You served. Now let someone serve you.
For many veterans, the nervous system never fully returns from deployment. The amygdala — the brain's threat detection center — remains stuck in combat mode, generating hypervigilance, exaggerated startle responses, and a constant state of readiness that no longer matches the environment. Traditional medications often try to manage these symptoms without addressing the underlying neural patterns that drive them.
Ketamine works differently. Through NMDA receptor antagonism, it disrupts fear memory reconsolidation — reducing the emotional charge of combat-related traumatic memories. When these memories are accessed during a ketamine session, they can be re-stored with less intensity, loosening the grip that specific events hold over daily life.
Ketamine also reduces amygdala hyperactivity, promotes extinction learning, and restores prefrontal cortex regulation — helping the brain move from reactive survival mode back toward measured, intentional response. This is particularly relevant for moral injury, where the cognitive and emotional processing centers need to work together in ways that hyperarousal disrupts.
Music City Ketamine in Franklin, TN serves as an alternative to VA waitlists and rotating providers. Marla Peterson, CRNA has 20+ years of anesthesia experience and administers every infusion personally in a private suite with real-time monitoring. You'll have a weighted blanket, eye mask, and calming music. And Walter White, our Director of Hugs, may wander by to check on you. This is a space built for people who deserve to feel safe again.
Ready to explore whether ketamine therapy is right for you?
Schedule a Consultation"I tried everything the VA offered — medication after medication, group therapy, CPT. Some of it helped for a while, but the nightmares and hypervigilance never really went away. After my ketamine sessions with Marla, things started to quiet down. I felt understood here in a way I hadn't before."
"The space itself made a difference. It's calm, private, and nothing like a clinical waiting room. Walter White sat with me before my session, and Marla's clinical expertise gave me confidence that I was in safe hands. Twenty years of anesthesia experience — that matters when you're trusting someone with your care."
The VA has been expanding ketamine access, with 1,505 treatments performed in 2024. The VA Community Care Program (VCCP) may also cover ketamine at outside clinics. Music City Ketamine in Franklin, TN provides superbills for reimbursement. Contact the VA to check your eligibility.
Marla Peterson, CRNA has 20+ years of anesthesia experience and monitors every infusion in real time. Ketamine has a well-established safety profile in anesthesia medicine. Your specific medical history, including any TBI, is reviewed during your consultation.
Ketamine works through a different mechanism — NMDA receptor antagonism vs. the serotonin-based approach of most VA-prescribed medications. It can begin working within hours rather than weeks, and research shows a 67% treatment response rate for PTSD.
You don't need to keep waiting for a system to work on its own timeline. Music City Ketamine in Franklin, TN offers flexible scheduling including evenings and weekends, a private suite, and a calm environment designed for people who have earned the right to feel safe. Let's talk about whether ketamine therapy is right for you.
Schedule a Conversation Text (615) 988-4600