Better U Review — At-Home Ketamine Therapy, Cost and Safety

Overview

Better U is a US telehealth company that connects adults with clinicians who may prescribe oral ketamine for use at home. It is aimed at people whose depression, anxiety or PTSD has not improved enough with standard medication and therapy. Each program combines a psychiatric evaluation, ketamine lozenges delivered by mail, a preparation session, integration coaching and a companion app. Better U also offers holistic psychiatry, support for tapering off psychiatric medications, and referrals to talk therapists.

Ketamine for depression and anxiety is an off-label use. It can work quickly for some people, but it carries real risks and is not a first-line treatment. Read the eligibility and safety sections below before you take the assessment.

How it works

1. Take the online assessment to screen for risk factors. A care coordinator then contacts you to confirm your medical history.
2. Have a psychiatric evaluation by video with a licensed clinician, typically 30 to 55 minutes. The clinician decides whether ketamine is appropriate and designs a dosing plan. If not, you do not receive a prescription.
3. Prepare — your medication and a “Brain Box” kit, including a blood pressure cuff, arrive by mail, and you have a virtual preparation session with an integration guide.
4. Complete sessions at home with an adult peer supporter present, logging your blood pressure in the app before each session.
5. Integrate — coaching sessions help you reflect on and apply what came up. Your clinician checks in regularly and adjusts or tapers the dose.

Pricing

Prices were checked on Better U’s site on September 26, 2026. Medication delivery and the starter kit are included. Insurance does not cover the program, but Better U offers split-pay financing through third parties. Better U compares this with IV ketamine clinics, which it says can cost $3,000 to $5,000 for a month of treatment.

Provider credentials

Better U is a platform that provides services to affiliated, independently owned medical practices. Its medical director is a psychiatrist, and prescribing clinicians include physicians and physician assistants, supported by registered nurses. Integration coaching is provided by certified integration guides; Better U’s director of psychotherapy is a licensed professional counselor. Integration coaching is supportive and educational and is not the same as individual psychotherapy.

Eligibility and safety

Better U says at-home ketamine is not appropriate for everyone, and that its clinicians generally do not prescribe it for people with:

• Acute substance dependence or active substance use disorders
• A psychotic disorder, or a history of unaddressed psychotic symptoms
• Unstable medical conditions such as high blood pressure, chronic heart disease, aneurysm, respiratory illness, seizure disorder or thyroid disease
• A history of brain bleeds, raised pressure inside the eye or skull, or sensitivity to ketamine or esketamine
• No diagnosable psychiatric condition under current standards of care

Ketamine can raise blood pressure and cause dissociation, dizziness and nausea, and it has potential for misuse. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned that safe and effective dosing of ketamine for psychiatric disorders has not been established, and about the risks of compounded ketamine products, including oral forms, used at home without a clinician on site to monitor for sedation and dissociation. Only the related drug esketamine (Spravato) is FDA-approved for treatment-resistant depression, and it must be given in a certified clinic. Better U says Spravato may be available in-office in select states.

If you have not yet tried first-line options, start with our guides to depression treatment and antidepressants, or consider a conventional prescriber such as Lemonaid Health or Sesame.

Availability

Better U lists services in about 30 states, including California, Florida, New York, Texas and Washington. Check the current list on its site before taking the assessment. Better U says in-office care is planned in select cities.

Privacy

Better U publishes a privacy policy and terms of use on its website. Read them before completing the intake assessment, which asks about your medical and mental health history.

Customer support

Enrolled patients can text the care team at any time; medical questions are passed to the clinician. Better U is not an emergency service. If you are in crisis in the US, call or text 988 or call 911 — see Get Help Now.

Methodology

We checked Better U’s pricing, process, eligibility criteria and safety information against its own website on September 26, 2026, and assessed it against each criterion in our review methodology. Because ketamine for mental health is off-label and fast-evolving, discuss it with a clinician who knows your history, and confirm current details with Better U before you start.