Waybridge Ketamine Clinics

Innovative Treatment for Depression

By Angella Arndt

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According to the National Institute of Mental Health, major depression “is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States. For some individuals, major depression can result in severe impairments that interfere or limit one’s ability to carry out major life activities.” For people who are still struggling with depression despite traditional treatment, Waybridge Ketamine Clinics offers an innovative treatment option.

Waybridge Ketamine Clinics provides intravenous ketamine therapy, a treatment alternative that is gaining attention because of its effectiveness in reducing depression symptoms and its low risk of side effects. Ketamine can also improve symptoms for people suffering from anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and chronic pain. 

Leslie Koenig began her career as a commissioned officer in the United States Navy and earned her MD at Loyola University in Chicago. She worked as an emergency room physician at Methodist Hospital for several years before deciding to establish an intravenous ketamine clinic. “I loved the emergency room, but we provided reactive treatment in that setting,” she recalls. “I wanted to practice integrative medicine.” 

She had begun researching how to open her own practice when she received a serendipitous phone call from a former Navy colleague. He said that he had seen ketamine work wonders and asked if she might be interested in opening a ketamine clinic. He helped her through the process, and Waybridge Ketamine Clinics opened in September 2023. 

Ketamine was first used in the 1960s as a safer anesthetic alternative and was approved by the Federal Drug Administration in 1970 as a general anesthetic. Ketamine is on the World Health Organization’s Model List of Essential Medicines. Dr. Koenig shares that ketamine has been proven to be safe and effective, but many medical practitioners are not familiar with its use in treating depression. 

Traditional treatment options for depression include psychotherapy and taking anti-depressants. Standard anti-depressants like serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are slow-acting drugs that increase the level of serotonin to ease depression. Although these treatments work for many people, some experience marginal or no improvement in their symptoms. This is known as treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

“Depression is a disease of the mind in which there are decreased connections. Ketamine stimulates the growth of neuronal connections to re-establish lost connections,” Dr. Koenig explains. Multiple studies have shown that ketamine is effective in addressing treatment-resistant depression and other related mood disorders. “Ketamine is an old medicine with a new purpose. It is the only rapid-acting anti-depressant.”

As an emergency room physician, Dr. Koenig dealt with mental health problems every day. As a combat veteran deployed to Afghanistan, she lost colleagues to suicide. “I see the mental health crisis every day,” she says, “and my driving force is to prevent suicides. Ketamine works, and it can transform lives.” 

Waybridge Ketamine Clinics is the only local practice focused solely on intravenous ketamine. “We put our patients at the center of care and use a physician-led, integrative approach,” says Dr. Koenig. “Ketamine is a potent drug that requires expertise.” She notes the importance of a team approach that involves a patient’s primary care physician, mental health provider, and family in developing an appropriate treatment plan. 

Potential patients participate in a free video consultation to review their medical and family history, receive answers to questions, and see if they qualify for treatment. “We want to set patients up for success when they first come in,” Dr. Koenig emphasizes. She reviews medical records and collaborates with a patient’s healthcare team to make sure everyone is on the same page. 

Dr. Koenig works with patients to set goals before beginning treatment. Each session is different, and goals are aligned with those of the patient’s therapist. “Therapy is like snorkeling through the mind—you can dive for short periods,” Dr. Koenig muses. “Ketamine is like a scuba tank. You can dive in to shed light on the dark corners of the mind. You can look from a safe place, in a protected setting.” 

The treatments are either twice a week for two weeks for chronic pain or twice a week for three weeks for mood disorders. Chronic pain infusions are 2 to 4 hours long, while mood disorder infusions last 40 minutes. 

Dr. Koenig loves to hear that patients feel like themselves again. She thanks the family members who are amazing advocates for their loved ones and provide an important support system. “It is rewarding to heal people who have been suffering for a long time,” she concludes. “We literally get to change people’s lives.”

Waybridge Ketamine Clinics is located at 17021 Lakeside Hills Plaza, Suite 203, in Omaha. The office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Saturday by appointment. Call 402-965-1371 to schedule a consultation or find them online at waybridgeclinics.com. 

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