Head Magazine has covered mental health issues from many angles over the years: PTSD, eating disorders, addiction, phobias, acute grief, stress and more. For September, we are honoring National Suicide Prevention Month by reporting on the latest research in treating suicidal depression with the psychedelic ketamine. This supplements our prior coverage of treating it with psychedelics more broadly, as well as our look into medicinal microdosing. We hope that this information will reach someone who needs it, and that it can be helpful in discussions with their physician. 

If you or someone you know needs support urgently, caring counselors are available for free 24/7 at the national mental health hotline, 988 Lifeline. Call, text or chat online one-on-one with someone who cares. (Image courtesy of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.)

Ketamine infusions reduced suicidal symptoms within 24 hours.

A study published in “JAMA Psychiatry” in May 2026 examined whether intravenous ketamine could reduce suicidal and depressive symptoms in patients with a major depressive episode. The approach taken, said to be “increasingly used with off-label indications as a novel treatment,” resulted in reduced suicidal symptoms at 24 hours and at one month after receiving a single ketamine infusion. Individuals who received repeated ketamine infusions showed a similar reduction of suicidal symptoms at the end of the treatment. 

Ketamine treatments alleviated suicidal ideation in high-risk individuals.

A study published in “Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences” in January 2026 used double-blind randomized controlled trials and open-label studies to investigate the safety and effectiveness of ketamine in treating suicidal ideation. Participants in this study were chosen not for their sex, age or race, but for their individual scores on suicide assessment scales. Ketamine was given to them via intravenous, intramuscular, oral or inhalation administration. The results concluded that high-risk individuals, especially younger individuals and those with severe ideation, experienced a “significant and clinically meaningful” reduction in suicidal ideation.

High-risk individuals can be identified by such means as the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), which indicates whether someone is at risk for suicide, assesses the severity and immediacy of that risk, and gauges the level of support that the person needs.

Ketamine treatments for suicidal depression proved extra effective when followed by low-dose sublingual buprenorphine.

A study published in “The American Journal of Psychiatry” in May 2026 examined whether the already-proven effects of ketamine in treating suicidal ideation could be prolonged following intravenous treatment. After conducting a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, clinicians found that low-dose sublingual buprenorphine had indeed significantly sustained and even enhanced the anti-suicidal effects of ketamine.

Conclusion

Although much remains unknown regarding the long-term effects (positive and negative alike) of treating suicidal depression with ketamine, new research is always being published, and new studies are always underway. This powerful medicinal psychedelic shows tremendous promise, and the results thus far are consistent enough to give the people who need it something they can hold on to: hope. 

If you think ketamine treatments could help you, share this latest research with your physician and look into it. You deserve to be lifted out of any darkness you feel trapped in. You’re worth saving, and you matter; never doubt that.

The information in this article and any included images are for educational purposes only. This information is neither a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional legal advice or medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about laws, regulations or your health, you should always consult an attorney, physician or other licensed professional.

Kathleen Hearons is a writer, editor, linguist and voice over actor from Los Angeles. She specializes in creative writing and research-intensive analysis and reporting.

 

Sources and Suggested Reading

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“Buprenorphine; Naloxone Sublingual Tablets.” Cleveland Clinic. Accessed Sept. 12, 2026. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/drugs/20384-buprenorphine-naloxone-sublingual-tablet. 

“Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS).” Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University. Accessed Sept. 11, 2026. https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org/research-labs/columbia-suicide-severity-rating-scale-c-ssrs. 

Favorito, AJ. “Veterans, Mothers, and the Future of Psychedelics.” Head Magazine. Accessed Sept. 11, 2026. https://headmagazine.com/veterans-mothers-and-the-future-of-psychedelics/. 

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Hearons, Kathleen. “Endocannabinoids and Eating Disorders: How the Body’s Levels of Anandamide and 2-AG Are Implicated in Anorexia and Binge Eating.” Head Magazine. Accessed Sept. 11, 2026. https://headmagazine.com/endocannabinoids-and-eating-disorders/. 

Hearons, Kathleen. “Holiday Stress? Our Cannabis-Infused Holistic Self-Care Plan Works All Year Round.” Head Magazine. Accessed Sept. 11, 2026. https://headmagazine.com/holiday-stress-our-cannabis-infused-holistic-self-care-plan-works-all-year-round/. 

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