Ketamine therapy at IMH for depression
Singapore's Institute of Mental Health is using intravenous ketamine to treat patients with treatment-resistant depression. The therapy has shown success in improving mood and reducing suicidal thoughts where traditional antidepressants have failed.
Why it matters
It highlights a significant medical shift in treating severe depression using substances previously stigmatized as recreational drugs.
Ketamine, widely known as a party drug, has increasingly been harnessed as a treatment for depression.
Listen Summarise IV ketamine treatment at Singapore's Institute of Mental Health helps patients with treatment-resistant depression by providing rapid mood improvement within hours to days. Over half of the 13 patients treated with IV ketamine from September 2024 to June 2026 showed better mood, energy, and reduced suicidality, matching global response rates of 35.7% to 68%. Patient Joseph Lim, after 52 sessions, reports improved mood and reduced suicidal thoughts, highlighting ketamine as a hopeful option beyond traditional therapies like ECT. AI generated
SINGAPORE - Joseph Lim, 31, was rushed to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) after a suicide attempt in September 2024.
He was trapped in a cycle of severe depression.
A new treatment – an intravenous form of ketamine – provided a breakthrough where conventional treatments had failed.
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