Ketamine therapy for St. Petersburg adults is administered at Ascend Mind and Body's Wesley Chapel clinical hub by Anna Stouffer, PMHNP-BC. From St. Pete ZIPs 33701, 33702, 33703, 33704, and 33706 (downtown St. Pete, Vinoy Park area, Bayfront, the St. Pete Pier district, Pasadena), the drive is approximately 50 minutes via I-275 north across the Howard Frankland Bridge, then I-75 north and SR 56 east. The required psychiatric consultation is $320 and is available via Florida telehealth from home. Treatment sessions are in person only. Induction series: $1,500 bundled. Single session: $300. Call (813) 670-3005 or book a consultation.
Multi-day planning for St. Pete patients
St. Pete is one of the two longer-drive Pinellas service areas in this cluster (the other is Clearwater). The Howard Frankland crossing plus the I-75 leg means a one-way trip of around 50 minutes outside rush hour and 70-plus minutes during weekday peaks. Six induction sessions over two to three weeks means twelve one-way trips during the loading phase, which is the reason many St. Pete patients consider a short hotel stay near the Wiregrass corridor rather than crossing the bridge daily.
Hotel clusters near the clinic include the Cypress Creek Town Center area along SR 56 and the Bruce B Downs corridor, both within a 5 to 10 minute drive of Cashford Circle. Residence Inn, Hyatt Place, and Hampton Inn properties operate in the corridor. Two- or three-night stays during the front half of induction is a common pattern.
The four-step protocol
- Psychiatric evaluation (60 minutes, telehealth or in person). Treatment history, current symptoms, medical conditions, prior medication trials at therapeutic doses, and contraindications are reviewed by Anna Stouffer.
- Induction series: six sessions over approximately two to three weeks. Each visit at Wesley Chapel runs about 90 minutes from check-in to discharge.
- Active dose monitoring: 40 to 60 minutes in a recliner in a private treatment room. Anna Stouffer or a trained clinical team member is present and monitoring throughout.
- Maintenance determined by response. Some patients need none, some monthly, some every six to eight weeks. For St. Pete patients in particular the maintenance interval often determines whether the drive remains practical long-term.
You cannot drive yourself home after a session. The Howard Frankland crossing makes ride coordination particularly important: most St. Pete patients arrange a partner or family member to do the round trip, or pair sessions with a planned hotel night nearby.
Conditions ketamine is evaluated for
Each indication is assessed case by case. None are guaranteed to respond.
- Treatment-resistant depression: primary indication.
- PTSD: off-label, after trauma-focused therapy and first-line medications.
- Severe anxiety: presentations resistant to standard pharmacological treatment.
- OCD: off-label, after first-line ERP and SSRI trials.
- Bipolar depression: evaluated carefully.
- Chronic pain: CRPS and neuropathic pain, off-label and adjunctive.
If you are in crisis, call or text 988. Ketamine therapy is not an emergency intervention.
Your provider
Anna Stouffer, MS, PMHNP-BC, FNP-BC, dual board certified in psychiatric-mental health and family practice, runs every ketamine evaluation, every dosing session, and every follow-up at Ascend Wesley Chapel. Anna's full provider bio.
Why subcutaneous, not infusion
Tampa Bay's ketamine market is primarily IV. Ascend uses subcutaneous (SubQ) racemic ketamine: a small needle into the subcutaneous tissue. SubQ produces a smoother, more predictable onset than oral routes with substantially less infrastructure than IV. The structural difference that matters more than the route: every dose is determined by your response, every session is monitored by the same provider, and the protocol is reassessed after each visit.
Pricing
- Initial psychiatric consultation: $320
- Six-session induction series (bundled rate): $1,500
- Single ketamine session (if paid per visit): $300
Insurance coverage for racemic ketamine is variable and most often out-of-network. The psychiatric consultation may be partially covered by in-network psychiatric benefits depending on your plan. We will not bill insurance for the ketamine sessions themselves.
What the research shows
Ketamine has been an FDA-approved anesthetic since the 1970s. Lower-dose psychiatric use is administered off-label. The medication is an NMDA receptor antagonist that modulates glutamate, a distinct pathway from the serotonin and norepinephrine systems most antidepressants target.
An American Psychiatric Association consensus statement (Sanacora G, et al., JAMA Psychiatry, 2017) summarized the evidence base for ketamine in mood disorders and described the framework for safe clinical use, including patient selection, monitoring, and dose-titration considerations. A randomized dose-frequency study of repeated intravenous ketamine for treatment-resistant depression (Singh JB, et al., American Journal of Psychiatry, 2016) reported significantly greater symptom reduction in the active arm versus placebo. Group averages are not promises. Individual responses vary, and not every patient responds.
Safety and side effects
Most effects are transient and resolve before discharge: temporary dizziness or nausea, mild and short-term increases in heart rate and blood pressure, brief perceptual changes or mild euphoria during the dose window, occasional headache or fatigue. Ketamine is a Schedule III controlled substance administered only under medical supervision.
Where St. Pete patients are treated
Treatment happens at Ascend Mind and Body, 27724 Cashford Circle, Suite 102, Wesley Chapel, FL 33544. From downtown St. Pete (33701) and the Vinoy Park / Bayfront area, the route is I-275 north across the Howard Frankland, then I-75 north to SR 56 east. Free parking, ground-floor suite. Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Adjacent service-area pages: ketamine therapy in Clearwater (Memorial Causeway, Pier 60, Coachman Park) and ketamine therapy in Tampa. The in-person treatment hub: Wesley Chapel.
FAQs about ketamine therapy in St. Petersburg
Is the I-275 drive bad during rush hour?
The Howard Frankland is the bottleneck. Northbound morning rush (7:30 to 9:00 AM) and southbound afternoon rush (4:30 to 6:30 PM) commonly add 20 to 40 minutes. Mid-morning or early afternoon sessions are the best window. Once you clear the bridge, I-275 to I-75 to SR 56 is usually clean.
Should I stay near Wesley Chapel for the induction?
Many St. Pete patients do. A two- or three-night hotel stay near Cypress Creek Town Center or Wiregrass cuts the bridge-crossing burden in half during the front half of induction. The decision is purely logistical; the clinical protocol is identical either way.
What hotels are close to the clinic?
Residence Inn, Hyatt Place, and Hampton Inn properties operate in the Cypress Creek Town Center and Bruce B Downs corridor, all within 5 to 10 minutes of Cashford Circle. Suite-style rooms make multi-day stays easier. We can share specific recommendations during scheduling.
Are there closer ketamine providers in Pinellas?
Yes, several IV ketamine clinics operate in Pinellas County. The two reasons St. Pete patients we have served chose Ascend despite the drive: a single provider (Anna Stouffer) runs every session rather than a rotating tech model, and the protocol is subcutaneous rather than IV. Both are personal-fit decisions; some patients reasonably choose a closer Pinellas option.
What does a session feel like?
Most patients describe a dissociative or dreamlike state during the active dose: detachment from the body, mild visual changes, sometimes a floating sensation. Effects of the active medication wear off within one to two hours. Anna Stouffer or a trained clinical team member is monitoring throughout.
Is ketamine addictive?
Ketamine has potential for misuse, which is why it is classified as a Schedule III controlled substance. In a supervised clinical setting with structured dosing, the risk is managed.
For the full clinical picture across all Ascend ketamine services, see our subcutaneous ketamine protocol overview.
Sources
- 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. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.0080.
- Singh JB, Fedgchin M, Daly EJ, et al. A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, dose-frequency study of intravenous ketamine in patients with treatment-resistant depression. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2016;173(8):816-826. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.16010037.