A book for the days when surviving is no longer enough
An Evidence-Based Ketamine Therapy Book
For millions of people living with depression, PTSD, anxiety, chronic pain, and trauma-related conditions, the search for relief can become a full-time job. Medications help some people. Therapy helps many. But for others, the symptoms remain. This book was written to cut through the noise.
Written by practicing psychiatric clinicians in Arizona.
Healing is rarely about finding a miracle. Sometimes it’s about finding enough room to begin again.
The book
In recent years, ketamine infusion therapy has become one of the most discussed developments in mental health and pain medicine. Stories of dramatic improvement have generated hope, skepticism, controversy, and confusion in equal measure. Beyond Survival offers a clear, compassionate, and evidence-based exploration of ketamine therapy — how it works, what treatment actually feels like, what the science currently shows, and where important uncertainties remain.
Depression, PTSD, trauma, anxiety, suicidality, and chronic pain — explained without hype or jargon.
How ketamine works differently from traditional psychiatric medications, and what that means in practice.
What patients commonly experience during and after sessions, including the quieter days in between.
The role of neuroplasticity, therapy, lifestyle change, and integration in lasting recovery.
An honest look at potential benefits, limitations, side effects, and the questions science has not settled.
How to make informed decisions about treatment and evaluate clinical programs with the right questions.
Written for
Beyond Survival avoids both hype and cynicism. It does not promise miracles. It does not offer easy answers. It offers a thoughtful guide for anyone seeking understanding, relief, and a path forward.
The companion
Volume One · 27 guided chapters
Think of the book as the conversation and this workbook as the practice. It is for the days between — a place to slow down, notice patterns, prepare for treatment, and integrate what surfaces afterward.
Practical exercises, reflections, tracking tools, and daily practices to help you move from surviving to healing. Useful whether or not you are receiving ketamine therapy.
Paperback ISBN 979-8-18858-961-5
Buy the workbook on AmazonThe authors
A physician assistant who has spent years in psychiatry’s harder environments: inpatient units, residential treatment, outpatient care, crisis work, and advanced therapeutics — with a particular focus on first responders. He is founder of Alevea Mental Health in Arizona.
A combat veteran, doctor of nursing practice, and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. After more than a decade inside the Veterans Affairs system, she now specializes in psychiatric care for veterans and first responders.
Ketamine infusion therapy
Ketamine infusion therapy has moved from operating rooms and emergency departments into psychiatric clinics treating depression, PTSD, anxiety, and chronic pain. For some people, that shift has meant real relief after years of medications and talk therapy that were not enough. For others, it has meant confusion: what an infusion actually is, how it differs from an SSRI, what the session feels like, and what happens in the days after.
Beyond Survival was written from that clinical middle ground. Topher Bradshaw, PA-C, and Eliza Sabo, DNP, PMHNP, sit with patients through ketamine infusions, preparation, and integration. The book explains the neuroscience without hype, names the limits of current evidence, and treats ketamine as one tool in a larger recovery — not a miracle and not a last resort to be feared.
If you are considering IV ketamine, esketamine (Spravato), or ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, this is a field guide for making a clearer decision: how infusions work in the brain, who they may help, what risks to ask about, and how to evaluate a clinic before you begin.
Buy the book on AmazonGet the books
Purchase Beyond Survival and the companion workbook as paperbacks. Clinics ordering in bulk can use the contact form.
The evidence-based ketamine therapy book.
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27 chapters of reflection, skill-building, and gentle practice.
Buy on AmazonGet the book, the workbook, or both.
Purchase Beyond Survival Purchase the workbookClinic or bulk orders: Contact us
Contact
Clinics and treatment programs can use this form for bulk orders, staff copies, or questions about using the Ketamine Workbook alongside care.
For a personal copy, order on Amazon. This form is not for medical advice or emergencies.
Questions
Clear answers about ketamine infusion therapy, treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, integration, and how Beyond Survival can help you decide — without hype and without pretending every question has a simple answer.
Ketamine infusion therapy is the supervised medical use of ketamine, often given intravenously in a clinic, to treat psychiatric and pain conditions that have not responded well enough to standard care. Unlike daily antidepressants, infusions are typically delivered in a series of sessions with monitoring, screening, and a plan for what happens afterward. Beyond Survival explains how this treatment developed, what the research currently shows, and where important uncertainties remain.
Ketamine acts primarily on the glutamate system, especially NMDA receptors, rather than on serotonin the way many SSRIs do. Researchers believe this can rapidly increase neuroplasticity — the brain’s capacity to form new connections — which may create a window in which mood, fear responses, and stuck patterns can shift. That window does not finish the work by itself. Therapy, sleep, relationships, and integration often determine whether a change holds.
Most first-line antidepressants are taken daily and may take weeks to show benefit. Ketamine is usually given in intermittent clinic sessions and can produce faster shifts in depressive symptoms for some people with treatment-resistant depression. It is not a replacement for every medication, and it is not appropriate for every patient. The book walks through those differences in plain language, including why “faster” is not the same as “finished.”
Treatment-resistant depression generally means depressive symptoms that have not improved enough after adequate trials of standard treatments. Ketamine has become one of the more studied options in that setting, and many clinics now offer IV ketamine or esketamine (Spravato) for this reason. Response varies. Some people improve quickly, some improve partially, and some do not respond. An honest guide has to make room for all three outcomes.
Clinics also use ketamine in people living with PTSD, trauma-related symptoms, anxiety, and related conditions, including first responders and veterans whose nervous systems have been in survival mode for a long time. Evidence is stronger in some conditions than others. Beyond Survival covers depression, PTSD, trauma, anxiety, suicidality, and chronic pain without collapsing them into one promise.
Experiences vary. Many people describe a shift in perception, time, or body sensation during an infusion, followed by a quieter after-period. Some sessions feel meaningful. Some feel uneventful and still matter later. The book describes what patients commonly experience during and after treatment so the process is less mysterious — and so unexpected feelings are less likely to be mistaken for failure.
IV ketamine is racemic ketamine given by infusion in a medical setting. Spravato is esketamine, an FDA-approved nasal medicine used under a REMS program, usually with specific depression indications and insurance pathways. Both are related to ketamine; they are not identical in dose, delivery, regulation, or evidence. If you are comparing clinics, ask which they offer and why.
Integration is the work of taking what surfaced during a session and anchoring it in ordinary life: sleep, relationships, therapy, routines, and the stories you tell yourself. Insight during an infusion tends to fade without scaffolding. The companion workbook includes intention-setting, session journals, and integration exercises for the 24 to 72 hours after treatment, when the brain may be more open to new patterns.
Ketamine is not risk-free. Possible effects include dissociation, nausea, blood pressure changes, bladder issues with frequent or high-dose use, and psychological distress. It is not appropriate for every medical or psychiatric history. A responsible clinic screens, monitors, and talks plainly about limitations. The book includes questions to ask a ketamine clinic about credentials, emergency preparedness, dosing, and follow-up.
Look for licensed providers, medical screening, in-session monitoring, a clear emergency plan, transparent pricing, and integration support — not just a quiet room and an IV. Ask who is in the building, how they measure whether treatment is working, and what happens if you do not respond. Appendix material in the workbook lists practical questions for evaluating a program.
No. The book and workbook are educational. They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any condition, and they are not a substitute for care from a qualified clinician. Ketamine treatment is not appropriate for every individual. Decisions about infusions should be made with a licensed medical professional.
No. If you are receiving ketamine therapy, you’ll find tools for preparation, intention-setting, session journaling, and integration. If you are not, the skills still apply: awareness, reflection, regulation, and honest practice. Healing is not reserved for people already in an infusion chair.
Patients and families considering ketamine infusion therapy, clinicians who want a clear field guide, and first responders and veterans whose work has left a mark. Anyone who has tried what was supposed to help and is still looking for a way forward.
Individual copies of Beyond Survival and the Ketamine Workbook are on Amazon. For clinic or bulk orders, use the contact form.