Wesley Chapel is Ascend Mind and Body's ketamine clinical hub. Every ketamine session for every Ascend patient in Florida happens at this one suite at 27724 Cashford Circle, Suite 102, off SR 54 near the Shops at Wiregrass. Anna Stouffer, PMHNP-BC runs every consultation, every dosing session, and every follow-up. The protocol is subcutaneous racemic ketamine, administered in person under continuous clinical monitoring. Pricing is transparent: $320 initial psychiatric consultation, $1,500 for the six-session induction bundle, $300 per single session. Call (813) 670-3005 or book a consultation.
If you found this page, you have probably already done the research: read about response rates, looked up the literature, weighed cost against potential benefit, considered whether the drive to Wesley Chapel makes sense from wherever you live. The honest framing: if you have tried two or more antidepressants at therapeutic doses without adequate relief, ketamine therapy is a real treatment option with real evidence behind it, and it is worth a structured psychiatric evaluation with someone who will be straight about what it can and cannot do.
Your provider: Anna Stouffer, PMHNP-BC
Anna Stouffer, MS, PMHNP-BC, FNP-BC is the dual-board-certified psychiatric-mental health and family nurse practitioner who runs the ketamine program at Ascend. Every evaluation, every dosing session, every adjustment to your protocol between visits is hers. This is not a high-volume infusion mill where a tech rotates between rooms; the provider monitoring your dose window is the same provider who reviewed your history and the same one who will see you for the follow-up. Anna's full provider bio.
Because Anna is part of Ascend's broader psychiatry team, if ketamine is not the right fit after the consultation, your psychiatric treatment plan can be adjusted within the same practice rather than starting a referral chain.
Who ketamine therapy is for
Each indication below is assessed case by case. None are guaranteed to respond. The primary population the literature supports is adults with treatment-resistant depression.
- Treatment-resistant depression (TRD): defined as failure to respond adequately to two or more antidepressant medications at therapeutic doses. The single largest indication.
- PTSD: off-label, after trauma-focused therapy and first-line medications have not produced sufficient relief.
- Severe and treatment-resistant anxiety: generalized anxiety presentations that have not responded to standard pharmacological treatment.
- OCD: off-label, after first-line ERP and SSRI trials.
- Bipolar depression: evaluated carefully; bipolar presentations require additional clinical assessment.
- Chronic pain syndromes: CRPS and neuropathic pain, off-label and adjunctive, evaluated case by case.
If you are in crisis, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Ketamine therapy is not an emergency intervention.
The four-step clinical protocol
Step 1: Psychiatric evaluation
Your first appointment is a thorough psychiatric evaluation, either in person at Wesley Chapel or via Florida telehealth. Anna reviews your treatment history, current symptoms, medical conditions, current medications, and any contraindications. The criterion the literature supports most directly is treatment resistance: at least two adequate medication trials without adequate response. If ketamine is not appropriate, you will hear that during the consult and Anna will discuss alternatives within the same practice.
Step 2: Induction series (six sessions)
The standard induction is six sessions over approximately two to three weeks. Each session at Wesley Chapel runs about 90 minutes from check-in to discharge:
- Pre-session check (10 to 15 minutes): vitals, symptom check, any concerns since the last session.
- Active dose (40 to 60 minutes): subcutaneous racemic ketamine administered with you in a recliner in a private treatment room. The space is quiet and dimly lit. Anna or a trained clinical team member monitors you continuously.
- Recovery observation (20 to 30 minutes): you stay until alert and stable. Common transient effects during this window include dizziness, mild nausea, and a dissociative or dreamlike feeling.
You cannot drive yourself home after a session. Arrange a ride in advance.
Step 3: Mechanism (why it is administered this way)
Ketamine is an NMDA receptor antagonist that modulates glutamate, a distinct pathway from the serotonin and norepinephrine systems most antidepressants target. The medication is FDA-approved as an anesthetic; its lower-dose use for adults with treatment-resistant depression and a small set of related conditions is administered off-label, meaning a clinician may legally prescribe it within the standard of care but it is not specifically FDA-approved for psychiatric use. Ascend uses subcutaneous (SubQ) racemic ketamine: a small needle into the subcutaneous tissue, with pharmacokinetics that are smoother and more predictable than oral routes and substantially less infrastructure than IV.
Step 4: Maintenance
After the induction, Anna evaluates your response and discusses a maintenance schedule, if appropriate. Some patients require none. Some come monthly. Some maintain every six to eight weeks. The interval depends on your response trajectory and is reassessed over time.
Clinical disclosures
- Racemic ketamine is used off-label for depression, PTSD, anxiety, OCD, bipolar depression, and chronic pain. It is not specifically FDA-approved for these uses.
- Ketamine is a Schedule III controlled substance. It is administered only under medical supervision at the Wesley Chapel clinic. Long-term unmonitored or recreational ketamine use carries documented risks, including bladder and urinary tract dysfunction.
- Clinical research suggests ketamine may produce improvement in depressive symptoms in some patients. Individual responses vary. Not every patient responds.