Why Brentwood patients drive to Franklin for ketamine
Brentwood and Franklin sit on the same I-65 corridor, separated by a handful of exits and, on most days, very little traffic. For Brentwood residents looking into IV ketamine therapy, the practical question is rarely whether to drive into downtown Nashville. It is whether to head a few miles north into city traffic or a few miles south into Williamson County.
For most addresses in the 37027 zip code, south is faster. Music City Ketamine is the closest CRNA-led IV ketamine practice to Brentwood that we are aware of, and we treat a steady flow of patients from Concord Road, Old Hickory Boulevard, Maryland Farms, and the neighborhoods east of Franklin Road. The reason is simple: a quiet 10 to 15 minute drive to a private suite is easier on a fragile day than a 30 to 40 minute crawl into Nashville and back.
Ketamine is FDA-approved as an anesthetic; its use for depression, anxiety, PTSD, OCD, and chronic pain is off-label. That off-label framing matters because it means the experience around the medicine—the clinical setting, the monitoring, the people, and even the drive home—is part of the treatment, not an afterthought.
Drive time and route from Brentwood to 480 Duke Dr.
From most Brentwood addresses, the route is straightforward. You take I-65 South, exit at McEwen Drive (exit 65), and follow the signs toward Cool Springs. Duke Drive is a short street tucked into the office park behind the McEwen retail and dining cluster. The total drive runs roughly 10 to 15 minutes outside of rush hour.
A few practical notes for planning your appointment:
- Mid-morning and early afternoon are the calmest windows. I-65 between Brentwood and Cool Springs can back up between 7 and 9 in the morning and again between 4 and 6 in the afternoon. We try to schedule infusions outside those windows when possible.
- The McEwen exit is well-marked. If you have driven to the Cool Springs Galleria or the McEwen restaurants, you have already done most of the trip.
- You will not be driving home. Plan the return trip with whoever is bringing you. After an infusion, residual dissociation and drowsiness rule out driving for the rest of the day.
Compared with driving north into Nashville for a similar service, the southbound trip avoids the I-440 merge, the downtown construction zones, and the unpredictable evening traffic on I-65 North. For most Brentwood residents, the math favors Franklin.
Parking, building access, and what the suite looks like
The clinic is in a small office park off Duke Drive. Parking is free and steps from the entrance—there is no parking deck to navigate, no validation to sort out, and no long walk from a satellite lot. For patients dealing with depression, chronic pain, or post-traumatic stress, that low-friction arrival matters more than it sounds.
Inside Suite #100, the space is intentionally quiet. Treatment rooms are private, with a comfortable recliner, soft lighting, and the option to bring headphones or a curated playlist. Our therapy dogs, Walter White and Wilma, are usually somewhere in the building if you would like to say hello before or after your session.
If you have not been through a ketamine infusion before, our walkthrough of what your first ketamine infusion is like covers the small details that tend to be on people’s minds: how the IV is placed, what dissociation can feel like, and how you are likely to feel walking out the door.
What a typical ketamine session looks like
A standard psychiatric IV ketamine session at Music City Ketamine takes about an hour from arrival to departure, with the infusion itself running roughly 40 minutes. You will be checked in, walked back to a private room, monitored as the infusion begins, and observed afterward until you are ready to leave with your driver.
Throughout the session, Marla Peterson, CRNA, oversees every infusion with anesthesia-level monitoring—continuous pulse oximetry, blood pressure, and heart rate tracking. A CRNA in the room is the same clinical standard you would expect in a hospital procedural setting, and it is the reason patients with complex medication histories are often able to be treated safely in our practice. For a deeper look at why this matters, our piece on what a CRNA is walks through the training, scope of practice, and clinical role.
Our overview of how ketamine therapy works at MCK covers the clinical workflow in more detail, from intake through follow-up.
Conditions we treat for Brentwood patients
Most Brentwood patients we see come to us after they have already tried other options. Many are working with a psychiatrist or therapist and have run into the limits of standard medications. The conditions we most commonly treat include:
- Treatment-resistant depression. Major depression that has not responded adequately to two or more antidepressant trials. A 2013 study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry by Murrough and colleagues found that repeated IV ketamine infusions produced rapid antidepressant response in this population, with effects emerging within hours rather than weeks.
- PTSD and trauma-related symptoms. Including patients who have not found adequate relief from talk therapy and SSRIs alone.
- Anxiety and OCD. Generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive features that have plateaued on conventional treatment.
- Suicidal ideation. A 2018 study in the American Journal of Psychiatry by Wilkinson and colleagues found that single-dose IV ketamine produced rapid reductions in suicidal ideation alongside reductions in depression severity in treatment-resistant patients. This is one of the better-studied uses of the medicine.
- Certain chronic pain conditions. Including fibromyalgia and complex regional pain syndrome, where NMDA-driven central sensitization is a likely mechanism.
None of these uses are FDA-approved indications for racemic ketamine, and we do not promise outcomes. Research suggests ketamine can be a meaningful option for the right candidate, and the screening conversation is where we figure out whether that is you. If you are weighing options across the broader Nashville area, our breakdown of how to choose the best ketamine clinic in Nashville covers what to look for.
Cost, insurance, and scheduling
Because ketamine is used off-label for psychiatric and pain indications, IV sessions are typically a self-pay service rather than an insurance-billed one. We are direct about pricing on the first call. For a full breakdown, see our article on what ketamine therapy costs; in short, individual sessions at Music City Ketamine are $475.
Many patients do submit superbills to their insurer for partial out-of-network reimbursement, and we are happy to provide the documentation. We do not require multi-session packages or upfront commitments. Scheduling is handled by phone or through the site, and most Brentwood patients can be seen within a few days of an initial consultation. You can request a consultation here.
Why a CRNA-led clinic matters
Ketamine has a strong safety record when administered correctly. The conditions for that safety are specific: properly trained clinical staff, continuous physiologic monitoring, immediate access to airway and resuscitation equipment, and a clinician credentialed to manage anesthesia-related events if they arise. A CRNA-led practice meets that bar by default.
At Music City Ketamine, Marla oversees every infusion personally and is on-site throughout treatment hours. The clinical staffing model is the difference between a setting that is equipped for the medicine and one that is borrowing the medicine without the matching infrastructure. This is the same standard we describe in our companion Brentwood ketamine therapy page.
How to prepare for your first visit
If you are coming in from Brentwood for an initial consultation or first infusion, a short preparation list goes a long way:
- Arrange a driver. Required after every infusion. No driving for 24 hours.
- Eat a light meal a few hours before. Most patients tolerate the infusion better with something modest in the stomach. Avoid heavy meals immediately beforehand.
- Bring a list of current medications and supplements. Do not stop or change any medications on your own—always discuss adjustments with your prescribing provider.
- Plan a quiet evening. Most patients feel close to baseline a few hours after the infusion, but the day is not the right day for big decisions, important meetings, or screen-heavy work.
- Bring questions. The consultation is a two-way conversation. Honest expectations matter more than enthusiasm.
Ketamine is not a magic bullet, and it is not the right fit for every patient or every condition. Some people respond strongly. Some respond partially. Some do not respond at all, and we tell them so. The goal of the first visit is to figure out which group you are likely to be in—and to make sure that whatever you decide, you decide with accurate information.