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✓ Edited by Angelica Bottaro for HealingMaps Editorial Staff
Known For: The region’s academic interventional psychiatry program — Washington University’s treatment-resistant depression service offering esketamine, ECT, TMS, and VNS at the Taylor Avenue Building on the WashU Medical Campus, staffed by university psychiatry faculty.
| Location | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Address | 600 S Taylor Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110 |
| Phone | (314) 286-1700 |
| Website | behavioralhealth.wustl.edu |
| Treatments | Esketamine (Spravato, REMS-certified) + ECT + TMS Therapy + VNS — Academic Interventional Psychiatry Program |
| Conditions | Treatment-resistant depression and severe mood disorders |
| Cost | N/A (contact for pricing) |
| Insurance | Spravato typically insurance-billed across most major plans |
| KAP Available | No |
| Clinical Lead | Lucia del Pilar Cristancho Pimiento, MD (Professor of Psychiatry) with John Bilbily, MD, Baris Ercal, MD, PhD, Angela Lin, MD, and Kacie Brooks, PA |
HealingMaps Take: For the hardest depression cases in the St. Louis region, WashU’s interventional psychiatry program is the deepest bench available: esketamine delivered on an evidence-based taper (twice weekly in month one, weekly in month two), with ECT, TMS, and VNS available when esketamine is not the right tool — a range no private clinic in the metro can match. Faculty psychiatrists staff the service, most commercial insurance and Medicare cover the esketamine program, and referrals typically come from a treating physician or psychiatrist. Expect an academic pace rather than same-week starts; what you get in exchange is the region’s most complete treatment arsenal.
Market Position: WashU Medicine holds the academic tertiary-care slot in the St. Louis market — the metro’s only university interventional psychiatry program spanning esketamine through ECT and VNS, differentiated by faculty staffing and research-grounded protocols.
Is WashU Interventional Psychiatry Right for You?
✓ Choose WashU Interventional Psychiatry if:
- Your depression has resisted multiple treatments and you want the full interventional arsenal evaluated
- You want esketamine within an academic medical center with faculty psychiatrists
- Most commercial insurance or Medicare will cover your esketamine treatment here
- Your physician or psychiatrist can refer you into the program
- ECT, TMS, or VNS may be on the table beyond esketamine
✗ Look elsewhere if:
- You want to self-refer and start quickly — this program typically works by physician referral
- You want IV ketamine or ketamine-assisted psychotherapy — not part of this program
- A private-practice setting with one consistent provider fits you better
WashU Interventional Psychiatry Ketamine Cost Calculator
How Much Will Ketamine Therapy Cost?
Estimate your out-of-pocket range based on patient-reported pricing and HealingMaps proprietary clinic data.
Estimated per session
$416–$714
Range: $357–$1,190/session
Estimated total program
$2,499–$4,283
Range: $2,142–$7,139/6-session series
Select a treatment type to see pricing context.
Ketamine Protocols Compared — What’s Offered at WashU Interventional Psychiatry
Industry pricing reference. WashU Interventional Psychiatry has not published specific per-session pricing — contact the clinic directly for a quote. The calculator above shows typical metro-level cost estimates across protocols, not this clinic’s specific prices.
| Protocol | Typical Industry Cost | Offered Here |
|---|---|---|
| IV Ketamine | $350–$650/session | — |
| Spravato (esketamine) | $0–$250 copay (insured) | ✓ Yes |
| IM Ketamine | $250–$400/injection | — |
| KAP (with therapist) | $400–$1,200/session | — |
| At-home troches | $150–$300/month | — |
What to Expect at Your First WashU Interventional Psychiatry Appointment
- Initial intake call — Insurance verification, Spravato prior authorization workflow if applicable, and clinical eligibility check. Call (314) 286-1700 to schedule.
- Medical evaluation — psychiatric assessment, vitals check, and review of current medications and prior treatment history with the WashU Interventional Psychiatry clinical team.
- First treatment session — supervised ketamine session in a monitored treatment room at 600 S Taylor Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110.
- Recovery and follow-up — observation period after dosing, mood check-in with the clinical team, and scheduling your next session.
What to Ask on Your WashU Interventional Psychiatry Consult Call
- How long has the WashU Interventional Psychiatry clinical team been delivering ketamine therapy, and what specialty training do your providers hold?
- Walk me through your Spravato prior authorization process vs. ECT and TMS coverage pathways — which is the better fit for my insurance situation?
- What is your specific ketamine protocol (dose, sessions, monitoring), and how do you decide when to recommend booster sessions?
- How do you handle patients who don’t respond to the standard induction series?
St. Louis Ketamine Market Snapshot
Sources: CDC PLACES 2023 (St. Louis City (Central West End — Washington University Medical Campus), crude prevalence) · U.S. Census ACS 5 Year · HealingMaps proprietary patient inquiry data.
- Adult depression in St. Louis City (Central West End — Washington University Medical Campus): 16.7%
- Frequent mental distress (14+ days per month): 13.4%
- Adults lacking health insurance: 8.7%
- St. Louis City (Central West End — Washington University Medical Campus) population: 2,820,000 · median household income $75,000
- Recent St. Louis-area inquiries to HealingMaps: A growing stream of St. Louis-area residents have recently contacted us seeking ketamine care
Behind this data: HealingMaps has analyzed 23,496 patient inquiries (Oct 2022 – Mar 2026), mapped 1,800 verified clinics across 3,142 counties, scraped 132 clinic pricing pages, and collected 658 practitioner survey responses. This snapshot reflects our multi-source methodology.
From the 2026 Ketamine Industry Report
44.9% of patients cite access as the #1 barrier to treatment — the largest single obstacle to ketamine therapy in the HealingMaps corpus, outranking cost, stigma, and side-effect concerns. Source: HealingMaps 2026 Ketamine Clinic Intelligence Report — drawn from 23,496 patient inquiries and 132 clinic website analyses.
Patient Review
“After three failed medication trials my psychiatrist referred me to the university program. The two-hour esketamine visits felt thorough rather than slow, Medicare covered it, and knowing ECT was available as a next step if I needed it took a fear off the table.”
About WashU Interventional Psychiatry
Washington University’s interventional psychiatry program treats patients at the Taylor Avenue Building, 600 S Taylor Ave on the WashU Medical Campus in the Central West End (63110). The service is staffed by university faculty including Lucia del Pilar Cristancho Pimiento, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, with John Bilbily, MD, Baris Ercal, MD, PhD, Angela Lin, MD, and Kacie Brooks, PA.
The esketamine (Spravato) program follows the evidence-based induction schedule — appointments of roughly two hours, twice weekly in the first month, weekly in the second — under the FDA REMS protocol. Beyond esketamine, the program offers electroconvulsive therapy, TMS, and vagus nerve stimulation, making it the region’s most complete treatment-resistant depression service.
Most commercial insurances as well as Medicare cover esketamine treatment. Referrals typically come through a treating physician or psychiatrist; appointments run through the university’s behavioral health service at (314) 286-1700.
To begin a referral, call (314) 286-1700 or visit behavioralhealth.wustl.edu.
Patient Questions about WashU Interventional Psychiatry
This 5-question summary is matched to the protocols and conditions WashU Interventional Psychiatry treats. Editorial responses are HealingMaps-authored.
What ketamine protocols does WashU Interventional Psychiatry offer?
WashU Interventional Psychiatry offers Esketamine (Spravato, REMS-certified) + ECT + TMS Therapy + VNS — Academic Interventional Psychiatry Program. Confirm specific dosing schedules during your consult.
Does WashU Interventional Psychiatry offer Spravato (esketamine)?
Yes — WashU Interventional Psychiatry offers Spravato, which means they’re FDA REMS-certified and maintain the required two-hour in-office monitoring window after each dose.
Does WashU Interventional Psychiatry offer ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP)?
WashU Interventional Psychiatry operates a medical-model program. Patients seeking explicit KAP with a licensed integration therapist should evaluate practices that pair the dosing experience with structured therapy.
Is WashU Interventional Psychiatry suited for treatment-resistant depression?
WashU Interventional Psychiatry treats treatment-resistant depression. TRD is typically defined as two or more prior antidepressant trials without sufficient response — patients meeting that bar are best candidates.
Can WashU Interventional Psychiatry help with anxiety disorders?
Yes — WashU Interventional Psychiatry treats anxiety disorders. The evidence base for ketamine in anxiety is less robust than for depression, but it can be a meaningful option for patients who haven’t responded to SSRIs or benzodiazepines.
View all REMS-certified Spravato clinics in Missouri and across the United States.
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Healing Maps Editorial Staff
View all posts by Healing Maps Editorial StaffThe Healing Maps Editorial Team has decades of experience across all facets of the psychedelic industry. From assessing studies and clinic research, to working with clinician's and clinics, we help provide data-backed information to psychedelic-curious individuals across the globe.
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