Treatment for depression, anxiety and more: Opening new pathways to healing with Desert Sands Ketamine

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CONTRIBUTED CONTENT — At Desert Sands Ketamine Treatment Center in St. George, Dr. Eric Evans is exploring the new frontier of using ketamine infusion therapy to address depression and other mood disorders.

Stock image | Photo by kieferpix/iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

Desert Sands Ketamine offers a spa-like, comfortable healing environment with compassionate staff who are dedicated to helping patients achieve the best results possible. Recognized as the Best of Southern Utah, the clinic won silver in the behavioral and mental health treatment category for 2022 and gold in alternative therapies last year.

As a native of the St. George area, Evans said his desire to improve mental health in the community truly comes from his heart.

“There’s a huge need in Southern Utah,” he added. “I just want to help as many people as I can.”

The history of ketamine

A highly effective painkiller and dissociative anesthetic, ketamine has been used in medicine for nearly half a century to sedate patients before surgery. However, researchers have only begun to study its role in brain chemistry within the past decade. When administered in therapeutic doses via IV infusion, the effects on emotional well-being are profound. 

Evans has administered ketamine to thousands of patients over his nearly 30-year career as a board-certified anesthesiologist. Before opening Desert Sands Ketamine, he spent 18 months researching the safety and addiction potential of using ketamine for mental health disorders as well as visiting other successful ketamine clinics across the country.

“It’s a whole new way of thinking about treating major depressive disorder and other mental health issues,” he said. “I’ve never been this excited about the possibilities of a medicine.” 

Balancing brain chemistry

The treatment of depression and other mental health disorders is a difficult undertaking. Most of the patients who come to Desert Sands Ketamine have already tried various methods and medications with little, if any, improvement. But ketamine is different. 

Interior of the Desert Sands Ketamine Treatment Center, St. George, Utah, date not specified | Photo courtesy of Desert Sands Ketamine Treatment Center, St. George News

Unlike traditional antidepressants, which typically target the brain’s serotonin receptors, ketamine works within the glutamate system. It boosts levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein that plays an essential role in stabilizing mood. Evans pointed to a research study conducted by Yale University on patients with treatment-resistant depression that demonstrated a success rate of 70%, nearly double that of antidepressants.

Offering proven success and lasting results, ketamine is nothing short of a “wonder drug” for treatment-resistant depression and other mental health disorders. Evans also uses ketamine to improve quality of life for chronic pain sufferers. Patients experience rapid pain relief combined with a boost in mood that helps regulate the emotional imbalances that often accompany pain disorders. 

Opening new pathways

People living with depression and other mental health disorders often describe feeling stuck, Evans said. Ketamine lays the foundation to reshape detrimental thought and behavior patterns. It repairs damaged neural connections in the brain’s prefrontal cortex and enables the formation of new, healthy pathways.

Unresolved trauma manifesting as depression and/or anxiety is another common thread among ketamine patients. By targeting the area of the brain that helps regulate moods and emotions in the conscious mind, ketamine assists with working through the mental blockages that often surround traumatic memories. In many cases, counseling becomes more effective as patients can discuss painful emotions with greater clarity. 

“Ketamine can really help open a patient’s mind to be more receptive, helping them change their way of thinking about a particular topic,” Evans said. “It’s very difficult to get outside of ourselves and be open to new suggestions and looking at issues in a different way, and that’s what this therapy is really great at.”

Real patients, life-changing results

Desert Sands Ketamine is bringing hope and healing to patients living with treatment-resistant depression and other mental health disorders. One such patient is Anita, who has been plagued with bipolar depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and suicidal ideations for nearly 25 years. With her family relationships nearing the breaking point, she reached out.

Dr. Eric Evans and Shannon Evans, owners of Desert Sands Medical Clinics, St. George, Utah, date not specified | Photo by Sheldon Demke, St. George News

“It is an inexpressible process now to truly convey my thoughts as to how successful my treatments were! My bipolar outbursts are calmed immensely, and the depressive feeling of a dark and dismal existence have all but subsided,” she added. “I only wish that others could experience this hope and happiness that I enjoy at this time.”

“Desert Sands is the most thorough and comfortable ketamine clinic I have ever been to,” another patient, D.B., said. “They really know how to deliver a calm and healing treatment. I’m doing better than I’ve ever been, and it’s in huge part thanks to them.”

At Desert Sands Ketamine, the patient experience always begins with a free consultation to discuss their issues and determine if ketamine infusion therapy is right for them. Infusions are tailored to suit each person’s needs for maximum success. The clinic also provides resources for improving all aspects of well-being, including dietary guidance, meditation, massage therapy, relationship counseling and talk therapy. 

“Every person has such a unique story and set of issues that they’re dealing with,” Evans said. “We try to use a complete approach to each patient.”

For more information or to schedule a free consultation, visit the Desert Sands Ketamine Treatment Center website or call 435-522-5190.

Written by ALEXA MORGAN for St. George News.

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