From our survey

Ways families try to help, compared against what moves people

Families who want to help a loved one with stubborn depression usually reach for one of four tools. They make the case themselves. They send articles and videos. They research clinics and hand over a phone number. Or they focus on getting the person to their own doctor. All four come from love. They are not equally likely to work, and a survey our publisher commissioned in June gives a rough sense of why.

The poll reached 443 adults in ten states of the region, drawn from the general population rather than from families, so the figures describe everyone who answered. They come from the final validated data. What they offer is a clear ranking of which voices people say would actually move them, which is the right yardstick for comparing the four approaches.

The yardstick

The poll offered five possible messengers and asked which one would actually get a person to try ketamine or esketamine for depression. Their own doctor stood alone at the top, chosen by 74 percent. Next, at 18 percent, came a close friend or family member. A veteran or first responder followed online was chosen by 4 percent. At the bottom, ads drew 2 percent, and podcast hosts fared worse still at 1 percent.

Keep those numbers in mind as we look at each approach.

Approach 1: Making the case yourself

How it works. You research the options, form a view, and tell your loved one what you think they should try.

What the data suggest. This is the 18 percent lane. That is real influence, far more than any media, but it is roughly a quarter of what a doctor carries.

Strengths. You know them. You can say it with care and at the right moment.

Weaknesses. Coming from family, a recommendation can feel like pressure, especially if you have raised it before. You also cannot assess medical fit: blood pressure, other medications, substance history, or whether first-line treatments have been fully tried.

Best used for: naming the problem, not prescribing the solution. "You seem stuck, and I think your doctor should know" is a family sentence. "You should try this drug" is a doctor's sentence.

Approach 2: Sending articles and videos

How it works. You forward stories, news pieces, or social posts about newer treatments.

What the data suggest. Media sits at the bottom of the ranking. Ads moved 2 percent and podcasters 1 percent. Even peer voices online, veterans and first responders, reached only 4 percent.

Strengths. Low pressure. Can introduce an idea without a confrontation.

Weaknesses. Most people are starting from zero. Spravato, the FDA-approved esketamine nasal spray, was a complete unknown to 73 percent of respondents. A link about an unfamiliar drug can read as noise, or as a hint that you think they are broken. And much of what circulates online blurs very different treatments together.

Best used for: sparingly, and paired with "worth asking your doctor about," not "you should do this."

Approach 3: Researching clinics and handing over a number

How it works. You find a clinic that offers ketamine or esketamine and encourage your loved one to call.

What the data suggest. It skips the step most people rely on. Most people picture a doctor opening the door: 56 percent would start in primary care and 23 percent with a psychiatric specialist. Searching independently was the plan for just 12 percent.

Strengths. Concrete. Removes the "where would I even go" barrier.

Weaknesses. Risky if the clinic is the wrong kind. The landscape includes three very different things: Spravato, FDA-approved for treatment-resistant depression and administered only inside certified clinics under monitoring; IV ketamine, used off-label; and at-home ketamine from telehealth companies, off-label and much less supervised. Without a clinician's input, it is easy to steer someone toward the wrong one. Cost is another trap. With 85 percent of respondents ranking coverage in their top two, a clinic that does not take their plan can end the effort before it starts.

Best used for: after a doctor has recommended a treatment and a referral is needed.

Approach 4: Getting them to their own doctor

How it works. You encourage a mood-focused appointment, help assemble a medication history, and offer rides and company.

What the data suggest. This is how the 18 percent lane feeds the 74 percent lane. It uses family influence to reach the voice people trust most.

Strengths. The doctor can evaluate medical fit, order tests, refer to psychiatry, handle prior authorization, and make a recommendation that carries weight. The decision stays with your loved one and their clinician. If Spravato comes up, Brain Recovery Centers explains how that treatment is given.

Weaknesses. Slower. Depends on access to a doctor, which some people lack. The appointment may not produce the answer you hoped for.

Best used for: almost always, as the core of the plan.

Side by side

• Most persuasive, per the survey: the doctor route, by a wide margin.
• Most useful family contribution: logistics and a written medication history.
• Least persuasive: forwarded media.
• Highest risk of a wrong turn: handing over a clinic number before any clinical evaluation.

Why the gentle route fits the mood of most people

The survey also asked for first reactions to ketamine therapy. A cautious-but-open 34 percent and a hopeful 18 percent together made up a leaning-open majority, 51 percent when counted as one group. Hard opposition was rare at 9 percent. Most people in the middle respond to trusted signals, not pressure, and the most trusted signal is a physician who knows them.

The need is widespread, too. Nearly three respondents in four, 72 percent, reported that standard medication had come up short on depression, anxiety, or PTSD for them, someone close, or both.

Consider this a map rather than a prescription; it is not medical advice, and results differ from person to person.

If you are afraid a family member may take their own life, reach out for help today rather than waiting for the right moment. A call or text to 988 reaches Suicide and Crisis Lifeline counselors, who coach frightened relatives as readily as they help people in crisis. Immediate danger calls for 911.

Methodology

Our publisher asked for the survey and footed the bill; Pollfish's consumer panel carried it to a June 23, 2026 close, capturing n=443 adults, ages 18 to 64, living in Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Every number describes the whole sample and is final.