FORT MYERS, Fla. (WBBH) — Michael Childress will never forget the day — the moment — when he stopped just short of suicide.
“Literally had my shotgun in the mouth. Finger on the trigger,” Childress recalled. “For whatever reason, I stopped.”
That was not long after a traumatic experience he suffered while serving in the Navy. He’s carried that trauma with him in the decades since then.
“Depression sets in. And then alcohol sets in. And then drugs set in,” Childress said. “Because you’re looking for this something that you want… relief.”
It’s that search for relief that led Childress to My Self Wellness in Bonita Springs. It’s among the growing number of places offering the increasingly popular ketamine therapy to treat depression and other mood disorders.
Childress allowed NBC2 to film his 5th session. We watched as he sat back in a recliner and covered himself in a soft blanket. A nurse came in, gave him some anti-nausea medicine, cleaned his arm and then injected him with the ketamine.
Childress then put on noise-cancelling headphones and an eye mask, and waited for the drug’s effects to kick in. The ketamine has a dissociative effect, creating a psychedelic experience for patients.
NBC2 then watched as Childress smiled and put his hands to his mouth.
“You don’t think about what you’re gonna eat. You don’t think about money,” Childress said, describing the experience. “You don’t think about anything other, doesn’t even matter, other than… I’m gonna say love.”
Dr. Andrew Ferber has specialized in psychiatry for decades and works with the patients at My Self Wellness. During treatments, patients are given a call button in case of an emergency, and cameras in each room allow the staff to monitor the sessions.
“I find that they can move faster with (ketamine) than anything else I’ve seen,” Dr. Ferber said. “This experience allows you to let go of your own active suppression of your self-love, of your allowing love from others, and of your holding on to traumas.”
Ketamine was approved by the FDA as an anesthetic decades ago, originally used by combat medics in the Vietnam War.
Later, it was abused by party-goers seeking the hallucinogenic effects, becoming a popular club drug known as ‘Special K’.
Now, it’s being used off-label by clinics like My Self Wellness to treat people with severe depression, anxiety, PTSD and more.
“It is on an upswing. It’s showing, for most people, very helpful — particularly with suicidality,” Steven Hill explained to NBC2. “The relief is much quicker than a traditional medication.”
Hill is a program director for SalusCare, which is licensed to provide esketamine, a nasal spray that is approved by the FDA to treat depression. Hill said it’s less likely to produce a psychedelic effect than the ketamine injections.
“I wouldn’t recommend it as a first treatment approach,” Hill explained. “For those individuals who are resistant to traditional medications, the research is showing some very good impacts.”
But Hill says more research is needed into ketamine therapy, including the possible side effects and addictive properties. The treatments aren’t designed to be long-term — My Self Wellness typically administers the doses in six sessions — so the drug’s long-term effectiveness isn’t as well known.
Dr. Ferber acknowledged there’s skepticism about this type of treatment, but said the medical community is starting to become more receptive to psychedelic medicines.
“As Bob Dylan says, ‘The times, they are a changin,'” Ferber said. “We’re not here to convince people. We’re here to make ourselves available to those (who are ready).”
Michael Childress is hoping ketamine can give him that long-sought relief, once and for all.
“Since I’ve been having the treatments, I haven’t had one drop of alcohol. Haven’t smoked a cigarette. Haven’t done any illegal drugs,” he explained. “A whole new reset of me. It’s a wonderful thing.”