does it work?
What conditions does ketamine therapy treat?
What is included in the guided journey experience at Beso?
How much does ketamine therapy cost in Phoenix?
How many ketamine sessions are needed?
Is ketamine therapy safe?
What is ketamine integration and why is it important?
How do I get started with ketamine therapy at Beso?
Why Choose Beso for Ketamine Therapy in Phoenix
Full Guided Journey Every Session
Every session includes curated music, eye shades, a licensed guide present throughout, and integration coaching after. The protocol is designed to maximize what the medicine can do, not just to administer it.
Intramuscular Guided Journey Format
Beso delivers ketamine via intramuscular (IM) injection in 60–90 minute guided journey sessions — a well-established, widely used method paired with our full therapeutic environment and integration support.
Free Discovery Call — No Commitment
An honest conversation about your history and goals before any financial commitment. We will tell you if ketamine therapy doesn’t appear to be the right fit — and, if so, what else to consider.
Intake Fee Credited to Package
The $250 intake fee is credited toward your package cost. You only pay it separately if you choose not to proceed with a package after completing the assessment.
Comprehensive Combination Protocols
Ketamine is most powerful within a comprehensive neurological support program. At Beso, it can be coordinated with ExoMind TMS, NAD+ IV, and neurogenic peptides for patients seeking maximal neurological support.
Convenient North Phoenix Location
Near Desert Ridge Marketplace, Mayo Clinic campus, and the 101 & 51 interchange. Serving Phoenix, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, and the greater North Phoenix region. Free parking in front of the clinic.
Locations Served
Beso Wellness & Beauty — Phoenix, AZ
4731 E Union Hills Dr # 114, Phoenix, AZ 85050
Mon–Thu 9AM–5PM • Fri 9AM–2PM
Serving Phoenix, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Arcadia, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Glendale, Peoria, Cave Creek, Fountain Hills, and the greater Desert Ridge area. Near Desert Ridge Marketplace, Mayo Clinic Campus, and the 101 & 51 interchange. Free parking in front of the clinic. Call 480-447-8166 or book online to schedule your free discovery call.
