No ketamine is given in Riverview. Ascend runs a single dosing suite, at 27724 Cashford Circle, Suite 102, Wesley Chapel, FL 33544, and we are not going to imply a south Hillsborough treatment room exists when it does not. The medication used there is compounded and not FDA-approved, which this page covers in full below. The psychiatric evaluation that decides whether ketamine fits your case is available by Florida telehealth from home in 33569, 33578 or 33579. Call (813) 670-3005 or book a consultation.
What the evaluation appointment actually consists of
It runs about an hour and it is a psychiatric assessment rather than an intake form with a signature at the end. The first part is a structured history: when the current episode began, what the pattern has looked like over years rather than weeks, whether there have been periods of unusually elevated mood or reduced need for sleep, and what has happened around alcohol, cannabis and other substances. That last set of questions is asked of everyone and is not a judgment; it changes both candidacy and dosing.
The second part is medical. Blood pressure history, cardiac symptoms, current and past medication with doses and dates, thyroid status, pregnancy status where relevant, and a review of anything over the counter. Anna Stouffer holds dual board certification in psychiatric-mental health and family practice, so this happens inside the same appointment instead of being deferred to your primary care office for clearance and returned weeks later.
The third part is baseline measurement and risk assessment, which produces the numbers everything afterward is compared against, followed by the consent conversation. You leave with a recommendation, not a booking. Nobody receives a dose on the same visit as their first assessment, and the gap exists so the plan is built on your history rather than on the momentum of having shown up.
Consent, and what you are actually agreeing to
The consent conversation before a first dose is not a formality and it is deliberately uncomfortable in places. Four things are stated plainly and you sign against them. Ketamine is not FDA-approved to treat depression, PTSD, anxiety, OCD or chronic pain. The preparation used here is compounded, which means no agency has reviewed it for safety, for effectiveness or for manufacturing quality. It is a Schedule III controlled substance with genuine potential for misuse and dependence. And a completed series may produce nothing at all, which is discussed as a real outcome rather than a remote one.
Two further points are covered because patients ask about them afterward rather than beforehand. Nothing is dispensed to take away, so there is no supply in your possession at any point and no prescription to fill; every dose is prepared for in-clinic use and given in the clinic. And dosing frequency is set by the practice and reassessed at each follow-up rather than being available on request, which is a direct consequence of the controlled-substance status rather than a policy preference.
You can stop at any point, including partway through the series, and doing so does not end your care here. Because this is a full psychiatric practice, the conversation about what else to try continues in the same place rather than starting over somewhere new.
Who runs your care, and why the observation window exists
Recovery observation ends when you are cleared rather than at a scheduled time, which is why a session occasionally runs longer than the two hours planned. That window exists because the medication is a Schedule III controlled substance in a compounded preparation that is not FDA-approved, and because vital signs and mental status need to be back at baseline before anyone leaves. It is not a scheduling buffer and it is not shortened on request.
Anna Stouffer, MS, PMHNP-BC, FNP-BC runs the evaluation, sets the dosing plan and reviews your response after each visit, and a trained clinical team member monitors you throughout every session. She is dual board-certified in psychiatric-mental health and family practice, so the medical review that determines candidacy happens in the same appointment rather than as a separate step. Fees are discussed when we call you back rather than posted, since they follow from what the evaluation concludes.
You will not be cleared to drive yourself afterward, and that arrangement is confirmed at check-in before anything is administered rather than taken on trust at discharge. If you are using a rideshare, book it once you are cleared rather than in advance, because the end of the observation window is not something anyone can predict to the minute.
What this medication is, and what it is not approved for
Ketamine is not FDA-approved to treat depression, PTSD, anxiety, OCD, or chronic pain. What Ascend administers is a compounded preparation, put together by a pharmacy rather than manufactured and reviewed as a finished product, and a compounded medication is not FDA-approved for any use at all. The agency has assessed neither its safety, nor its effectiveness, nor its manufacturing quality. That is said here, said again at the evaluation in plain language, and named in the informed consent you sign before a first dose.
Because the preparation is not FDA-approved, two practices follow that are worth knowing when comparing options. Nothing is mailed to your home and no supply is handed to you for self-administration; the agency has published warnings about compounded ketamine shipped for unsupervised use, and refusing to do that is a deliberate position rather than a gap in service. And because ketamine is a Schedule III controlled substance with real potential for misuse and dependence, how often you dose is decided by the clinic and revisited at every follow-up rather than continuing indefinitely.
Ascend does not run nasal-spray or at-home programs. Every dose is a subcutaneous injection given on site with vital signs checked before, during and after, and you stay until the medication has worn off. It is worth repeating that the compounded preparation is not FDA-approved, because that fact is the reason the monitoring is built the way it is rather than an afterthought.
One further limit: most published research used infusion administration rather than the subcutaneous route given here, so the evidence transfers by reasonable inference. We would rather name that than let anyone assume the trials studied precisely what they would receive. Nothing about a positive trial result changes the fact that ketamine is not FDA-approved for these conditions.
What a session involves
Roughly two hours from arrival to discharge. The preparation given is compounded and not FDA-approved, which is why the monitoring around it is fixed rather than optional. Fifteen minutes of check-in and baseline vital signs, a single small subcutaneous injection, forty to sixty minutes of active dose time in a recliner in a private treatment room with an eye mask and headphones available, then twenty to thirty minutes of recovery observation. Blood pressure, heart rate and your general response are watched throughout rather than sampled at intervals.
Most patients describe a dissociative or dreamlike state during the active window: detachment from the body, mild perceptual changes, an altered sense of time, sometimes a floating sensation. That is expected and temporary, which is precisely why nobody is left alone in the room. Nausea, dizziness, brief rises in heart rate or blood pressure, and later fatigue or headache are the usual transient effects and typically settle before you leave.
Who should not do this
Screening exists so that people find out before organizing six afternoons of childcare. Severe or uncontrolled cardiovascular disease, uncontrolled hypertension, active psychosis or a documented primary psychotic disorder, active or untreated substance use disorders, and pregnancy are all reviewed during the evaluation, and any of them can make ketamine inappropriate. Bring a full current medication list including supplements; benzodiazepines are discussed most often, with stimulants, several blood pressure medications and MAOIs also reviewed. The consent you sign names the compounded, not FDA-approved status of the medication alongside its risks and the alternatives.
There is a timing answer too. If first-line medication and therapy have not had a fair trial, if you are in acute crisis, or if you are hoping for a single session rather than a structured series, the honest recommendation is usually that something else comes first. If you are in immediate danger, call or text 988; this is scheduled care, not an emergency service.
Treatment-resistant depression is the primary and most studied indication. PTSD, severe treatment-resistant anxiety, OCD, bipolar depression and select chronic pain conditions are each assessed individually and on thinner evidence. None are treated as certain to respond.
What the research supports
A consensus statement developed with the American Psychiatric Association (Sanacora G, et al., JAMA Psychiatry, 2017) summarizes the evidence base for mood disorders and sets out the clinical considerations that should surround its use. For anxiety, a controlled trial (Glue P, et al., Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2017) reported dose-related reductions in symptom scores among patients with treatment-refractory anxiety disorders, on a smaller and earlier-stage evidence base than the depression research. For PTSD, a randomized controlled trial of repeated administration (Feder A, et al., American Journal of Psychiatry, 2021) reported greater symptom reduction across six doses over two weeks than an active control, though other recent trials have not replicated that result.
These are group findings under research conditions, not forecasts for an individual, and ketamine is not FDA-approved for any of them. Some patients respond, some respond partially, and a genuine minority notice nothing across a full induction series. That outcome gets an honest conversation at follow-up rather than a recommendation to keep going.
Riverview questions
Where exactly would my sessions take place?
No. There is no ketamine dosing suite in Riverview at Ascend, or anywhere else in south Hillsborough. Every session is given at the Wesley Chapel suite, 27724 Cashford Circle, Suite 102. Riverview patients are evaluated through the practice, usually by telehealth, and attend Wesley Chapel only for the dosing sessions themselves.
Can I stay on my current medication through the series?
Usually yes, and stopping something is rarely the right first move. Withdrawing an antidepressant at the same time a new treatment begins makes it impossible to attribute any change to either one, so the default is to leave your regimen alone through the induction series and reassess afterward. Regular benzodiazepine use is the interaction raised most often at the evaluation, and MAOIs, several blood pressure medications and stimulants are checked against your current doses. Whoever prescribes those medications now stays involved rather than being replaced.
What if I feel fine afterward? Can I drive myself then?
No. Feeling alert is not the standard, and the requirement is not waived on the day. Your ride is confirmed at check-in before anything is administered. Judgment and reaction time can be affected after the obvious effects have faded, which is exactly why the rule is absolute rather than discretionary.
How soon would I know whether it is working?
There is no reliable timetable. Some patients notice a change during the first two or three sessions, others only later in the series, and some not at all. Response is tracked before and after every visit rather than assessed once at the end, so the conversation about whether to continue happens with data rather than hope.
Is the evaluation separate from the first dose?
Yes, always. The psychiatric evaluation happens first, takes about an hour, and can be done by Florida telehealth. Nobody receives a dose on the same visit as their first assessment. That gap exists so the recommendation is made on your history rather than on the fact that you already drove up.
Does insurance pay for this?
Generally not for the sessions. Coverage for racemic ketamine is inconsistent and most often out of network, and we do not bill insurance for the ketamine sessions themselves. The psychiatric consultation may be partially covered by in-network psychiatric benefits depending on your plan. Our insurance and payment page covers what can be checked ahead of time.
Nearby service-area pages: Brandon and Valrico. The dosing-day detail lives on the Wesley Chapel ketamine page; the full service overview is at ketamine therapy at Ascend.
References
- Sanacora G, Frye MA, McDonald W, et al. A consensus statement on the use of ketamine in the treatment of mood disorders. JAMA Psychiatry. 2017;74(4):399-405.
- Glue P, Medlicott NJ, Harland S, et al. Ketamine's dose-related effects on anxiety symptoms in patients with treatment refractory anxiety disorders. Journal of Psychopharmacology. 2017;31(10):1302-1305.
- Feder A, Costi S, Rutter SB, et al. A randomized controlled trial of repeated ketamine administration for chronic post-traumatic stress disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2021;178(2):193-202.