These are the questions people ask when ketamine therapy for depression comes up, answered with our own poll of 443 Midwest adults from ten states. Missouri and Illinois were both in the field, so households in either O'Fallon sit inside the footprint this research describes. Every percentage is final.
Who do most people ask first?
Their own physician, by a wide margin. On the question of a first stop, 56 percent of respondents named primary care and 23 percent psychiatry or counseling; 5 percent honestly would not know where to start, 1 percent would ask a friend, and 12 percent would search alone.
Does advertising change anyone's mind?
Barely. Asked whose recommendation would tip them into trying it, respondents gave their own doctor 74 percent; ads drew a meager 2 percent and podcast hosts 1. Friends and family drew 18 percent, and someone from military or first responder life whom they follow online 4 percent. That is a division of labor, not a knock on public information: something has to make a treatment familiar before a patient can ask about it, but what turns familiarity into an appointment is a person with credentials and your chart.
Is this the same thing as the ketamine I have heard about?
Not necessarily, and this distinction matters more than anything else here. Spravato is esketamine, given as a nasal spray under an FDA approval for treatment-resistant depression; each dose is supervised in a certified setting and followed by observation. Clinic ketamine infusions and online prescriptions for home use are different arrangements under different rules. People use one word for all of it in conversation, but that shorthand should not travel into a decision. Brain Recovery Centers publishes an explanation of how Spravato treatment works if you want the approved version described plainly.
Why have I never heard of any of this?
You are hardly alone. Spravato was unknown to 73 percent of the people we surveyed; 21 percent had caught the name somewhere, and just 6 percent understood what it is.
Am I unusual for having tried medication that did not work?
No. Nearly three in four, 72 percent, had seen depression, anxiety, or PTSD outlast standard medication, personally or in a loved one. Thirty-seven percent meant their own case, 22 percent someone they love, and 13 percent both, leaving 28 percent untouched.
How do people react when they first hear about it?
Mostly with caution. Cautious but open was the top first reaction at 34 percent, and 18 percent felt hopeful or curious; another 21 percent were skeptical, 18 percent were unaware of the idea, and 9 percent reacted badly. Roughly half the sample was receptive, while under one in ten stood firmly against it.
What matters most when choosing where to go?
Money, then distance. Asked for their top two considerations, 85 percent of respondents chose coverage and 43 percent nearness to home. FDA approval landed at 27 percent and speed at 24; privacy drew 11 and a specialty in service members 10.
For 22 percent, coverage would decide the matter outright, and 43 percent more called it a big factor, 65 percent in all; 21 percent said it mattered somewhat and 14 percent not at all. Offered covered care with more hoops or paying to start faster, half took the hoops; the others either would pay out of pocket (23 percent) or had no answer yet (26 percent).
What kinds of insurance do people in this region have?
Respondents could pick more than one. Commercial insurance came in first at 39 percent, with Medicaid close at 37; TRICARE (5 percent), the uninsured (9 percent), and Medicare (23 percent) followed, and 2 percent preferred not to say. If you are calling clinics around O'Fallon, that mix is why you should ask about your plan by name rather than whether a practice "accepts insurance."
Would people rather do this at home?
Less often than you might think. In-person clinic care was preferred by 44 percent of respondents; home telehealth drew 22 percent, a clinic-to-home progression 23, and 11 percent had no preference.
What about treatments that do not involve a drug at all?
There is clear appetite and little familiarity. Half of respondents, 51 percent, wanted care without medication yet had never heard of TMS; 13 percent knew it and valued drug-free care highly, 12 percent knew it and shrugged, and 25 percent neither knew nor cared. Altogether about 64 percent care about a drug-free option, while only about 25 percent recognize the best-known one.
Are veterans and first responders a big part of this group?
They are woven through it. Most respondents, 58 percent, said none of the listed roles fit them. Still, 29 percent had a veteran or first responder in their family, 6 percent had one as a spouse or partner, 4 percent were first responders, and 2 percent had served or were serving in the military. Counting both groups, about 7 percent held one of those roles personally, and far more were family.
What if I do not know the right terms to search?
Whatever is true. Given a blank box, 319 respondents typed phrases like "therapist near me," "ptsd treatments," and "help with depression." Clinical vocabulary is not a prerequisite; ordinary words are how nearly everyone starts.
What is the practical first step?
Book a visit specifically about depression that medication has not resolved. List every antidepressant you have tried with its dose, duration, and the reason it stopped. Ask whether you qualify for esketamine and, if you do not, what would have to happen first. Then phone your insurer about prior authorization and which certified sites are in network.
Nothing here is medical advice or an endorsement of a treatment; a clinician who knows your history has to judge what suits you.
One last answer, to a question nobody asks out loud. If depression has taken you to thoughts of not being alive, call or text 988 today. The Lifeline never closes and charges nothing, and whoever answers is trained for exactly this conversation. Do not wait for an appointment.
Methodology
The study was ordered and paid for by this site's publisher. Pollfish gathered n=443 responses on its consumer panel and closed the study on June 23, 2026. Everyone was 18 to 64, lived in one of ten Midwest states, and passed a consent screener, making this a general market sample rather than a panel of diagnosed patients. On select-several questions, shares are of respondents and can sum beyond 100. Figures come from the panel provider's final validation.