BrainHealth Solutions offers FDA-approved Spravato® nasal spray for treatment-resistant depression to Westwood and West Los Angeles patients, under the supervision of a psychiatric team led by Dr. Robert Bota and Spravato® specialist Dr. Dragos Serseni.
Spravato® (esketamine) is an FDA-approved prescription nasal spray for adults with treatment-resistant depression and for major depression with suicidal thoughts. It acts on the brain’s glutamate system rather than serotonin, which is why it can help people who have not improved on standard antidepressants, and why some patients feel change within hours or days instead of weeks. It is only given in a certified clinic under medical supervision; you cannot take it home.
Esketamine blocks NMDA receptors, which increases glutamate signalling and promotes new synaptic connections in mood-regulating regions. This is a different mechanism from SSRIs and SNRIs, so prior medication failures do not predict failure with Spravato®.
You self-administer the spray in the office, then stay for at least two hours of monitoring while blood pressure and alertness are checked. The dissociative effects that can occur peak in the first hour and resolve before you leave.
Treatment starts twice weekly for four weeks, then weekly, then weekly or every other week in maintenance. Spravato® is taken alongside an oral antidepressant, so your psychiatrist manages both.
Spravato® is approved only under a REMS safety program, which means it can be given only in a certified clinic with monitoring, never at home. At BrainHealth Solutions the program is led by Dr. Dragos Serseni, whose focus is treatment-resistant depression and neuromodulation, within a practice that also offers TMS and SAINT®. Your evaluation takes place at our Westwood office at 1762 Westwood Blvd, Suite 320, Los Angeles, CA 90024. Your clinician confirms where treatment sessions are scheduled; our Costa Mesa clinic (3151 Airway Ave, Bldg R, Costa Mesa, CA 92626) is the practice’s main treatment center.
Share your name, contact information and a callback time. The team confirms you have tried two or more antidepressants without adequate relief, the usual eligibility criterion, and explains the schedule.
Your psychiatrist reviews symptoms, prior medication trials, medical history and blood pressure, and decides whether Spravato® is appropriate for major depressive disorder. Insurance authorization begins here.
You learn what the monitoring period involves, arrange a ride home, and avoid food for two hours and liquids for 30 minutes before each visit, as the label requires.
You self-administer the nasal spray in a quiet room while the care team monitors you. Each visit lasts at least two hours from dosing to discharge.
Twice weekly for the first month, then weekly, then individualized maintenance. Symptom scales track your response and the psychiatrist adjusts your oral antidepressant as needed.
Most patients feel a sense of detachment, dizziness or altered perception within 40 minutes of dosing. It usually fades within one to two hours. The room is kept calm, and the team checks on you throughout.
Blood pressure is measured before dosing and about 40 minutes after, because esketamine can raise it temporarily. You are discharged only when readings and alertness are back to baseline.
You cannot drive until the next day, so plan a ride for every visit. Many West Los Angeles patients schedule late-afternoon visits so the rest of the day can be spent resting at home.
The Spravato® schedule follows the FDA label:
Spravato® side effects are expected, time-limited and the reason for in-clinic monitoring. Most resolve before you leave the office.
Common during the monitoring period
Because of sedation and dissociation, you must not drive or operate machinery until after a restful night’s sleep.
Less common
Your evaluation screens for these risks, and every dose is given with a clinician present.
In the clinical trials behind approval, roughly half of patients with treatment-resistant depression responded to Spravato® plus an oral antidepressant, with some improvement measurable within 24 hours. Longer-term studies show that continued maintenance dosing lowers the relapse rate compared with stopping.
Response is individual. BrainHealth Solutions tracks symptom scales at each phase, and if Spravato® is not working by the end of induction, the same team can move you to TMS or SAINT® without a referral elsewhere.
Spravato® may be appropriate for Westwood and West Los Angeles adults who:
Spravato® is not appropriate for people with aneurysmal vascular disease, arteriovenous malformation, a history of intracerebral hemorrhage, or during pregnancy. Uncontrolled blood pressure needs to be managed first.
Alternatives we offer when Spravato® is not the fit
For people who have tried many antidepressants, Spravato® offers a different mechanism without starting from scratch. Patients describe BrainHealth Solutions as a place where the doctor “talks to you, and takes his time on every visit,” which matters when each visit is two hours.
Esketamine works on glutamate, not serotonin, so it can help when several SSRIs or SNRIs have not.
Some patients notice change within days. The twice-weekly induction month gives a clear read on response.
Spravato® is covered by many commercial plans and Medicare for treatment-resistant depression, and the manufacturer offers savings programs for eligible commercially insured patients.
Every dose is given with monitoring, so side effects are managed in the room rather than at home.
Dr. Dragos Serseni leads the Spravato® program at BrainHealth Solutions with a focus on treatment-resistant depression.
If Spravato® is not enough, TMS, SAINT®, medication management and psychotherapy are available from the same team.
Spravato® is one of the few treatments FDA-approved specifically for treatment-resistant depression, and one of the few that can act within days. If you have been through two or more medications and are weighing esketamine against TMS, the screening call at BrainHealth Solutions compares both for your situation rather than steering you toward the only one a clinic happens to offer.
Self-pay Spravato® in the Los Angeles market is commonly quoted at roughly $600 to $1,200 per treatment visit, which covers both the medication and the two-hour supervised session, putting the first month of induction between about $5,000 and $10,000 (market range compiled from published Los Angeles clinic price lists and the manufacturer’s list price, 2026; this is not BrainHealth Solutions’ price). With insurance, the medication is often covered under the pharmacy or medical benefit with a copay, and the manufacturer’s savings program can reduce commercially insured patients’ cost further. We quote only after confirming your plan’s coverage.
Insurance and financing
BrainHealth Solutions accepts insurance and self-pay. Many major plans are accepted, including Medicare and Anthem, and CareCredit financing spreads self-pay costs over monthly payments. Submit your plan through the insurance-check form on our site, or ask on your 15-minute screening call, and our team confirms what your plan covers before you commit to anything.
Dr. Robert Bota, MD, MSG, DFAPA is a board-certified psychiatrist and Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He trained in TMS at Harvard University and the University of South Carolina, founded and directed the first TMS program at UC Irvine, and has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications.
Dr. Bota has been principal investigator on more than 20 clinical trials in depression, schizophrenia, PTSD and Alzheimer’s disease, and the practice participates in brain-imaging research with Kernel neurotechnology. Treatment plans are informed by that research and reviewed as your symptoms change.
Care at BrainHealth Solutions is delivered by a team that includes psychiatrists Dr. Tina Allee and Dr. Mahtab K. Yousefi (child and adolescent care in English and Farsi), Spravato® specialist Dr. Dragos Serseni, TMS technician Anna Venezio and office manager Peter Bota.
Many plans are accepted, including Medicare and Anthem, and CareCredit financing is available for self-pay. One parent wrote that the team “even helped get insurance coverage when others said it wasn’t possible.” Use the insurance check on our site or ask on your screening call.
No. Spravato® is esketamine, an FDA-approved nasal spray given under a REMS safety program and often covered by insurance. IV ketamine is used off-label for depression and is rarely covered. BrainHealth Solutions offers Spravato®.
At least two hours: dosing, then monitoring of blood pressure and alertness until you are cleared to leave with your ride.
Yes, after every visit. You cannot drive until the following day because of sedation and dissociation.
Yes. Spravato® is approved for use together with an oral antidepressant, and your psychiatrist manages both.
Many commercial plans and Medicare cover it for treatment-resistant depression, usually after documentation of two failed antidepressant trials. Many plans are accepted at BrainHealth Solutions, and the team handles authorization.
Your evaluation is at the Westwood office at 1762 Westwood Blvd, Suite 320. Your clinician confirms where treatment visits are scheduled; the Costa Mesa clinic at 3151 Airway Ave is the practice’s main treatment center.
The same practice offers TMS and the accelerated SAINT® protocol, so a non-response leads to the next option with the same clinical team rather than a new search.
Schedule a 15-minute screening call with BrainHealth Solutions to find out whether Spravato® is the right next step for your depression.
Westwood office: 1762 Westwood Blvd, Suite 320, Los Angeles, CA 90024 · (949) 670-9177. Costa Mesa clinic: 3151 Airway Ave, Bldg R, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Same-day appointments may be available. The screening call asks only for your name, contact information and a callback time; there are no long intake forms before you speak with us.
