Ketamine for OCD: Could This Innovative OCD Treatment Help You?

Written by Colter Bloxom, LPC

Colter is a licensed psychotherapist and the owner and Executive Director of Thrive Therapy. He specializes in the treatment of anxiety, OCD, identity issues, and more.

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Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can be exhausting to live with. And if you live with treatment-resistant OCD — or OCD symptoms that haven’t gone away with first-choice treatments like medication and therapy — then you might start to feel even more discouraged. Ketamine therapy for OCD offers hope.

Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy combines the powerful benefits of ketamine, an anesthetic and hallucinogen, with talk therapy to help you overcome OCD symptoms and get back to feeling like yourself again.

Does ketamine for OCD work? 

OCD is a mental health condition that causes two main symptoms: obsessions and compulsions. 

Obsessions are intrusive thoughts or mental images that keep popping into your head, like fears of contamination or harming someone. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors or rituals you feel like you have to do to help ease that distress — like washing your hands over and over, checking over your own memories, or repeating certain phrases in your mind. 

For many people, these symptoms take up hours each day and can make life feel terrifying and exhausting.

Most medication-based treatments for OCD focus on serotonin, a chemical in your brain that helps regulate mood and anxiety. And a type of therapy called exposure and response prevention (ERP) has been found to be very helpful. But not everyone gets better with these treatments alone. This is called treatment-resistant or treatment-refractory OCD. 

If this has been your experience, then ketamine for OCD could be worth considering.

Ketamine treatment for OCD: What the research says

Ketamine affects a different chemical system in the brain that’s involved in learning and flexibility, called the glutamate system. Some researchers believe that this system plays a role in how “stuck” obsessive thoughts can feel. Ketamine affects glutamate in a different way than typical antidepressants, which is why it's being explored as a new form of OCD treatment.

When people with OCD receive ketamine infusion therapy — a low dose of the drug through an IV — many report that the obsessive thoughts feel less intense or urgent. In one review of multiple small studies, OCD symptoms dropped by nearly 50% within the first hour of receiving ketamine. Some people described feeling like they had more mental space, or that they could resist compulsions more easily than usual.

Some studies also noted a short-term improvement in mood for those who had both OCD and depression. This is significant, because over 60% of people with OCD could also live with depression.

But some smaller studies also show that these benefits of a ketamine dose alone could start diminishing for some people after just a short time.

This is one reason why some clinics, like Thrive, combine ketamine with therapy. The short window of relief that comes from a ketamine dose might make it easier to do deeper therapeutic work. This is why a ketamine-assisted therapy program (instead of just a ketamine dose) is so important.

Most of the research so far has involved just one ketamine session at a time, with only a few small follow-up studies exploring multiple treatments or combining it with therapy. Some people respond well; others don’t notice much of a change. And it’s not yet clear whether different forms of ketamine — like the S-ketamine used in some nasal sprays — work better than others. 

So while ketamine may help treat OCD in some cases, researchers are still trying to figure out who it helps, how often it should be used, and what kinds of support should go along with it.

But for many people, it’s been life-changing.

Will ketamine cure my OCD?

Unfortunately, there’s no miracle cure for OCD — not even ketamine. OCD is a chronic condition, which means it needs to be managed forever. But ketamine-assisted therapy, along with other treatment methods, can provide relief. Life doesn’t need to be this hard forever.

The effect of ketamine on OCD appears strongest when symptoms are severe or treatment-resistant. For example, in one case study, a patient with severe treatment-resistant OCD experienced significant relief from his symptoms, as well as reduced suicidal ideation.

Unfortunately, some OCD symptoms could return after a ketamine session, if you only receive one dose without therapy. Many researchers believe that ketamine could open a small window of time that allows a chance to engage in therapy with less anxiety and fewer repetitive behaviors. But without continued support or a treatment plan that includes behavioral therapy, the benefits might not last.

Is ketamine FDA-approved for OCD?

Ketamine is not currently FDA-approved to treat OCD. Ketamine (in its nasal spray form, esketamine) is approved for treatment-resistant depression, but not for anxiety disorders or OCD specifically.

But many clinics offer ketamine infusions and dosages off-label for OCD, meaning they use the drug in a way that’s not yet officially approved but is supported by research. If you’re considering ketamine as a treatment option, it’s important to work with a provider who understands how to treat OCD — not just depression — and can offer concurrent therapy, especially ERP.

How long does ketamine last for OCD?

We don’t have enough research yet on how long the effects of ketamine last for OCD symptoms, specifically. For depression, the effects of one ketamine dose tend to last from a few days to around two weeks. Without repeat doses or ongoing therapy, the effect of ketamine is often short-lived.

There’s some early evidence that combining ketamine with cognitive behavioral therapy may make the benefits last longer. One study found that people who engaged in CBT after their infusion felt better for a longer time after their infusion than those who didn’t participate in therapy.

Where to find ketamine therapy for OCD near me

If you’re looking for ketamine treatment for OCD, Thrive offers a specialized ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) program that’s built with mental health in mind — not just temporary symptom reduction. All of our providers are trained and licensed in the use of ketamine to treat mental health conditions, and each ketamine session includes integration support to help you process the experience and use it as a launch point for lasting therapeutic change.

KAP at Thrive is not a quick fix — but it can create momentum when other treatments haven’t worked. If you're dealing with severe OCD, treatment-resistant depression, or trauma symptoms that are making daily life feel unmanageable, our team is here to help you take the next step.

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